Now that I have at least some people in the Northern hemisphere on my side in disapproval of winter, let me turn attention to the purpose of this blog. For class this week, we have to submit our digital story projects. It was only when I actually started working with making the 'movie' myself that the endless possibilities of implementing this in the tertiary education reading and writing classroom became clear...and now, I cannot believe that we have never used it before.
Several key issues need to be addressed in the creation process (and yes, I know that you most probably know them). They are:
- A point of view
- A dramatic question
- Emotional content
- Economy
- Pacing
- The gift of voice
- An accompanying soundtrack
For an academic reading class, whether the focus is on developing reading skills or a mainstream university level literature class, the reading of stories are always a central part of the program. Students regularly have to submit reports about the stories (novels/short stories, etc.) they read, addressing specific issues (I know we all went through it), but digital storytelling speaks more effectively to the 21st century learner. To be a good storyteller is to develop the skill of story telling, which means that issues related to logos, ethos and pathos (typically associated with argumentative or persuasive writing), need to be addressed.
Although digital storytelling is typically seen as the (re-)telling of personal accounts, it is an effective way to allow learners to voice experience (whether their own or another character/person's) through first and third person, to gain a deeper understanding of character development, how stories unfold and how text organization plays out in both theory and practice. Digital storytelling can be used for fiction and non-fiction, poetry (where the use of still images can assist comprehension), and other collaborative exercises within a specific class, city, country and even across continents.
A specific outcome of a reading and writing class is that students become critical thinkers that can effectively and accurately convey their ideas (discover their voice). The use of digital storytelling projects (no matter how small or complex the tasks are) allow learners to be critical and reflective thinkers and it creates an opportunity for students to discover their voice. This is definitely something that can be implemented for all grade levels, and beyond.
I hope that you all have a great week!
I could not agree more that this week is very hectic, and to think it's only Tuesday! This project was one that I struggled with a lot. I honestly cannot remember the last time I had to write a story and even though I was writing about something that should have been very easy...it was most definitely not! I struggled so much to come up with an idea that met all of the criteria. I agree with all of the statements in your blog. Until this assignment, I never realized how little we use storytelling within the classroom. It's such a good activity because it teaches the children so many different skills. Even though I really struggled with this assignment, I did enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteLeandi's post really made me realize how I use the art of storytelling a lot with my class and their assignments. I looked through what we have done and how almost everything we have done we could have took to a higher level and really made the assignment a digital story. Voice is my favorite writing trait to work with and I have to remind myself to cover other traits and keep the writing balanced. I have been going over my lesson plans and taking note for the second semester what I can do above and beyond the assignment to creat higher level thinking. The great thing about my class is they are used to sharing everything with the class and they would love to do more technology minded activities. After all they loved Wordle and still do things all the time and show me. There are some Wordle projects around the school and they love to point them out and discuss them. I have found out story telling for me was not easy, but for my class it is their second nature.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a very busy week!!! After reading your blog it made me think about story telling in the classrooms I work in. There isn't that much going on. Sometimes we don't realize how there isn't a lot of story telling in the classroom. It is something I would like to add to my classroom when I get one.
ReplyDeleteDigital storytelling is one piece that I think you can take away from the class and apply it well to your interest level of teaching. We should be giving students opportunities at all grade levels to tell stories and at times, digital stories. Thanks for the review and connections to thoughts that you have on the topic.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Digital storytelling can be used for a variety of things, at practically every level. I also agree with you in that it allows students to become more reflective. For my lesson plan, I had first graders "researching" a certain group of animals. From here, they get to use the information they recorded to re-tell and share what they learned by using a digital story. In my class, I know it would be hard to find time to do this, but I was thinking maybe we could do it every Friday. It would be something different and fun for the kids since they usually don't get to share information or stories.
ReplyDeleteGreat reflection on digital storytelling!