A Day of Pyrotechnics

This post is a display of the Microsoft Sway application. I used it to describe a day in the life of a fireworks crew.

I had a lot of trouble working with sway, as it lacks many normal text formatting options. Sway’s automatic picture formatting was useful, but I think in the end I won’t be planning to use it again. It’s useful for telling a story or conveying other information in a specific order, but it doesn’t seem to offer much flexibility.

Where I am From: Neskowin, Oregon

For this post, I decided to explore where I am from using the application SWAY. Sway allowed me to alter my photos, add content, make photo galleries, and ultimately tell a story about a place that is hugely part of my life and who I am as a person. I hope people can get some insight into the beauty of Neskowin, and my love for the place I call home.

Sway allows for students to express themselves creatively and I can think of a number of assignments and activities where students can use Sway in some form or another! I am excited to continue to explore Sway and see what I can do with it!

Welcome to Portland- Sway

The idea behind my Sway was to use it as an interactive brochure type of thing. My example is an interactive brochure of Portland, Oregon and my students would have the task of creating their own brochure for one of the major cities across the US. Students would be required to include a brief introduction to their city, where it is located, some history behind the city, popular attractions of the city, and then whatever fun facts that want to include. I think my students would have fun with this because it gives them the chance to demonstrate their knowledge in whatever way they find interesting to them whether that means including Gifs, or videos, or even potentially a my map to show of the city they are studying. This allows students to put their own personal spin on the classical brochure while still demonstrating to the teacher that they can collect the necessary information to create an informational presentation about their city.

All about me

This is a sway that I made all about me. I would use this with my students at the beginning of the year as a “getting to know you” assignment. I would show the class mine and then the students would create their own and would get to share them with the class so that we can all learn something about each other.

Haiti

We were introduced to Sway on Microsoft this past class. Through Sway an interactive story can be made and shared with others. This is a wonderful new spin a PowerPoint like presentation. This can be used in many ways within the classroom setting. I decided to make my Sway about a mission trip I went on a few years ago in Haiti.

The Constitution: A Story

This Sway presentation was created with a 5th grade Social Studies lesson in mind. This overview of the Constitution breaks down the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How that providing students with necessary background information. Also included in this Sway presentation is a School House Rock video that transforms these facts into a catchy song for students to listen to.

Where We Are From

See exactly where Hanna and Laura are from by looking at this interactive Sway presentation!

From videos, to pictures, to maps, you’ll know exactly where to go the next time you’re in the city! Portland has unique foods to try, many entertainment options, and there are never too many books to go read at Powell’s. San Jose’s greatest visit is any place that sells boba, according to Laura, but there are many great landmarks to visit as well.

Sway Back When: With President Lincoln

Hello everyone,

Browse the Sway creation below to walk through the life of America’s most memorable President, Abraham Lincoln. Lean about Abe’s childhood, vote on his serendipitous decision to grow a beard, and learn about his untimely end.

If you could ask President Lincoln one question, what would it be?
What would you add to this Sway to make it more interactive?

Enjoy —

Nick Krautscheid

Movie Time Travel

For my digital story, I chose the title “Movie Time Travel”. Films and movies have a special place in my heart. As soon as I was born, my dad made it his mission to make sure my brother and I knew every classic movie. For this reason, I want to open this as an option to my own students. More and more students are choosing to watch tv shows and movies rather than read books. While I would always encourage reading, I want my students to see the benefits of watching film. Through movies, they are able to see a visual of the story and empathize with the characters because they see their actions and how it impacts the others around them. They are able to travel through time depending on the movie and become engulfed in the plot.

If I were to create a project based on this movie story telling, I might ask them to choose one of their favorite movies and create a sway as a tribute to this film. They need to include videos, images (from Creative Commons of course!), and text to encourage their fellow students to see this movie for themselves; this could be like a persuasive story telling piece; they must include their references at the bottom.

In my particular example, I chose to highlight my favorite movie musical “The Greatest Showman”. I watched this movie with my family and have been obsessed ever since. The lights, costumes, choreography, and singing highlight the hard work of the cast and how the beauty of music can inspire thousands. By having my students see what I am passionate about, I hope they can feel encouraged to see this task as a fun project rather than a homework assignment.

Researching Laura Ingalls Wilder

Some people are unaware that the stories told by Laura Ingalls Wilder in her children book series Little House on the Prairie, came from her life as a pioneer. This is a Sway presentation to show people the places where her life and books overlap, and to tell the stories of her life that she left out of the books. It also includes a clip of the TV show Little House on the Prairie, which was based on the books, and aired from 1974-1983.