What
This article by Glen Bull and Sara Kajder discusses the use of digital storytelling (video) in the classroom. It mentions how advances in technology, especially digital cameras and video editing programs, have advanced to make digital storytelling feasible for teachers and students. The authors lay out the elements of digital storytelling and the various aspects of it, including point of view, dramatic question, emotional content, economy and pacing. The article then lays out seven simple steps to create a digital storytelling artifact. Both of the article's authors work at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia.
So What
Video technology has great classroom potential and this article not only explains why, but gives great tips on utilizing digital storytelling within the language arts classroom. It is interesting to read how creating a video can help students who are struggling with reading or writing, by using digital storytelling to form a connection. Creating a visual storyboard or recording narration can help students with literacy.
Now What
I don't plan on teaching language arts once I complete the credential program, but I still see how digital storytelling can be useful in a social studies classroom. The use of film clips and/or narration can help bring any subject alive for students who are visual or aural learners. No matter what subject I end up teaching, I would encourage students to incorporate video into their projects.
Source:
Bull, G., & Kajder, S. (2004). Digital storytelling in the language arts classroom. Learning & Leading With Technology, 32(4), 46-49. Retrieved from http://www.digitalstoryteller.org/docs/DigitalStorytelling.pdf
Hi Dylan,
ReplyDeleteI too read that article, however, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your thoughts and opinions about it! Like you, I was enlightened when I read that creating digital stories can effectively assist the comprehension of students who have difficulty reading or writing. I think that you brought up an interesting, yet valid point, when you stated that digital stories can help them to form connections, and storyboards and narrating can improve their literacy skills. I agree with the authors and yourself, that digital stories can assist students who have difficulty reading or writing, however, I hadn’t thought about the reasons that you listed. I suppose I felt that digital stories would be of benefit to that population of students, because it would allow them to freely express themselves and to better grasp the expressions of their peers’, without having to struggle through the task of reading or writing.