Fine arts presentation
Sway isn't just for the classroom. It can be used by everyone in the school to share their digital stories. Consider these scenarios:
- The orchestra creates a Sway that highlights the new songs they have learned this year. Students include pictures of the composers and a brief biography. They also include short audio recordings of the orchestra playing the songs. The Sway is emailed to all orchestra parents so that they get a preview for the end-of-year concert.
- A high school play production still provides a printed program to audience members as they enter. In it is a QR code that links to a Sway with headshots of each cast member, along with short biographies of each actor. The director includes a video recorded message that explains the tone of the play so that audience can appreciate the performance they are about to view. Finally, some behind-the-scenes photos are included of crew members building the set, hanging lights, and making costumes.
- A student art show displays a printed short URL next to each painting or sculpture that students entered. The URL points to a Sway that the art patrons can view on a mobile device. The Sway has a short interview with the artist and pictures that document the process of each work. Some of the pictures are grouped together to highlight the creative process. Each artist also includes other work they have created so that patrons can understand the artist's point of view.
See how a school band used Sway to create this example concert program.
Each artistic production can tell the stories of the students and educators who worked hard on each event. These digital stories come alive with Sway.
When including images in a Sway, it may be helpful for the digital story to group images together. Select each image you want to to include in a group, then pick the type of image group that helps tell the story. The image groups are:
- Grid: this group arranges the images together in a grid pattern
- Stack: images are stacked on top of each other, like a stack of photos
- Slideshow: images are in an embedded slideshow that the reader advances on their own
- Comparison: this is a way to compare two images that go together (such as an animal and a skeleton of the animal)
Choose the right group for the digital story will help the audience receive the intended message.
Professional journal
Add several images to the "What Do I Love?" section of your Sway. This is a time to include family, pets, food, books, sports teams, musicians—anything that you feel connected to. Once you have added several images, use different groups to arrange your images.