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The Presidents Project Download the zipped
eZediaMX
file by clicking on this link. Download the zipped
eZediaQTI version by clicking on this link. The project contains 4 frames. The opening frame is shown below. The recipe for frame 1 is simple if you want to make your own. a. Open eZediaMX or QTI and click on Frames > Frame Setup > Color. Choose a color from the palette or by clicking on the HSB tab and moving the slider bar to the general color area you want. When you click on the exact color you want for your background, I suggest you make note of the color code eZedia provides for you on the right-hand side of the color dialog box. It will save you a lot of time later if you write it down. b. For the fancy shadow effect, I opened up the Resources folder, located the Transparency folder and opened up the Borders Well. From that I selected the one with the dark shadow all around. Now, if you do that, you're going to find that your shadow is a lot darker than mine. Why? Well, when I just want a slight hint of shadow, I drag out the shadow graphic so that it is larger than my frame. Then I just click, hold, and drag it into position so that I get a much less intense effect as is illustrated in the opening frame. c. Now that I was gathering items unique to this project, I also went to File > New > New Object Well. As I made or selected items for the project, I dragged them into the well and then saved the well. d. For the fancy title, I just created one text box with black print, made it transparent, and then right-clicked on it and converted it to a graphic object. That way I could use a fancier font and know it would turn out the same way on all computers. I then duplicated my text box, highlighted the print, and then went up to Format > Color and chose a darker version of the same color I had picked for the background. Once I was happy with the color choice, I converted the second text object to a graphic, as well. Both the graphics and text objects were dragged into the Object Well for this project and then the well was saved. e. I then positioned the two graphics so that the black one was underneath and was acting like a shadow for the darker gold print. (You can always click on an object and then go to Objects > Layers > and then choose if it should go forward or backward.) With the two graphics in position on the frame the way I wanted them, I selected them both at the same time and went to Objects > Add to Background. That glues them in place and cannot be undone. Make sure you have both objects selected before doing this. f. There are a number of pictures of the White House. Cut one out in the shape that you want. I've dragged a shadow out of the Borders Well and shaped it to fit behind my picture to make it stand out more. g. What isn't showing in Figure 1 is the navigation buttons that are already in place for the project. I've chosen graphics from the Arrow Wells available in the Resources folder and used those. They are on the frames in the downloadable version of this project. Figure 1: The Opening Frame of the Presidents Project  In figure 2, we see the next frame (though you can move them into any order you like). Here I've combined a bevel from the Transparency Well - Borders and placed it on top of a rectangle of a coordinating color to make the area stand out on the page like a title bar. I've placed a simple text box on top of that. The beveled edge on the picture is also courtesy of a ready-made beveled edge of a slightly different type also available in the Transparency Wells - Borders resource. If you can click and drag, you can create this effect! Figure 2: Picture of President with space for information  The interesting stuff . . . a. Create a table of contents frame as the second frame and have students add GoTo objects so that visitors can move about their project any way they like. b. Add movie clips and audio files. Both QTI and MX support a wide variety of formats. Students could dress up like the portrait of the president and then record part of the inaugural address (the link is in the list below). c. Students could add additional frames that provide the context for the presidency. In other words, what were the important events going on in the world at that time? Add webpage links to the project that can provide more information. d. In eZediaMX, students can even create interactive quizzes to see how well people paid attention to the information in their projects. e. If possible, locate vr's of important sites related to the presidency being studied. f. Have students create their own backgrounds for the project. Consider having them create a collage of layered images representing key items related to their president. Remember, you can use the Edit Graphic feature and fade a photo without having to go into a photo editing program. g. In eZediaMX, have the students create a graphic that represents the president's road to the White House. Use the Path Object to animate the path so that other visuals or audio files fire up when a critical juncture is reached. See the Cross-Country project at this site for an idea of how this works. Useful websites: From the Library of Congress, we have a one-stop resource for portraits of the presidents and their wives. The webpage is called: By Popular Demand: Portraits of Presidents and their Ladies. The website is available at: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/odmdhtml/preshome.html The White House website has a terrific summary resource on each of the presidents. It's at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ From C-PSAN, we have the American Presidents Life Portraits resource. The address is: http://www.americanpresidents.org/ Russel D. Renka has amassed an amazing array of links devoted to the subject of the US presidency. You should be able to find something on just about any aspect of the topic here: http://cstl-cla.semo.edu/renka/PresidencyLinks.htm Time Line of Presidents and First Ladies from the Library of Congress Inaugural addresses of the US Presidents from Bartleby.com POTUS: Presidents of the United States Simple to understand language and reading levels, yet comprehensive, the site explains itself as: "In this resource you will find background information, election results, cabinet members, notable events, and some points of interest on each of the presidents. Links to biographies, historical documents, audio and video files, and other presidential sites are also included to enrich this site." A lot of work has gone into pulling this collection together. Check it out. Grolier presents the American Presidency Grolier Encyclopedia has put a wealth of information online appropriate at varying age levels that focuses on the presidency. You'll even find video clips and sound clips. It's available at: http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/preshome.html Ben's Guide to the US Government for Kids Divided into materials appropriate for different grade levels, this site is one of those "don't leave home without it" types. Brought to you by the US federal government! http://bensguide.gpo.gov/ The Youth Division of the Internet Public Library has some additional resources related to the presidency and past presidents that will be truly helpful for projects. http://www.ipl.org.ar/cgi-bin/youth/youth.out.pl?sub=usa5900 The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has put together a significant set of links related to presidential studies. This will provide material of greater depth than some of the other sources. At the bottom of the webpage at their site is another set of links of teacher activities and resources you don't want to miss. http://www.ualr.edu/~presidents/websites.html From World Book Encyclopedia, we have another set of resources on the US presidents. Vincent Voice Library for 20th Century US Presidents has preserved audio files of the US presidents. These are downloadable as MP3 files. Portraits of the Presidents from the National Portrait Gallery Infoplease.com has pulled together some sites that provide such information as links to speeches; salaries; Just for a change of pace, here are a number of craft ideas to celebrate Presidents Day from Enchanted Learning: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/presidentsday/ Online games related to learning facts and oddities about the US Presidents: http://www.quia.com/custom/617main.html From Colorado, we have a listing for teachers of where the history of the presidency fits into the curriculum. The file is an Adobe Acrobat file (PDF) and is only intended for teachers in Colorado. However, others might find it useful. |