1) In the article, Digital Storytelling: My Top 10 Lessons Learned, if you had to choose 3 of the most important lessons learned which 3 would you choose as the most useful lessons learned and why?
2) In reading 10.1, click on the link that says Center for Digital Storytelling in the second paragraph. If you go there and click stories, watch a few of the "stories". Did you find any that you really liked? What did this make you think about as for using digital storytelling in the classroom?
3) Why is it important to incorporate digital storytelling? What are some advantages/disadvantages?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Out of the ten lessons learned, I found numbers 10, 8 and 1 to be the most useful to me as a future educator. I liked 10 because I agree that it is always necessary to follow up a project or activity with another one to solidify the skill or topic the students just learned. It is not enough to teach something one time and let it go. A good teacher should always follow up with another activity for the students to participate into reinforce their knowledge and comprehension. I liked 8 because I agree that it is extremely important to have parents actively involved in the classroom. Not only is it helpful to the teacher but it is imperative for the students to have their parents/caregivers involved to further their education. Without parental involvement, children run the risk of dropping out and never reaching their highest potential. Number 1 was an interesting point because we are learning about how important it is to “engage” students before the lesson begins. If there is no “ABC” as Dr. White puts it, the students will not be excited to learn and I think that is the number one most important thing for children in order for them to learn.
ReplyDeleteI liked the digital story called “My Shoes.” I liked this story because it put the listener in the shoes of the author and brought them on a journey. Digital storytelling in the classroom could be a great project for the students to explore. The possibilities are endless and can be very fun.
It’s important to incorporate digital story telling in the classroom because it allows the students to express themselves in a way other than writing. Many children have trouble writing their thoughts down on paper and this allows them to complete an assignment in their own way. One disadvantage would be that it takes away from writing skills. If a classroom only had digital storytelling, the students’ writing skills would suffer after time.
1. If I had to choose 3 of the most important lessons learned I would pick Number 8 (Utilize as many parent volunteers and other adult help as possible, only be sure to train them in story circle (a form of group writer’s workshop), and be sure they fit in the safe culture of your classroom.), Number 2 (Showing samples is extremely valuable in setting the stage to understand the 7 elements of storytelling.), and Number 1 (thing that I learned this year teaching DST with students…The prompt is the most important.). I chose number 8 because I know it is very important to get all families involved inside the classroom. Both teachers and parents work as partners in supporting the school inside and outside of the classroom. I chose number two because I think it is valuable to display children's work throughout the classroom so children can see others work and make other connections for their own work. When students see their own work through other children's views they feel better about themselves at becoming successful. This idea is positive for children and helps them develop their own process and understanding.The third lesson I chose was number one because the digital stories are most successful when children can relate to their own experiences or something they are interested in. When children connect with something they show interest and understanding for, there is an impact from the child's emotions that are tied to their experiences. This use of personal experiences and things children can relate to lead to a powerful and meaningful digital story.
ReplyDelete2.I enjoyed watching “Dear Grandma”, and "My Shoes". I liked "Dear Grandma" because it was about a man who remembered his grandmother's funeral when he was 11 years old. His letter then leads into him exlporing his grandmothers past and how she was a great woman that changed the lives of many. This letter was very touching and i thought it was a great story because i too look up to my grandparents and consider them very close to me. "My Shoes" was also a great story because it lets the audience see from the author's point of view the daily struggles the author encounters.
3.It is important to incorporate digital storytelling into the classroom because it is a great tool for children to use animation, different programs, and digital movie to narrate a story of their own. This is another way children can write down their thoughts or make up a story using technology and being creative rather than writing down their story on a piece of lined paper.
Some of the advantages of digital storytelling include development of writing skills, recognizing children’s creativity; helps build self-esteem and become more active participants in the learning process. Some of the disadvantages of digital storytelling include focusing too much on the artistic and technology aspect with little involvement of writing or oral/speaking work.
If I had to choose which one would be most useful as a future educator I would choose number 8. I think that parent involvement in the classroom is crucial to the child’s success. This helps to have everyone on the same page, there are so many parents who like to help however there are many more who do not want anything to do with their child’s classroom. The parents you see in the classroom and helping are usually the parents of the well behaved “A” students, likewise the parents of the children who are in serious need and the behavior problems don’t have time or don’t like to come into the school. As a teacher you have to find ways to get communication and reach for your students’ parents for help.
ReplyDeleteThere were a few of the digital stories that I liked, I will have my future students do a digital story telling unit. I think that they will learn a lot about themselves and also integration of technology.
Digital storytelling is helpful for students because they can have creativity and it’s a new and creative way of expressing their ideas rather than writing and drawing.
Great comments guys and thanks for starting us off! It seems like so far everybody likes number 8 from the top ten lessons. How would you incorporate number 8 into your classroom?
ReplyDeleteIn the top ten lessons learned, the three I liked most were;
ReplyDelete• Number Nine, Collaboration with multiple team members in a secondary level. Working cross curricular makes the best of the time students and teachers have. Why not have technologies projects combine with language arts, social studies math and science? This will also help students understand the interrelatedness of curriculum.
• Number Eight, Utilize as many parent volunteers and other adult help that fit into the safe culture of the classroom. This is a perfect opportunity to teach students that they are an important part of the community and have parents and other members of the society come and interact with them. It is never too early to instill in students that they are an equal and important part of society as a whole. This not only reinforces the idea, but is a great way to get them active and exposed to the community.
• Number Two, showing examples is extremely valuable in setting the stage to understand the seven elements of story telling. I personally like seeing an example of what the key points of any project when learning. Knowing the concept or step is important, but to see a good example helps complete the picture. It also allows students to think what they might like to add or change to fit their style within the key principals.
• Honorary mention to number One. The prompt is the most important thing. Students defiantly need to be inspired / engaged. If they are enthusiastic will show in the entire project; and in they are not, it will show throughout the entire project.
I watched a digital story called, Hunger for Education by Iftin Muse Iftin. Iftin is originally from Somali in Africa and moved to the USA. He speaks of his family, the language barrier and prejudice. This story would be great to use in the classroom on so many levels; teaching students about personal identity, culture, community and integrity. This story is inspirational, and could inspire students to write about something that is real and important to them. Sharing personal stories shows a very human side to others that are perceived or even are different from the main stream, and helps discourage general misconceptions, prejudice and racism.
Digital story telling is a great way to open students up to technology and to find new ways of creatively expressing themselves. This can be a great confidence builder. It’s also a great way to teach students how to write a story from beginning to middle to end.
Some disadvantages may be getting to caught up in the creative end of the project and not focusing on language arts skills, social studies or what ever other circulars is part of the project.
The three most important lessons learned include:
ReplyDeleteNumber 7- Keeping a schedule chart up helps keeps students on track.
-Young children seem to always be disorganized and keeping a chart up for them to see that has the schedule of what is due and exactly when it is due is so helpful. Schedules keep the students on task and more importantly allow them to feel like they have an understanding of what is going on, with no surprises to them.
Number 5- Don’t compromise the writing-get it right before ever starting the media.
-The writing part of the digital storytelling is the most crucial and important part of the project. The writing itself is what is enhancing the students literacy, so it must be given a lot of thought and never rushed. The more time the students have the more elaborate and thought of their story will be.
Number 2- Showing samples is extremely valuable in setting the stage to understand the 7 elements of storytelling.
-Sharing samples with the students is very beneficial in my opinion because they then have something to work off of. Directions can only go so far with young students. Sometimes, well most of the time, students need to actually see what they need to do physically instead of just being told with words.
I watched the video, Pralines by Carol Burch Brown. This video was about a woman, Carol, who is now 50 years old but has recently just discovered many journals and books within her great grandfather's house that supports the KKK. Carol talks about the first boy that she "went steady" with and how a few years later he was the leader of the KKK. It seems like this video was a realization for Carol, and she made this video for a chance to express herself and her feelings of all the racism around her and within her family.
Using digital story telling would be so beneficial within a classroom. The students would be writing stories and then using technology to make them into a clip/video for their peers to view. Using the program allows the students to add flare to the story, something that they can't do with a pencil/pen.
I think digital storytelling is a great tool to incorporate within the classroom. DST focuses on the students creating a story and then implementing it with technology. The students will be begin to come familiar with the technology and applications/software that are used for DST. Also, using DST is something different and the students will find it exciting and will be more willing to create a story because they will then be able to use the technology to implement.
Advantages of digital story telling:
- encourages collaborative learning
- allows students to learn and present in their individual learning style
- motivating to students because it relates to their personal experiences or interests
- enhances writing by requiring students to consider a wider audience, not just their teacher
- allows students to share work with a large audience that can reach outside the classroom
- provides a non threatening way for students to read their writing aloud
- practical and meaningful way to learn new technology
- increases "digital literacy"
Disadvantages:
- technical issues
- sometimes hard to measure the students understanding
One of the most important lessons is Number 8: “Utilize as many parent volunteers and other adult help as possible, only be sure to train them in story circle (a form of group writer’s workshop), and be sure they fit in the safe culture of your classroom”. I think this lesson is important because families should always be involved in what is going on in the classroom. Not only could they help the children, but they would also be learning as well.
ReplyDeleteThe second lesson I thought was important was Number 9: “Collaboration with multiple team members in a secondary level would speed up the process and enhance the learning”. I think this lesson was important because if all the teachers worked together, more could be accomplished and the students could learn much more and from different perspectives.
The third lesson I thought was important was Number 1: “The prompt is the most important”. I think this is important because the student’s will have a clear idea of what they are creating and can expand the prompt to convey their own key ideas.
I think it’s really important to incorporate digital storytelling in the classroom. It’s a creative way for children to express themselves in new technological ways. It could have its disadvantages if it is used too much in the classroom and could take away from the more traditional writing and drawing stories on paper. Teachers could make sure they had a good balance between digital storytelling and storytelling on paper so that students benefit from both. Students could also benefit if the digital storytelling is integrated into many subjects.
1) In the article, Digital Storytelling: My Top 10 Lessons Learned, if you had to choose 3 of the most important lessons learned which 3 would you choose as the most useful lessons learned and why?
ReplyDeleteNumber 9- successfully working in groups is a major part of education. The sooner students learn to collaborate well, the better off they will be in the future.
Number 7- keeping a chart of the students' progress is a great idea as it breaks the project down into steps. It feels good when you can check off different parts you have finished. It makes you feel accomplished; like you are making progess.
Number 1- Prompts that are detailed, and give the children questions to think about are more beneficial than one line prompts. When the prompts ask questions, the ideas start flowing and the students have a better understanding of what they are going to write about.
2) I watched "M.S.K. Running," among other stories. The stories are beneficial for the author as they get to express themself in a creative way. Digital stories can also be great for the viewers as they become aware of a new idea or concept.
3) Digital story telling can be great in the classroom. Some advantages is that it gives children a fun and creative way to tell a story. Perhaps they want to tell a personal story. This is a great way for them to express their feelings about certain topics and get stories off their chest. Digital story telling allows people to view each other work, and it also enhances digital literacy. Some disadvantages can be technical difficulties, children focusing on the look of their story, rather than their words, and it doesn't allow students to practice writing.
In the article Digital Storytelling: My Top 10 Lessons Learned, 3 of the most important lessons learned, in my opinion are lessons 9, 7, and 1. Lesson 9 is important because students should learn how to work with other students and learn how to fairly divide up the work. It is important to keep track of students' progress (lesson 7) because it shows what they have already accomplished and what is left of the project. It also breaks the project down into different parts which makes it easier to complete them. I also feel that lesson 1 is important because you want the students to be engaged and really understand the assignment. Having a really good prompt will allow students to really think and pinpoint their ideas.
ReplyDeleteThere are several advantages to digital storytelling. They include the encouragement of collaborative learning, letting students present their ideas that reflects who they are. It also gives them confidence in their writing and they are expressing their ideas in a way that showcases their talents.
Disadvantages of digital storytelling include technical difficulties and it is hard to check for understanding.
Well, Jenn, I would incorporate number 8 into my classroom by scheduling activities in the classroom and inviting parents. In one Pre-K class I was an aide in, they used to have the families come in every Wednesday for breakfast. Then the kids could show their parents what they have been working on and the teacher could get to know them better. I liked the reliability of every Wednesday but I could also schedule activities once a month after school to get parents involved. I think if the environment is non-threatening and fun the parents will be more apt to come so I would do my best to invite them and make them feel comfortable.
ReplyDeleteThe most useful lessons learned I believe would be : Number 9 Collaboration with multiple team members in a secondary level , Number 8 Utilize as many parent volunteers and other adult help as possible, and Number 2 Showing samples.
ReplyDeleteI believe collaborating with multiple team members would be beneficial towards the students and the students. The classwork would be integrated into different subjects, and the curriculum would be easily covered by all the help of all the teachers.
Involving the parents and adults within the projects will also be useful for in the future when the students have to work at home.
And showing samples is always very helpful for the students to better understand the material.
The videos I watched on the Story Center website were: I think of you and Dear Grandma. This website would be helpful to use in a classroom because it can help to show your students how every person has a story to tell. These particular videos were especially touching stories. The first one was about a mother talking about her son who is a soldier in war, and the second is a man who reflects on his grandmother's funeral from when he was a little boy. Both of these videos would be easy to relate to for the students.
One of the only disadvantages of incorporating digital stories into your classroom is that there is so much avaliable on the internet, that it would end up taking a very long time. However, there are many advantages with digital storytelling. The students can become more familiar with someone else's point of view and not just the teachers. They can also hear and see primary sources of different events in history instead of just reading it from their textbooks over and over.
The three lessons I would choose would be number 5, which is getting the writing right before starting anything else, number 4, which is recording the voice over as many times as it takes to get it right, and number 1 which is getting the right prompt for the story. I feel that numbers 5 and 1 are very important because without a good story to begin with you can not make a good product. However, without a good prompt it will be hard to write a good story. Also, number 4 I feel is important because if the voice over is done poorly then it will also be very difficult to have a good finished production.
ReplyDeleteI watched a few videos on the stories site, and I really liked Tanya and My Story. I think that digitial story telling would be well used in a classroom to have students tell the class about their home life, or even what they did over summer vacation, or really any significant story they would like to tell.
Digital storytelling is important because it helps the students to express themselves artistically. Advantages of this is that they are developing language skills, art skills, technology skills, social skills, amongst others yet they are having fun and probably would not see this as "work." Disadvantages would be if students are not "creative" they may not feel as if their work is as good as some one elses, or if they story is not as "interesting" it may make them feel down.
The 3 lessons I thought would be most useful were:
ReplyDelete10-We know taht when a subject or idea is practiced and repeated over and over again the students understand it better.
5-The hardest, yet most crucial part about digital story telling is the writing part! The technology is a lot of fun, but it should be practiced after the writing part is completed.
2-Examples always help students get motivated about a project and they also help the students come up with great ideas.
Some advantages to using Digital Story Telling are that it is applicable to all grade levels, it develops good literacy skills, it allows for authentic learning experiences, and it utilizes technology applications and tools. The disadvantage of using it in the classroom is (of course) that some children may not have access to a computer or the internet.
The first lesson I like the most was number 10. We know that when a subject or idea is practiced and repeated over and over again the students understand it better.I like this because right now I'm doing my observation in special education and the students really need things to be repeated over and over in order to understand what they are learning.
ReplyDeleteThe second lesson I thought was important was Number 9 Collaboration with multiple team members in a secondary level would speed up the process and enhance the learning. I think this lesson was important because if all the teachers worked together, more could be accomplished and the students could learn much more and from different perspectives.
The third lesson I thought was interesting was Number 1 prompts that are detailed, and give the children questions to think about are more beneficial than one line prompts. When the prompts ask questions, the ideas start flowing and the students have a better understanding of what they are going to write about.
I think it’s really important to incorporate digital storytelling in the classroom. It is a fun way to get the students involved in what you want them to learn. It is a creative way for children to express what they think, and what they have learned in new technological ways. Some disadvantages could be using it too much in the classroom because it could take away from the more traditional teaching styles. Teachers should make sure they balance between digital storytelling and storytelling on paper so that students benefit from both. Students could also benefit if the digital storytelling is integrated into many subjects. This is also good for inclusive teaching because all kids learn differently and it is important to incorperate all the different learning styles that fit in your classroom.
I really liked lessons 10, 8, and 1.
ReplyDelete10- I really liked this lesson because I think it is so important and necessary to go over something that is learned and follow up with it. When things are repeated, students learn them better and retain the information better.
8- I liked 8 because I think it is so important for parents and caregivers to be active participants in the classroom. My mom is a single mom and when I was in school, worked a full time job. It was hard for her to be at my school functions all the time, but she made it work. I think that this really had a positive impact on me because it helps the teacher and builds a strong connection between the parents and the teacher.
1- Number 1 was also very important because if the students aren't engaged, they won't learn. The students really need to understand the assignment, and having a good prompt will enforce that.
I watched and enjoyed the digital story "My Shoes". It was interesting because the listener became involved in the actual story. This could be a great project for students in a classroom and can really expand their knowledge and can stretch the limits.
Digital storytelling in the classroom is so important because it's a fun way to get students to become more creative. Students begin to think outside the box. Students can express themselves in many ways, other than more traditional ways. The only downside I see to digital storytelling is that students wouldn't be writing as much, and some skills may be lost.
Lesson 1- Prompting
ReplyDeletePrompting helps the students to go deeper into their thoughts than on their own. By asking more specific questions it brings out more organized and thoughtful answers including emotion. Students will be able to start to answering questions more in-depth without being coached.
Lesson 2- Showing example
Examples allow students to see what is expected from them. They have something to model theirs off of. It also helps the students to think critically, they can see what could be done better or to change in their assignment.
Lesson 8- Utilize parent volunteers
Parents are a key to a child success, having a parent involved shows the student that their education is important. Parents can help facilitate a discussion or just be there to monitor what is being said. This allows a way for parents to get involved in what their child is learning in school and could promote more discussions about school related topics.
Digital storytelling is important to incorporate into the classroom. It is a good way for students to be creative and get involved in what they are learning. It helps students with literacy and could be used for any grade level. The disadvantage of digital storytelling is the issue of students having limited access to computers. Also having the rest of the class being able to see your work may be an esteem issue for few.
In the article, Digital Storytelling, I found 10, 7, and 7 to be the most important lessons learned. In lesson 10, it discusses how important it is to do another project soon after the first one to solidify the skills. I found this to be very useful because the more one practices something, the better they get at it. Technology may not come as second nature to some and the more they explore and practice, the more willing they may be to continue onto learning more. I also thought that number 7 was important because it discusses that keeping a schedule helps students to keep on track. This can be used as a check list so that students know what they have left to do. I find that even in my own home, it is easier for children to have a list of things to do and be able to visualize what it is they need to do. I also thought that number 8 was important. This lesson discuses the importance of parental or other adult help when doing a project that is involved. When there is only one teacher, it is hard for them to answer all the questions that students may have. This way, the more help, the easier it will be for the students to stay on track and have the help they need accessible.
ReplyDeleteThe digital stories that I watched were ‘Sofas’ and ‘Dear Jody’. I thought these stories to be very heartfelt and compelling. In ‘sofas’, a man talks about what it was like to be homeless and what sofas did for him. ‘Dear Jody’ was also very good. A young girl shares her story about being separated from her brother in foster care and the obstacles that she and he both had to overcome during their childhood to stay connected with one another and to do well in school.
I find this an interesting way for students to show their creativity as well as their own expression by using story creating. A disadvantage may be that some students find technology very difficult and it may be time consuming in the classroom.
The three out of 10 most important lessons learned are: Number 8: Utilize as many parent volunteers and other adult help as possible, only be sure to train them in story circle (a form of group writer's workshop), and be sure they fit in the safe culture of your classroom. This is important because it will help the story from getting out of control, also it will help the teacher because the teacher can focus on the part that is happening instead of are the kids misbehaving, what will go wrong?
ReplyDeleteAnother important one is number 1: the prompt is the most important. make sure that all the story is ready to go, and not just winging it that morning.
Another important one is number 7: keeping a schedule chart up helps kepps students on track. It is very important to keep students on track or else they will disrupt other students.
Digital stories are important in the classroom because it helps show the students creativity. One advantage, is that is helps the students learn more about technology. One disadvantage would be that not every student will have the same technology also the students might get frustrated with not understanding how to do the digital story.
One lesson learned that I felt was most important was lesson 10: Do another project soon after this first one, to solidify the skills. Repetition is important with any kind of learning especially when working with new technology. If you are going to teach digital storytelling, the teacher and students will benefit if the teacher does more than one project to ensure she understands it completely before teaching the class.
ReplyDeleteAnother lesson learned that I felt was most important was lesson 9: Collaboration with multiple team members in a secondary level would speed up the process and enhance the learning. Students will learn the material best and will be more excited about the material if it relates to more than one of their subjects.
The last lesson learned I felt was most important was lesson 2: Showing samples is extremely valuable in setting the stage to understand the 7 elements of storytelling. I believe it is extremely important for students to see samples of digital story telling. As stated in the article “it is the key to success”.
I watched the story “My Shoes.” I thought it was such a powerful story. When I first clicked on the story I had no idea what it was going to be on and I didn’t realize it would be that interesting. I also watched Dear Jody. These stories are so touching. The last story I watched was “Rituals.” I was really interested in that story and again thought it was very touching. I think digital story telling is a great way to get people to express themselves and get out stories that have been bothering them inside. I think it is a great thing to do in school but I feel some might not want to share their story with others because it might be personal. Also, parents might not want their family business out for the world to see. I love this website and I like watching the stories but I honestly am torn about whether I would have my children do this in the classroom.
Out of the ten lessons learned, I think that these were the most important:
ReplyDeleteNumber 9: Collaboration with multiple team members in a secondary level would speed up the process and enhance the learning. It is necessary for teachers to work together to ensure their students are receiving a broad spectrum of information while, at the same time, working together to teach different aspects of the same topic so the students get the full spectrum of a unit.
Number 7: Keeping a schedule chart up helps keeps students on track. This is not only useful for the students but also the teacher. The teacher knows when she is supposed to be covering a certain topic and when it is time to move one. This is good for the students to have so they are not surprised with what is coming up next.
Number 2: Showing samples is extremely valuable in setting the stage to understand the 7 elements of storytelling. Explaining things does not always make it clear to the students what is expected of them. Having representations of what is expected gives them a visual of what the teacher is looking for exactly.
I vied a story called Pralines and I thought it was very interesting because the woman telling the story goes into her family background. She tells the story of how she went through her grandfather’s abandoned farmhouse and found documents on the KKK and how her family was tied into the clan. There was interesting background music that went along with the story and made it complete. After watching this story, I think it could be a valuable resource to use in my classroom because it allows people to hear first hand stories they wouldn’t see or hear in a regular setting or their daily lives. Digital storytelling allows us to see the world and its happenings from other people’s first person point of view. Incorporating them into the classroom could be good because they give another perspective but they could also be bad because either they are inappropriate for children or they are based on false information. As always, as teachers we need to view the content of a web page we are planning on showing our class to make sure there is not any inappropriate information or content.
1) In the article, Digital Storytelling: My Top 10 Lessons Learned, if you had to choose 3 of the most important lessons learned which 3 would you choose as the most useful lessons learned and why?
ReplyDeleteI found that lesson 10 was very important, do another project soon after the first one, and this will help to solidify the skills. Another lesson I liked and found important was lesson number 7, keeping a schedule chart up helps keeps students on track. Children need a routine to follow and their attention must be captured, otherwise it is hard for them and other students around them to concentrate. Finally, I thought that lesson number 2 is important. Being able to show examples to students helps them to understand what is expected of them, they also help serve as a guide for them to follow.
2) In reading 10.1, click on the link that says Center for Digital Storytelling in the second paragraph. If you go there and click stories, watch a few of the "stories". Did you find any that you really liked? What did this make you think about as for using digital storytelling in the classroom?
One of the stories I watched was 'Dear Jody'. I really liked this one because in my class I am observing there are a few students that are in foster care. I feel that digital storytelling is a new and great way to help students relate to others. It is also a great way to help students be able to express their feelings.
3) Why is it important to incorporate digital storytelling? What are some advantages/disadvantages?
Digital storytelling can be an advantage in the classroom because it allows students to open up about their lives and maybe some problems they are having, or even just give them a way to express themselves if somethings on their mind. However, digital storytelling could also have disadvantages because some children may not want people to know about what's going on in their lives, they may not want to share.