Week #9 - Google Site, & Digital Story - final thoughts

So I finished my google site and actually had a great time. I ended up figuring out how to insert the calendar correctly so that as updates are made to the calendar through google, it automatically updates on the site. It was fun to put together and I look forward to using this site (or one similar) for my future classroom.

We also finished our digital story. I was able to take our 3 pieces of music and combine them together using Audacity and overlay the music with the narration (done by my husband). My partner and I were pleased with the level of sound of the music behind the narration when we listened to it in Audacity. So, then I combined the music track with the narration and saved it. Later when we listened to it through Media Player we noticed it's difficult to hear the drum music in the beginning of our digital story. The music throughout the rest of the story is perfect. I found out the hard way that because I saved the project as the original instead of saving a new project with the narration and music combined, I couldn't go back and adjust the volume on the drum section to make it more audible. Because I didn't keep a seperate file of the music tracks seperate from the narration, I would have had to start over. We decided to leave it as is and are pleased (with the exception of the low audio on the drum part) with our final product. I loved, loved, LOVED! using Audacity. At first it was quite intimidating but once I allowed myself to just play around with it I learned it was surprisingly easy...and fun! I learned 2 things from using this program that would apply to any project one is working on while using the computer:

1) Don't be afraid or intimidated by a program. It can't bite or be broken. Play and explore and if needed, usually there is a help tab to look to for additional assistance.

2) Save, save, save your work. When working on a project, if you are making a change that can't be undone, save it as a new project. That way if it doesn't turn out you can go back to the step just before and you don't have to start over.

I definitely think upper elementary students would have a great time making their own audio tracks for presenations using the Audacity program. I think it is an easy to use program that allows students to use their creative talents to make their own music track.