EquipmentAudio recorderHeadphonesPoint and shoot camera with additional memory card (not the small one that comes with the camera)TripodBackpack

First, establish relevance/provide examples The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/1-in-8-million/index.html

Lost Angeles Times: http ://www.latimes.com/news/local/photography/la-population- package,0,7767099.htmlstory#

Interactive Narratives: http://interactivenarratives.org/?tag=soundslides

“Living in the rubble”http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10520439

“Barack Obama's first year”http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2010/jan/20/barack-obama-first-year

“Kent State, May 4, 1970: A Retrospective From WKSU”http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126418283

“For One Senior, Medicaid Provides Model Care”http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113271860

“Stacks Of Medical Bills Afflict The 'Underinsured'”http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112958877

“Dance’s Alive The Nutcracker”http://morgpet.webng.com/Nutcracker/index.html

Then, take it step by stepAudio

1. How to edit and export audio using Audacity (free)2. How to use a digital recorder and interview for audio

Photo3. How to prepare photos for SoundSlides using Photoshop (not free; free alternatives include

Gimp, Picassa, and Pixlr)4. How to use camera with basic shooting skills

Teaching storytelling with audio slideshows – some basics

Audio slideshow5. How to put it all together using SoundSlides ($40 for basic version, $70 for professional

version; iMovie and Windows Movie Maker are free alternatives)

Tips When learning a new software package (Audacity, Photoshop, SoundSlides), I provide content for

the students’ first exercise/project. Afterwards, they gather the content. Students present their work and critique classmates work. Critiquing gives students fresh

insights/perspectives as well as the chance to put ideas into words and practice speaking intelligently about their work and others’ work.

Students work in pairs (we provide equipment for students, but we don’t have enough for each student to have their own set of equipment). This also gives them general teamwork experience and specific experience gathering content with a partner.

Realizing that some students may be expected to train others after graduation, and realizing that teaching others is a great way to learn, teams are assigned an area for which they are the class experts: audio recorder, Audacity, camera, Photoshop, and SoundSlides, The teams are responsible for learning and introducing their topic of expertise. I provide them with resources and support as they prepare. Afterwards, the class provides anonymous feedback via SurveyMonkey (free version; I prep them for how to provide constructive feedback and review feedback before sharing). I follow-up on the students’ introductions. When students have technical questions, they can ask the experts for assistance in that area. I am available for support also, but this helps to build confidence and a collaborative environment.

Resources Reporter’s Guide to Multimedia Proficiency by Mindy McAdams (free)

http://www.jou.ufl.edu/faculty/mmcadams/PDFs/RGMPbook.pdf

Audacity (free open source recording and editing software for audio) http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Audacity tutorialshttp://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/audacity/http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2009/updated-tutorials-for-audacity-audio-editing/

Pulling Plosives (or How to stoP PoPPing P’s) http://blog.timcurran.com/?tag=microphone-technique

Language of the Image – NewsU course (free) http://www.newsu.org/courses/language-image

Image editing – free alternatives to Photoshop Gimp: http://www.gimp.org/Picassa: http://picasaweb.google.com/homePixlr: http://www.pixlr.com/ – this one is an online image editor, but you need to have a Flash plugin installed (if you can watch YouTube videos, you should be fine)

Soundslides (audio slideshow software) http://soundslides.com/

SoundSlides tutorial http://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/using-soundslides/

Ira Glass on storytelling (watch all 4 videos – it’s worth it!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7KQ4vkiNUk

Tips for better audio slideshows

Questions? Suggestions? Please contact Mitzi Lewis at 940-397-4375 or mitzi.lewis@mwsu.edu

http://masteringmultimedia.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/how-to-make-your-audio-slideshows-better/http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2009/dos-and-donts-for-slideshows/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/school_report/5275764.stm (this one is specific to the audio component)

EthicsPhoto: http://rising.blackstar.com/photojournalism-technology-and-ethics-whats-right-and-wrong-todayAudio: http://jsource.ca/english_new/detail.php?id=1638

Questions? Suggestions? Please contact Mitzi Lewis at 940-397-4375 or mitzi.lewis@mwsu.edu