As an alternate to PowerPoint, one of the tools I have been introducing to middle school students is Windows Photo Story. To much to my surprise, many students are not familiar with it. They tend to use PowerPoint because it is familiar to them and they know they can complete their assignment without any technology difficulties. I found this tool to be much easier then PowerPoint, yet it still is able to challenge students to create a storyboard and a sequence for their presentation.
First, Photo Story is a free tool from Microsoft that has to be downloaded.
Once it is downloaded and installed on your computer, it is very simple to learn. It takes you through the different parts of the storyboard such as: importing pictures, customize motion, include titles and captions to the slides, narrate the slides, include music and sound effects and finally save and publish your story. You can always go back to any of these parts to modify your story.
When the story is completed, the story board will be saved in a Photo Story project. Once it is published, the program creates an .wmv file, which allows the story to be played on any computer.
Enjoy using this tool! You will be glad that you tried it!!