Cleveland Heights High School Library Web Resources Creating in Microsoft Photo Story

Directions for Creating a Microsoft Photo Story 3 Project

Teachers: Click here for resources and suggestions for using Photo Story
                   Click here for a Microsoft Word version of these instructions that can be edited for classroom use.

Directions for Creating Your Photo Story Project

Part 1: Define and Collect

1. Begin by thinking of the purpose of your story. Who is your audience? What is the purpose of this “Photo Story”?
2. Develop an outline of the major points that you want to include in your presentation.
   • This outline is very important; it will guide you in your selection of the kind and number of pictures you will need for your presentation.
3. Create a folder where you can store the materials you find. When at school, the best place to create this folder is your network drive. Give the folder a name that reflects your project.
4. Search for image resources for your story. Any still image will work: pictures, drawings, photographs, maps, charts, etc. You can use digital photographs and/or scan items that will work in your story. You can capture images from the Internet. You can create slides in PowerPoint to be used in your presentation (don’t worry about fancy animations – they won’t show up in Photo Story). Be sure to save all of the images you want to use in the folder you created for your project in step 3.
5. Find audio resources for your story. You can use audio files such as music, speeches, interviews, and sound effects. Save all of these resources in the folder you have created for your Photo Story project.
6. Using the Story Board forms, organize the order of your images. Write a narrative for each of the images, and indicate the music or other audio files that you will use with each image or group of images.

Part 2: Import and Create

1. Open the Photo Story program, and import the images, audio, and other materials you are going to use in your story. Everything should be in the folder you created to save all of your material.
   • If you accidentally saved some material in some other location, take a moment now to move it to your Photo Story folder (you can right-click and copy, then right-click and paste the material into the correct folder). Then import it into the Photo Story program.
2. Save your Photo Story project. Make sure you save your Photo Story project in the folder that you created. The goal is to have everything relating to your project in one folder.
3. Using your Story Boards, organize your images in the order you have decided on. You can modify the images, add transitions and pan-and-zoom effects, if necessary.

Part 3: Adding your narration and other audio materials

1. Record the narration you have written for each slide. Remember that the narration will provide the explanation and purpose for your story and your choice of images. Your written narration should be the final copy; make corrections and additions, if necessary, before you narrate. Make sure everything is written down.
2. Use the microphone to record the narration for your presentation. Add music and other audio after you have recorded your narration.
3. Save your project. Click Yes when it asks you if you want to replace your previous version.

Part 4: Finalizing your project.

1. Preview your project, and make corrections, if necessary, to your project.
2. Once you are satisfied with your project, finalize it by telling the program to convert it into a Windows Media Player file. Make sure the saving location is the folder you have created for your Photo Story project. Depending on the options you have chosen while creating the project, the conversion to a WMP file may take a minute or two.
3. When the file is converted, Photo Story asks if you want to view the file you have created. Click “Yes” and Windows Media Player will launch, and play your story.

Congratulations!!

You may work on your Photo Story project on any computer running Windows XP. To take your project with you to work on it in outside school, you will need a USB drive (also called a jump drive, flash drive, or thumb drive). Right-click and copy and right-click and paste the entire project folder into your USB drive.

If your XP computer does not have Photo Story for Windows installed, you can download and install it from the Microsoft web site at this link:

Microsoft Photo Story: Information and Download

Note: you will be asked to validate that you have a legal copy of Windows XP before the download begins.

For more information, and tutorials on the use of Photostory, visit these links:

Photo Story Examples and Tutorials from ITPD of Providence College

The Instructional Technology Development Program of Providence College (Providence, R.I.) has created a site with an excellent examples of Photo Story creations, and an easy-to-follow tutorial on developing your own Photo Story presentations.

Photo Story Tutorial from David Jakes

David Jakes is an Instructional Technology consultant from Illinios. He has created an excellent tutorial on the use of Photo Story.