I decided to use my pictures for our Antarctica Presentation not in Animoto, not in Voicethreads but rather in Smilebox slideshow creator. Once I chose the slideshow creator option I was given several choices of formats. I knew from working with the "Photomatic" option on my "Dance Day" slideshow that the vertical shots I take end up getting cut off. My experience was that "Photomatic" is only good with horizontal shots. So after investigating the other options I found that the "Simply Slides" option gave me the FULL image whether I shot it horizontal OR vertical. I also discovered that the slideshow options on this website gives users a WONDERFUL selection of music add-ins that are grouped by approximately 45 different categories. This makes finding the right music much earier than hunting through very large collections of music that is grouped in only a handful of categories. I found myself searching Animoto for a very ong time because they only offer a handful of music category options. After choosing the category of music I wanted (New Age), there were 100 titles to choose from. They were ALL available for FREE! Comparing again to Animoto, many selections there are available only if you upgrade your membership or pay a fee to use the music.
While I experimented with using Voicethreads for this project, I decided stayed away from that website for two reasons. First, because I need time to investigate how to add the voice using a microphone (I don't have on yet). And secondly because I also need to find out if the photos of my students on the internet would be secure. Besides, I liked having the music background.
I am VERY happy with this discovery and I HIGHLY recommend this site to everyone!
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| This free digital slideshow customized with Smilebox |