How to Create a Narrated Slideshow on a Chromebook Using Google Slides and WeVideo

I've had a few teachers ask for a project somewhere between a PowerPoint presentation and a full blown video project. I have been suggesting what I call a narrated slideshow and I made a tutorial to show them how to do it on a Chromebook.

This process uses Google Slides and WeVideo. I really like how the whole thing can be done on one device.

I recently updated the final video below to include:

• Correct terminology for the final step in WeVideo.
• Steps showing how to turn it in through Google Classroom.

Some of these steps are specific to the Chromebook, but the great thing about these tools is that you can use them on any computer as long as you have a microphone.

First, here's an example of what I mean by a narrated slideshow:


In part 1 I show a brief overview of creating the presentation and how to download the slides as image files.



In the second stage I show how to import the images into WeVideo and how to build the video presentation. (WeVideo was recently updated, so some screens won't be identical to what you see in this video.)



In Part 3 I explain how to record your narration. (WeVideo was recently updated. It looks like they fixed the problem I refer to in the video about showing the preview while recording.)


In this final step I show how to finalize the project as a video saved in WeVideo and Google Drive. I also show how to turn it in through Classroom.

Note: Be aware that the free version of WeVideo is limited to how many minutes of video you can export each month. If the students keep these under five minutes there shouldn't be a problem, but they need to be sure their work is as good as possible before exporting. Multiple exports of even short videos could end up exceeding the limit on free accounts.


Note about first four videos above:
The first four videos were recorded on a Chromebook. I normally make my video lessons on a PC with Camtasia. Here I used the SnagIt Chrome app and extension. I edited in WeVideo (using some premium features as part of a free month trial). I am happy with the results using the free tools, but they are not as polished as other tutorials I have created.

Comic Assignment with Google Drawings, Slides, WeVideo and Flipsnack

This week I continued our comic assignment with two more parts. (Click here to see how we started the project.)

First, students used Google Slides to convert their comics to a PDF. Then that was uploaded at Flipsnack to turn it into a virtual book.

For the final step, we are converting those same comic images into a video using WeVideo.

The assignments sheets are here:

• Comic Assignment 2 - Creating an eBook
• Comic Assignment 3 - Turning Your Comic into a Video

Here's an example (just four pages) of how these ebooks look on Flipsnack.

And below is the tutorial I created that shows how to use WeVideo to make a simple video slideshow. As explained in assignment 3, there is no audio. Also, there is a table of contents that makes it easy to jump to just the short parts you need based on the steps of the assignment.

10 tips for recording video in the classroom

I updated this post in October 2014. I added a few tips for teachers and created a Google Docs version too. The new post is here.

Given the popularity of this post, I created a video version of the tips. It is embedded at the end of the list.

I would think many of these items are obvious, but as much as I have to remind students I know they're not obvious to everyone.

• Plan in detail.  I know it's more fun to start recording, but poor planning will result in either lots of frustrating editing or a poor final video.  Good planning includes a detailed script for all dialogue or narration and a storyboard showing the basic camera views for each shot.
• Make sure you are recording files you can edit later.  This means you have to record with a camera, phone or other device that creates a file format compatible with your editing software.  I recommend doing a quick test with your equipment first. Record a short clip and try to edit it with your editing software.
• Hold your camera, phone or device in the landscape position.  I didn't think to remind students of this until we started letting students use their own devices.  Remember that computer monitors are always in landscape.  Don't hold the phone or iPad so the image is taller than it is wide.  It might work great for Vines or other clips you send your friends, but it really weakens the final product no matter how good everything else turns out.
• Think about what the viewer is seeing and break up the scene accordingly.  Does it make sense to stand back with the camera and just record the whole scene as if it were a skit?  Or would different camera angles throughout make it more interesting?  Would close-ups of certain action help tell a better story?  Is there anything in the background that will distract the viewer from what is most important?
• Listen before recording.  Is there background noise or bad acoustics that echo when actors talk or make other sounds?  Choose a quiet location.
• Listen carefully when you are recording too.  Be aware that a distracting noise (squeaky chairs, doors closing, etc.) while someone is saying a line can't be removed later.  We often block these things out easily when listening to someone in real life, but when watching a video they are impossible to ignore.  
• Speak clearly when being recorded.  Probably everyone on the set knows the script and knows what is being said.  The viewers don't have that advantage.  Pay attention to how fast you talk, how loud it is and whether or not the words are distinct.
• Record too much rather than not enough.  Start recording several seconds before action will start.  If someone will say, "Action," or otherwise alert everyone to start, be sure they wait at least a second after the camera has started to cue the actors. It is so easy to trim a few seconds off the start or end of a clip in editing.  Compare that to the case when the camera person turns off the camera immediately after the last line or the actors start talking as soon as the camera starts.  Those make for bad edits later.
• Along with that, if you have the time, get two good takes of each shot.  You can overdo this, but generally if everyone finally gets a good performance once, the next one will be even better.  During editing it can help a lot to have a couple choices for the take that will end up in the final video..
• When acting a scene, don't look at the camera or the person behind the camera.  It is very common for actors to look to the person working the camera as if to say, "Did we get it?"  Those looks can ruin an otherwise great take and sometimes you won't notice it until editing later.

To sum it up, remember you can save a ton of time in editing with careful planning and by paying attention.  Consider what the viewer will see and hear.  After you make a couple videos thinking like this you'll appreciate your favorite movies and television shows all the more!


Based on your experience, what advice would you add to the list?

Music video projects for church camp

My wife helps at girls week at the local Christian camp.  She wanted to offer my music video project (which I've written about extensively here) as an option for the interest groups.  I think the project transitioned very well to that setting.

First I had my daughter make a song in the format we were planning, then my wife made one as well, just so she could see all the parts of the process.

Our outline was:

• Do some reflection and read some Psalms to find an idea for your praise/worship chorus.
• Pick one verse or short passage to read in the song.
• Make up a melody and record it in GarageBand.  (At camp this ended up being done in a hot van to block out background noise!  Not ideal, but I thought the girls did a great job with it.)
• Import the mp3 file into UJam.com and make adjustments until you're happy with it.
• Download a few versions of it including just background music, one with vocals and one as instrumental.
• Mix the various tracks in GarageBand.
• Make the final video.

My wife made her video in Video Star for iPad (with help from me as the camera person and I added the title at the start in iMovie).  It is an easy way to go.  For my daughter's, we used still pictures and put them into a video using iMovie on the iPad.

At the camp, only one group selected the music video project.  We ended up taking many pictures and video clips, so I compiled them on my home computer in the evenings.  I also experimented with some drum loops in GarageBand on my daughter's Mac.  I really liked what I could achieve between UJam and GarageBand on the computer.  

Because of privacy concerns I won't show the girls' video, but I made a simple lyric video just so you could hear the final result.  

My daughter's video:  (This was the first time I could get her to sing!  I liked her voice and I hope this will help draw her out of her shell.)

My wife's video:

The lyric video of the original song they created at camp:

Example for Problem Solving in Math Class

I am doing a problem solving activity in a middle school classroom and I came across this video that I made in 2007.  I had completely forgotten about it!  

In this case, I had two ambitious students who did all the recording for me. I compiled the clips and then wrote a script. They did the narration and I put it together.

 I think this would make an excellent classroom project, but the editing was more time consuming than most teachers will be able to accommodate.  One solution would be to divide the work between a math class and a video production or ELA class.

My only other advice is to plan ahead of time how much you'll include (how many people, how much of their solutions or attempts).  Otherwise editing can take a long time as you figure out the direction based on all the video you've recorded.



I used to use this in class by stopping as soon as the problem is displayed.  After students had time to think about a solution I would play the rest.  A lot of the fun comes from the fact that they knew the students and teachers, but some have told me this will still be useful in their classes.