Intermediate
40 mins
Teacher/Student led
+70 XP
Pupils work on their own device

Build Your Digital Montage

Students use their plan and the materials they gathered to put their montage together in their chosen editing tool. The focus is on placing the pieces in order, without captions or credits yet.

Teacher Class Feed

Load previous activity

    1 - Start ~2 mins

    A student builds his montage in an editing tool, placing coloured blocks of pictures, clips and sound along the timeline, with his paper plan beside the laptop.Today you will open your editing tool and build your montage, the piece of pictures, sounds, clips or animation you planned. Leave captions and credits for next time.

    Key point

    Sign in first if your tool needs it (Canva does). Then open your files, saved the class way. Your plan and source log are on screen in the Hands-on step.

    Tip

    If your plan or files are missing, write a one-line plan in Enter Your Work on the Hands-on step: your topic, your tool and three beats, meaning three moments your viewer sees or hears. Then build a short sequence with one file you are allowed to use.

    2 - Assembled Checklist ~2 mins

    Key point

    Your montage is assembled, which means put together, when you can tick all four of these:

    • your pieces are in the tool in the order from your plan
    • each piece is about the right length or size
    • it plays or reads from start to finish with no big gaps or missing files
    • you have not spent the lesson on captions, credits or finishing touches
    An editing timeline for a montage. On the top row, three pieces in the order of the plan: 1 an image, 2 a clip and 3 an animation. On the row underneath, one sound runs under all three, so it plays at the same time as the pictures. An arrow shows it plays from start to finish. Four ticked checks: in the order from your plan, with the sound underneath; each piece about the right length; plays from start to finish with no big gaps or missing files; no captions or credits yet.

    Open the tool your plan named. Canva is for pictures, AudioMass for sound, Snip Studio for video and Wick Editor for frame-by-frame animation. Only use files on your source log.

    Sound with pictures

    If your montage has sound playing under pictures or clips, put them together in Snip Studio, the way the music went under the globe and the fire: pictures and clips on the top row, the sound on its own row underneath, so they play at the same time. Get the sound ready in AudioMass first if it needs cutting.

    3 - Hands-on: Open and Place Your Sequence ~21 mins

    1. Open your files, saved the class way. Your plan and source log are in Your project so far above.
    2. Open the tool your plan named, and sign in only if it needs it.
    3. Start or open your project and give it a clear name that includes your name or initials.
    4. Place the pieces in the order your plan says, from start to finish. Do not move things around for style yet.
    5. Trim, crop or resize a piece only if it is clearly too long, too short or the wrong shape.
    6. Test your sequence. Play it once from the start and check it against the four checklist points on the board. Then write one fault to fix next (a gap, a wrong order, a clip that runs too long or a missing file). Write it at the end of your plan: Enter Your Work under this step opens with your plan. Press Save.
    Watch out

    Only use files you logged as free to reuse, and keep your source log open so you can note any file you swap.

    Key point

    Stay on your own montage. Only help a neighbour if your teacher pairs you up for a quick fix on the same tool, and then go back to your own project.

    4 - Your Turn: Reach Assembled ~11 mins

    Use this time to finish putting your montage together, which is today's goal.

    • Place any pieces you have not placed yet, so the whole sequence is there from start to end. If you are using the one-line plan from the start of the lesson, place your three beats.
    • Test your sequence again. Play it from the start and check it against the four checklist points on the board. Then fix the fault you wrote at the end of your plan.
    • Preview it once more. It should play as one piece from start to end, even if it is still rough.
    • Save the project the class way before you close the tool, because the browser on a shared device will not keep it for you.
    Before you finish, check

    Your pieces are in order, the sequence plays through and matches the four checklist points, and your file is saved the class way. Captions, credits and finishing touches wait until next time.

    123learn · Online learning platform

    Unlock the full learning experience

    You're previewing this lesson. Get full access to this lesson and hundreds more — each one ready to teach, with interactive activities, printable resources and pupil progress tracking built in.

    Hundreds of curriculum-aligned lessons
    Interactive activities in every lesson
    Printable resources & progress tracking
    Copyright Notice
    This lesson is copyright of 123Learn.ie 2017 - 2026. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.
    🍪 Our website uses cookies to make your browsing experience better. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more