These two sites are great resources for digital storytelling and other technology tools that teachers integrate in their classrooms. Take a peek, then add some more to the list!
(n.d.) Digital story telling: Using Photo Story 3. 21 Things for 21st Century Educators by CCRESA, IISD, MISD, SRESD. Retrieved from http://21things.weebly.com/9---digital-story-telling.html
This digital storytelling web page is one part of a very helpful, informative website that addresses several 21st-Century skills and technology. Links (including one to a copyright quiz) and charts accompany steps for completing a DST. This would be a good site to bookmark and share with students.
Center for Digital Storytelling.(n.d.)Retrieved from http://www.storycenter.org/memvoice/pages/tutorial_1a.html
If you haven't explored this site, it will be well worth your time. The tutorial pages describe the literary and technical concepts behind storytelling (i.e., point of view, emotional content, soundtrack) and guide the reader through the process of creating a story. The descriptions and definitions provide a teacher with precise ways to dialogue with students about DST. The pages also include descriptions of various types of stories, enabling teachers and students to envision what their end product can be like. Several links provide additional information and examples. The simple layout, explanations, and links provide a great reference source for novices and veterans.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
DST reflections
Challenges
The challenges inherent to a DST project involve time and organization. I dealt with the following challenges while developing my project:
• keeping up with all of the various course readings, blog entries, and assignments while investing the time to create a DST project
• working with my older camera that will not download onto my newer computer
• borrowing a flip camera that took still shots instead of video; having to retake shots
• borrowing a third camera on two separate occasions
• when there was too much background noise on the raw video footage, figuring out how to mute the audio on the video and then add new narration
• ending with 3:50 and having to add more to make the 4:00 minimum
• stressing to make sure I correctly understood all of the directions
• wanting to continue to edit after I 'published'
• making changes to initial storyboard so that it matched the final video
Lessons learned about MovieMaker
Regardless of how user-friendly MovieMaker may be, students would still need a lot of time to use this exciting tool to produce a video. As has been recommended numerous times, I would start small with a project involving DST. One idea for an initial project would be for the class to produce one video and have individual students work on one or two slides. Students could work on a group storyboard if they used a wiki or googledoc. Once students were familiar with the process and MovieMaker, then they could advance to individual or small group projects. The value of DST should not be overridden by time-constraints.
Lessons learned about myself as a learner
I am feeling compassion for my students who often feel overwhelmed by the size (i.e., all of the items that have to be submitted) and detail of a project (i.e., how to format report pages, or all of the items on the storyboard). (. . . Somehow,it seems, storyboards reach a point when they stop being helpful to the student and become more about the instructor. I would want my students to start with a storyboard, but then follow the 80/20 rule, especially since everyone seems to vary from the storyboard once production actually starts. What is the point in going back to make sure the storyboard matches the finished video? . . . ) I am renewing my conviction to help students learn how to break down large projects into small steps. I feel energized by the content of the project but deflated by the detailed requirements. I enjoy checking off items from my to-do list. Even though our group agreed to abide by the 80/20 editing rule, I keep spending too much time on this project because we have to post on YouTube. If my name is on something, then I want to do a good job.
The challenges inherent to a DST project involve time and organization. I dealt with the following challenges while developing my project:
• keeping up with all of the various course readings, blog entries, and assignments while investing the time to create a DST project
• working with my older camera that will not download onto my newer computer
• borrowing a flip camera that took still shots instead of video; having to retake shots
• borrowing a third camera on two separate occasions
• when there was too much background noise on the raw video footage, figuring out how to mute the audio on the video and then add new narration
• ending with 3:50 and having to add more to make the 4:00 minimum
• stressing to make sure I correctly understood all of the directions
• wanting to continue to edit after I 'published'
• making changes to initial storyboard so that it matched the final video
Lessons learned about MovieMaker
Regardless of how user-friendly MovieMaker may be, students would still need a lot of time to use this exciting tool to produce a video. As has been recommended numerous times, I would start small with a project involving DST. One idea for an initial project would be for the class to produce one video and have individual students work on one or two slides. Students could work on a group storyboard if they used a wiki or googledoc. Once students were familiar with the process and MovieMaker, then they could advance to individual or small group projects. The value of DST should not be overridden by time-constraints.
Lessons learned about myself as a learner
I am feeling compassion for my students who often feel overwhelmed by the size (i.e., all of the items that have to be submitted) and detail of a project (i.e., how to format report pages, or all of the items on the storyboard). (. . . Somehow,it seems, storyboards reach a point when they stop being helpful to the student and become more about the instructor. I would want my students to start with a storyboard, but then follow the 80/20 rule, especially since everyone seems to vary from the storyboard once production actually starts. What is the point in going back to make sure the storyboard matches the finished video? . . . ) I am renewing my conviction to help students learn how to break down large projects into small steps. I feel energized by the content of the project but deflated by the detailed requirements. I enjoy checking off items from my to-do list. Even though our group agreed to abide by the 80/20 editing rule, I keep spending too much time on this project because we have to post on YouTube. If my name is on something, then I want to do a good job.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Digital Storytelling Workshop Introduction
The goal of TechnoLang's Digital Storytelling Workshop is to motivate secondary education teachers to take advantage of the benefits digital storytelling offers their instruction. To achieve this, TechnoLang will demonstrate effective teaching strategies used to promote student learning through a PowerPoint presentation including examples of instructional digital stories, sample rubrics, and informative literature. Through this workshop, TechnoLang will provide teachers with sufficient information on how to use Movie Maker and other digital storytelling software so they can implement it in the classroom.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Re-Submission: VoiceThread
VoiceThread is described as a multimedia tool in which subscribers may express thoughts, ideas and instruct on various topics. VoiceThread, can used as a multi-faceted blog tool for students. Richardson, W.(2006) asserts: “…learning specialists Fernette and Brock Eide’s research shows that blogging in its truest form has a great deal of potential positive impact on students” (pg.20).
TechnoLang has created a VoiceThread workshop for ELL and Special Needs Educators. Zena MaNais facilitates the workshop in a PowerPoint presentation that demonstrates how to use VoiceThread as a multimedia, collaboration tool. Included in the presentation are sample VoiceThreads created by fellow contributors: Jane Edwards, Cliff Kicklighter, Bethany Stiefel, and Matt "The Coach" White.
Please see the following link for the PowerPoint:
http://martybray.net/zmanais1/7464_VTworkshop_zsm.ppt
To view the invitation flyer (created by a Word flyer template) go to link or copy paste:
http://martybray.net/zmanais1/7464_VoiceThreadflyer_zsm.pdf
To view the survey (created by Googledocs) go to link or copy paste:
http://martybray.net/zmanais1/7464_VTsurvey_zsm.htm
Digitally Speaking (2009) VoiceThread. Retrieved October 2, 2009, from PBWorks Website: http://digitallyspeaking.pbworks.com/Voicethread#TeachingStudentstoCreateandModerateThreads
Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press
VoiceThread. (2007) VoiceThread. Retrieved October 2, 2009. Website: http://www.voicethread.com
TechnoLang has created a VoiceThread workshop for ELL and Special Needs Educators. Zena MaNais facilitates the workshop in a PowerPoint presentation that demonstrates how to use VoiceThread as a multimedia, collaboration tool. Included in the presentation are sample VoiceThreads created by fellow contributors: Jane Edwards, Cliff Kicklighter, Bethany Stiefel, and Matt "The Coach" White.
Please see the following link for the PowerPoint:
http://martybray.net/zmanais1/7464_VTworkshop_zsm.ppt
To view the invitation flyer (created by a Word flyer template) go to link or copy paste:
http://martybray.net/zmanais1/7464_VoiceThreadflyer_zsm.pdf
To view the survey (created by Googledocs) go to link or copy paste:
http://martybray.net/zmanais1/7464_VTsurvey_zsm.htm
Digitally Speaking (2009) VoiceThread. Retrieved October 2, 2009, from PBWorks Website: http://digitallyspeaking.pbworks.com/Voicethread#TeachingStudentstoCreateandModerateThreads
Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press
VoiceThread. (2007) VoiceThread. Retrieved October 2, 2009. Website: http://www.voicethread.com
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Digital Storytelling article
Tom Banaszewski's frank account of the challenges and rewards of Digital Storytelling reflects a passionate teacher who successfully helps students to find their voices, confidence, sense of community, and technology skills. He recounts how DST elicits student emotion, commitment, and ownership. With some teacher prompting and organization, students add substance and shape to their initial ideas. He recommends that students begin with one anchor picture (for a place project) and develop a catchy introduction and conclusion to prevent the DSTs from becoming simple slide shows. Because students are interested, they help each other peer edit and develop trust as they take risks when they share their viewpoints and creations. Banaszewski strongly recommends that teachers create a model DST: one, they learn about the technological aspects of the project and develop solutions to glitches; two, they take the first risk-taking steps for students to follow. Although he warns that the sound is the hardest part, he counters that student voice is the most important component and says that the extra effort is worth the investment. He includes tips about recording voice with the video camera (cap on) and then importing and extracting the sound (on iMovie). He emphasizes that the technology is secondary to students' learning storytelling.
Banaszewski's observations and recommendations echo my brief experiences with DST. Making a video with two other focused, responsible teachers took hours longer than we had anticipated. However, as we worked, we became friends, developed trust and respect for each other's ideas, and had fun producing a video that can be used repeatedly by a lot of teachers as a model DST book report. The effort to use DST is worth it, but the wise teacher will solicit help, organize, and gather a lot of useful tips before starting.
Banaszewski, T. (2002, Jan/Feb). Digital storytelling finds its place in the classroom. Multimedia Schools.
Banaszewski's observations and recommendations echo my brief experiences with DST. Making a video with two other focused, responsible teachers took hours longer than we had anticipated. However, as we worked, we became friends, developed trust and respect for each other's ideas, and had fun producing a video that can be used repeatedly by a lot of teachers as a model DST book report. The effort to use DST is worth it, but the wise teacher will solicit help, organize, and gather a lot of useful tips before starting.
Banaszewski, T. (2002, Jan/Feb). Digital storytelling finds its place in the classroom. Multimedia Schools.
Introduction to Jane's DST project
SAT Prep: Reading to Read
As students approach their junior and senior years in high school, they and their parents often start to develop concern over their potential SAT or ACT scores. For years, parents and students have asked me, "Do you do SAT prep in English class?" and for years I have wanted to say, "Of course. Every day. Do you?" What I mean by my reply is this: "Have you been reading and thereby gaining reading experience and skills for the past several years?" If students have downloaded SparkNotes and watched movies to fulfill high school reading requirements, they very likely lack reading skills than they need to do well on the verbal and written sections of the SAT and/or ACT. More importantly, they probably lack the reading skills necessary to take on the independent reading required by most college classes. If a student has not been reading throughout his middle school and high school career, there's no magic formula, strategy, or tip that can make up for years of non-reading. As I tutor SAT students and ask them about their reading experiences, I find that students who have read a lot benefit to a higher degree from the strategies offered by the learning center. I see firsthand what parents pay for SAT specialized instruction and feel that a few trips to the public library could have saved them thousands of dollars. So, the purpose of my video is to promote reading to middle school and beginning high school students and their parents while these students still have time to gain reading experience that will enable them to succeed both on College Board tests and at college. And who knows, if any students accept my challenge to read more, some of them may find an interest that they can enjoy for the rest of their lives.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IVMxADIMd4
As students approach their junior and senior years in high school, they and their parents often start to develop concern over their potential SAT or ACT scores. For years, parents and students have asked me, "Do you do SAT prep in English class?" and for years I have wanted to say, "Of course. Every day. Do you?" What I mean by my reply is this: "Have you been reading and thereby gaining reading experience and skills for the past several years?" If students have downloaded SparkNotes and watched movies to fulfill high school reading requirements, they very likely lack reading skills than they need to do well on the verbal and written sections of the SAT and/or ACT. More importantly, they probably lack the reading skills necessary to take on the independent reading required by most college classes. If a student has not been reading throughout his middle school and high school career, there's no magic formula, strategy, or tip that can make up for years of non-reading. As I tutor SAT students and ask them about their reading experiences, I find that students who have read a lot benefit to a higher degree from the strategies offered by the learning center. I see firsthand what parents pay for SAT specialized instruction and feel that a few trips to the public library could have saved them thousands of dollars. So, the purpose of my video is to promote reading to middle school and beginning high school students and their parents while these students still have time to gain reading experience that will enable them to succeed both on College Board tests and at college. And who knows, if any students accept my challenge to read more, some of them may find an interest that they can enjoy for the rest of their lives.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IVMxADIMd4
Friday, October 2, 2009
How to Use Comic Life in the Classroom
How to Use Comic Life in the Classroom discussed the benfits of using comics to engage students in instruction. The author explains that there is a growing need in education to use every available tool to help students in their learning. Comics can benefit students of all ages and abilities. The article describes the different skills that can be improved by using comics in the classroom stating "comics can help students analyze, synthesize, and absorb content," (2007). According the How to Use Comic Life in the Classroom, the written components of a comic can help early readers connect words with pictures. Comics can also be used in ESOL classes, and for vocabulary introduction in any class to help students with language aquisition (2007). Comics can be used as "stepping-stone(s)" to help students with more complex work. It also provides students with an entertaining way to gain information that cannot be acheived in reading an essay. Comic Life helps provide students with the motivation they need to complete comprehesive projects.
Thacker, C. (2007). How to use comic life in the classroom. Retrieved from http://www.macinstruct.com/node/69
Thacker, C. (2007). How to use comic life in the classroom. Retrieved from http://www.macinstruct.com/node/69
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