Digital Storytelling: Capturing and Creating

Digital Storytelling 

David S. Jakes's Article 'Capturing Lives: An Introduction to Digital Storytelling is about using digital storytelling as a teaching tool to be utilised by educators in the classroom. It is not just limited to technology it also includes face-to-face work with students and encompasses important writing processes as well. Jakes writes

"Imagine a learning experience, supported and extended by the application of technology, that empowers students to create and contribute...this learning experience provides students with a compelling and competitive voice and enlarges the boundaries of their ability to communicate, potentially to a worldwide audience. That learning experience is digital storytelling" (Jakes, 2006) 

Student are able to tell a story in a way that uses multimedia elements of voice, imagery and music to create a visual story. Digital storytelling 'provides a high-quality learning experience' (Jakes, 2006) that represents the value-added approach whereby the inclusion of technology will extend the students learning experience whilst not taking away from face-to-face learning or writing skills.

Digital storytelling allows students to use skills such as writing, multimedia tools, creativity, critical thinking and organisation. Students are able to develop their visual and multimedia literacy skills, interpret digital media and the application of a personal message into a story, students will increase their depth and power of communicating with each other, reconnect with their creative side, recreate it, develop it, apply it and intensify it. Digital storytelling provides an authentic personal learning experience that enables students to learn: different computer applications, the importance of context and copyright as well as visuals and videos with areas of literacy and writing.

A digital story is about 2-3 minutes in length composed of about 20-25 images with a written length of one page (double spaced).  It can be broken down into a series of 6 steps. 

1. Writing: Student will need to write, rewrite and continue to go back and edit throughout the entire stage of the story. Mostly the writing would take a personal stage in narrative form about a particular event or story chosen by the student however it is open to curriculum and lesson plans/themes.

2. Script: After the narrative is complete students begin to work on a script. A script is normally a distillation of the essential components of the narrative story and forms the foundation and the inclusion of the various multimedia elements being used. Producing the digital story from the script ensures that students are using the multimedia elements to convert and contribute meaning to the story.

3. The Story Board: This steps allow students to work out the flow of their movie. It is a place where students can link their script to a visual either frame or video. Student would also search here for the visuals they intend to use whether that be drawings, images and where those particular things will go within the script. This step is essential as it is an effective tool that helps students locate their elements and what they are looking for next.

4. Locating Multimedia: Students use a variety of websites such as Google or Mamma to locate still frame imager or video or students can scan images of photos they have taken themselves or drawn. (ensure labs have capable scanning equipment as this is essential)

5.Creating the digital story: This step involves the use of software currently available to you.  For Macintosh students might use iMovie on PC it might be MovieMarker2, Photostory 3 is also a good source and its free download. Here a teacher might organise for a librarian to give a class on how to use one of these applications or you might yourself if you are adequate in one of these applications. Once students feel comfortable creating their story then they can begin with the aid of a teacher.

6. Share: This step is vital as it allows students to share their hard work with the class and also gain insight into other students. Collaborating is a great skill to learn here. Student can also share their stories on a global level to and upload their products to DigitalStories.org DigitalStories.

David S. Jakes is a Instructional Technology Coordinator at Community High School in District 8 and is very passionate about using technology in the education of students inconjunction with face-to-face classroom learning.

This article gave me some great idea and information on how to get started in implementing digital storytelling within my classrooms. This article provides a wealth of information along with several sources to use when you begin digital storytelling. Jakes provides a list of 8 sources that are helpful for teachers and students to use when making digital stories along with map of the process. The only negative comment regarding this article is the lack of information on safety, what type of stories are allowed and not allowed by students, sharing their video on the internet if the story does have pictures of the students-why types of pictures, who is in those pictures, their age ect. Digital safety would not mentioned and Jakes could benefit from going into this a little.

In my carer I can use this for a number of things; Digital storytelling is not limited to just personal narratives it would be a narrative about a particular person for example for History call you could pick an Ancient Pharaoh to do a digital story on, or for society and culture you could pick a famous sociologist. The list is endless, digital storytelling can be used for just about any subject as well as its ability to work into the curriculum you are teaching. This will be a great tool for me to use with students at school especially as it applies to the first NETS-T standard of Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity.

Jakes, D. S. (2006, December 29). Capturing Stories, Capturing Lives: An Introduction to Digital Storytelling. Retrieved from  http://www.jakesonline.org/storytelling.htm 

NETS-T in the classroom, A technological age

NETS-T: CREATIVITY 

NETS-T are all about advancing digital age teaching. The set of standards provided allow teachers to ensure they are using technology in a correct, innovative and useful way that allows students to learn and be educated using various types of technology.  The first stand for NETS-T (1) is Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. Standard one is all about innovation and creativity in the classroom not only in a virtual environment but also in a face-to-face one. Teachers should be able to using their knowledge and pedagogy of teaching to implement this. Some of the aspects of this standard include getting students to use digital tools for problem solving, exploring world issues, collaboration between students, planning and thinking processes, creativity, and conceptual understanding and exploration.

I feel strongly about this standard as I believe it is important for teachers imploring technology in their classrooms to get creative and innovative with it. Students are far more likely to be engaged in using technology if it is in a way that allows them to express themselves creatively but also intellectually. Students who also struggle with sometimes expressing themselves verbally are able to show their expression through a creative channel otherwise not tapped into if the teacher does not engage the use of creative technology. 

One example is photography a craft I am passionate about along with being able to express myself in a creative way, students can keep a photography journal instead of trying to articulate their feelings, or even a photography blog. Students can explore world issues through the use of photographic evidence and even the recreation of such photos these issues could be famine, environmental damage or change, poverty, natural land masses, diversity of people in the world and so forth. Students are also able to use programmes such as photoshop to even create a fake photo without ever having to take one, they can create posters and even photos of outer space. Photography is just one way that teachers can utilise technology using standard one in their classrooms to get creative with students and teach them about problem solving, crafting works, current concepts and issues in the world in both a virtual and face to face manner.

Through research on the ITSE website I found a resource for 'Visual Literacy' which uses visual aids such as photography to teach students. The resource includes ideas for lesson plans using photography as a way to teach for all grades across the board and levels of difficulty, providing resources for further lessons using photography as well as templates for lesson plans. It covers all aspects of photography such as editing and framing looking at the history of photography and how its been used in the world.
The article can be found at this link for those wishing to explore this more or even to use it as a teaching aid for teaching students through the technology of photography in a creative way.

Visual Literacy
Visual Literacy Article

The second resource I found through ITSE that encompasses standard 1 and gives examples and resources for teachers and students to use photography as a means of creative expression was an excerpt from 'Digital Storytelling Guide for Educators' by Midge Frazel (2010). This excerpt goes into details about digital story telling using ideas such as scrapbloging (e-scrapbooking) where the students create a digital scrapbook online of photos or art works to express themselves or perhaps complete a research assignment. The excerpt also covers visual literacy, e-portfolios and even photo essays. Photographic essay encompass a series a photographic images that tell a narration with little to minimum text again providing ways that technology can be used in an innovative and creative way. The article also provides a list and photos of examples and resources for teachers interesting in using 
photography to implement and utilise standard 1 of the NETS-T standards. The link to this excerpt is listed below for those who wish to explore further the idea of using photography as a means of technological teaching.

Digital Storytelling
Digital Storytelling ITSE

ITSE has many resources dedicated to photography in the classroom and I emplore all educators to have a look and utilise these many resources available.

ITSE

Toys or Tools?

Liz Kolb (2006) states "As educators we often reject cell phones in the classroom, considering them destructive and distractive "toys"".  Her statement is not an incorrect one nor an uninformed or unexperienced one, as a former technology coordinator Kolb (2006) is all to aware of the need to utilise technology in the class room. Kolb (2006) is all too aware of the impact cell phones are currently having on the lives of students. She explains that students use cell to phones to connect & communicate with the world around them (2006) sometimes even collaborating with others through the use of a cell phone which is why she proposes in her article that cell phones be used as a tool instead of being over looked as a toy by many teachers.

Kolb (2006) explains that cell phones can be used in the classroom in a variety of ways that are both creative and innovating in a modern technological based world. Using them to make audioblogs where they can post interviews, share information, posts photos or movies and upload them to the internet where they can share in an online world with their fellow students. However it is not limited to just this, students can edit their photos, videos, interviews using programs or applications such as imovie or movie maker (2006). One of the great things that Kolb (2006) explains is that this idea of using a cell phone in the classroom is not just limited to one subject; social sciences, sciences and art are just some of the subjects where a cell phone can be utilised as a tool for the classroom.

Kolb (2006)  also provides a 'how to' for audi blogs speaking from experience on how to use this to get students connected she even included suggestions on how to combat problems of inequality arising due to cost and also safety and privacy issues.  Kolb (2006) further goes on to explain that whilst some may fear using the cell phone for a fear of lack of control there are ways in which a teacher can combat this such as using passwords and having full access to students postings.

Kolb's (2006) article "From Toy To Tool" provides some great advice and ideas on how to use the cell phone an item most consider a toy in the classroom as a tool for connecting with students and keeping them engaged in a world that is constantly using technology. Whilst the article does provide information on control, safety Kolb (2006) could perhaps invest in providing further links to sources that teachers could utilise when trying out cell phones in the classroom.

Kolb's article has given specific examples of how useful a cell phone whilst there are teachers out there who think using a cell phone in the classroom might be great many don't know how to use it in a friendly and safe way. After reading Kolb's (2006) article I can now confidently use a cell phone in a class room to actively and effectively engage kids and get them connected whilst also teaching them about privacy issues, correct sourcing of information and cyber etiquette

Kolb, L. (2006). From Toy To Tool. Learning & Reading Technology, 34(3), 16-20. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/store/publications/downloads/l-l