MAKE YOUR OWN INTERACTIVE DIGITAL COLLAGE WITH MICROSOFT POWERPOINT In this tutorial, you will create your own interactive I Spy style digital collage using Microsoft PowerPoint. This collage will have sounds attached to it. When users click on elements of the collage, they will hear the sound file you have recorded. Your completed collage can form part of an E-Book or can be a stand-alone resource for use with an interactive whiteboard. Examples of both of these uses are available online at our Interactive Learning in the Early Phase website at www.earlyphaseicts.com. What you will need to complete this tutorial To complete this tutorial, you will need: a collection of objects that you can use to create your own collage with; a digital camera; a microphone; Microsoft PowerPoint. Creating digital collages with Early Phase learners Texts such as the I Spy and Spot What books are highly engaging to Early Phase learners. Early Phase students enjoy the challenge of trying to spot certain objects within a collage and become highly engaged when they are given the chance to create their own collage from a collection of materials. They particularly enjoy selecting the objects that will be hidden in the collage for the reader to spy and enjoy seeing their peers, teacher and family members interacting with their own creation. Students can create interactive collages based on a range of topics and concepts. Popular collage themes include: - Letters and Sounds Students create a collage on a letter, initial sound or blend. - Concrete, Verbal and Symbolic Representation of Numbers Students create a collage on a particular number. For example, if they have the number 4, they may include a plasticine number 4, a square because it has four sides, a car with four wheels and four counters. - Shapes Students create a collage containing objects of a chosen 2D or 3D shape. - Places and Environments Students create collages relating to a particular place or environment. For example, if a class is undertaking a unit on marine environments, as part of the orientating phase of the unit, each student may be asked to bring in an item that relates to the sea to create a whole class collage. - Science-based concepts Students classify objects based on observable features and properties. Collages could be based on a range of things such as how they move, whether they float or sink and features they have in common. - All about me Students create a collage about themselves. This collage can include photographs of themselves Tutorial by Kristine Kopelke - Email kristine@eq.edu.au - Page 1 of 6
By this stage, you should have an idea for your collage. This tutorial will now take you step-by-step through the process of turning your idea into an interactive digital collage that you can use with your students. Step 1. Putting your collage together The process begins with the creation of your collage. Whilst your collage can be made out of any objects. Popular objects for use in the classroom include: - classroom manipulatives (blocks, counters, 2D and 3D shape models, MAB blocks, dominos, dice, cards, beads, magnetic letters and numbers and puzzle pieces; - consumables (coloured paper, foam or felt shapes, paddlepop sticks, match sticks, ribbons, pipe cleaners etc); - food (in particular parts of or whole fruit and vegetables); - non-valuable objects brought in by students from home. When assembling your digital collage, it is a good idea to use a lid of a box or a piece of cardboard or craft paper to place your objects on. Try to leave a couple of centimeters between your objects and the edge of the box or cardboard. This will make it easier when you crop and resize your collage in a future step. Step 2. Taking your digital photographs Once you have your collage made, it s time to take some photographs of it. Take atleast four shots of your collage and always preview them before dismantling your collage. When taking your shots try to take a couple with the flash on and the flash off. This will provide you with a different look to choose from. Step 3. Copying your digital photographs to a folder on your computer. Use the memory stick in the camera or the USB cable to download your photographs to your computer. Create a folder on your computer or network called Digital Collage and place your photographs in your folder. Step 4. Setting up your slide in Microsoft PowerPoint 1. Open up Microsoft PowerPoint on your computer. 2. Select Insert > Picture > From File from the menu at the top and then locate the folder on your computer or network. 3. Select the best photograph of your collage and select Insert. You should now be able to see it on your PowerPoint slide. 4. Do a visual check of your screen to see if your Picture Toolbar is visible. If you can t see it, select View > Toolbars > Picture from the top menu. Tutorial by Kristine Kopelke - Email kristine@eq.edu.au - Page 2 of 6
5. Now that you have your toolbar visible, it s time to crop and resize your image. - To resize your image, click on your image and then position your mouse over one of the circle handles that appears. You should see an arrow with two points appear. Click and drag your photograph until it is the size you want. - To crop your image, select your image and then select the crop button from the Picture Toolbar. Once this is selected, click on one of the black lines or corners that appears on the sides and corners of your image and move the line in until you have the required area. Repeat this process until you have removed any unwanted parts of the photo. You may need to revisit these steps until you have the image at the size and position you require. 6. It s now time to add a background colour for your slide. To do this, select Format > Background from the top menu and select the colour of your choice. 7. We ll also now add the riddle or text you have developed to accompany your collage. To do this, select the Text Box button from the Draw toolbar at the bottom of the screen. Once selected, draw your text box on the screen and add your text. At this stage, your slide should look something like this. 8. Save your PowerPoint presentation in the folder where you saved your digital photos of your collage. To do this, select File > Save and give the file a name. Tutorial by Kristine Kopelke - Email kristine@eq.edu.au - Page 3 of 6
Step 5. Recording the sounds for your collage. It is now time to record the sounds for your collage. These sounds will include: - the sound file that contains the riddle or text you have typed or - a sound file for each object in your collage. This sound can be the name of the object or even a description of the object. You can record your sounds using a free program like Audacity that is available for download on the web or by using the Sound Recorder application that comes free with Windows. In this tutorial, we will record our sounds using the Sound Recorder. To do this, follow these steps. 1. Select Start > All Programs > Accessories > Entertainment > Sound Recorder. 2. Plug in your microphone and select your words by selecting the Red Record button. 3. Review the sound file and if you are happy with it, select File > Save and save your file into your digital collage file. 4. Select File > New to record your next sound. Repeat this process until all of your sound file are recorded and saved in your folder. Step 6. Adding the sound for your text to the PowerPoint slide 1. Open your PowerPoint file again. 2. Select Insert > Movies and Sounds > Sound from File from the menu at the top. 3. Locate the sound file containing the recording of the text or riddle. Select the file and click OK. 4. The box to the right will appear. Select Automatically so that the text is read to the viewer as soon as the slide is opened. 5. The sound icon will appear on your slide. You can drag this and place it off the edge of your slide so it can t be seen. The sound will still play when the slide is opened. Alternatively, you can position it on the slide near the text so that the viewer can click on the sound icon to hear the text again. You ve added the first sound to your slide. On the next page, you ll learn how to add the sounds that will play when the user clicks on the different items in the collage. Tutorial by Kristine Kopelke - Email kristine@eq.edu.au - Page 4 of 6
Step 7. Adding the sounds to the items in your collage In an earlier step, you recorded the sounds that you wanted the user to hear when they clicked on individual items within the collage. We are now going to draw the areas that the user can click on to make the sounds play, make these areas invisible to the user and then add an action to make a sound play when each area is clicked. Let s begin. 1. Use the shape tools in the draw toolbar at the bottom to draw a clickable region over the top of each of the objects in your collage. You can use standard shapes or alternatively, you can select one of the line tools to draw the outline of the shape. This is particularly useful for objects that have unusual shapes. To use a line tool to draw around an object, select Autoshapes > Lines > Freeform. Draw around the edge of your object until you reach the starting point of your line. Double click to make it a closed shape. Once you have drawn around or placed a shape over each object, your slide should look something like this. 2. We now need to remove the outlines from the shapes we have drawn. Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all of the objects on your slide. 3. Select the Line Color tool from the Draw toolbar at the bottom of the screen and select No Line. All of the lines should now be removed from your shapes. 4. Click on a blank part of your slide to deselect all of the shapes. 5. Select one of the shapes you have drawn and click on your right mouse button to bring up the context menu. From this menu, select Action Settings. Tutorial by Kristine Kopelke - Email kristine@eq.edu.au - Page 5 of 6
6. From the Action Settings panel that appears, select Other Sound and then find the sound you have recorded for your selected object. Notice that the tab that is selected at the top of the Action Settings panel is the Mouse Click tab. This means that the sound will play when the user clicks the mouse on the shape. 7. Repeat this process until you have added a sound in the Action Settings for each of the shapes in your collage. 8. Our final step in making our interactive collage is to make all of the shapes transparent (invisible). We want them to still be there so that they can be clicked on, however don t want the user to see them. To do this, hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and click on all of the shapes you have drawn. You will see the circles appear on the edges of each shape that is selected. Once they are all selected, click on the Fill Colour tool in your Draw toolbar and select More Fill Colours. In the Colours panel that opens, change the level of transparency at the bottom of the panel to 100%. Click OK. This will make all of your shapes invisible. 9. Save your work by selecting File > Save. 10. Your interactive digital collage should now be complete. Select Slide Show > View Show to test your interactive collage. You have now finished your first interactive digital collage. If your collage is part of an e-book, you can now add some more slides by selecting Insert > New Slide and working through the same process you did to create your first slide. Alternatively, if your collage is going to be a stand-alone resource for use on an interactive whiteboard, select Save As and in the Save as type option at the bottom of the panel, select PowerPoint Show (*.pps). Congratulations! You should now have your own interactive digital collage for use with your students. Why not make some with your class or even visit our Interactive Learning in the Early Phase website at www.earlyphaseicts.com to see ones created by students and teachers in Queensland schools. Tutorial by Kristine Kopelke - Email kristine@eq.edu.au - Page 6 of 6