Digital stories are a way for people to share their stories through technology. A digital story is a story told using a variety of still and moving digital images with voice over narration and music playing throughout the story. It is a powerful way to tell a story. They are short, usually ranging from 3- 10 minutes and focus on one topic.
Digital stories can be used in the media center to show students important historical events, to help students gain a better understanding of what that time might have been like. Images and music have a powerful way of transporting people to another time and place, and digital stories are excellent when teaching students about various times in history. Digital stories can be used to introduce a unit, or help students gain a deeper understanding of a particular lesson being taught.
Another way they can be used is to allow students to tell their own stories to share with their classmates. They could share one specific event in their life, or share some of their background history. That would be a great way for students to dig into their own history and share their stories.
The media specialist can guide students to creating digital stories for any subject area; from showcasing various geometrical shapes in architecture and exploring various themes in pop culture, to showing how a particular disease affects various parts of the body. Any subject area can be used, and it would be a good idea for a media specialist to think of the myriad of ways that digital stories can be used, and use it as a way to collaborate with teachers in each subject level. Creating digital stories is an excellent way for a student to think critically, and express themselves verbally and artistically.
The media specialist would have to be sure to educate students about copyright issues, and guide them in the correct way to use photos and other information for their digital stories. Digital storytelling is a powerful tool for teachers, students, and the media specialist to use to tell a story, or convey a message, using technology.
Thanks, Sundi. Your post was very informative. I especially appreciate the suggested uses for digital storytelling - the breadth of your recommendations could be applied in many different areas. For example, the geomentry and architecture (or nature or...) could apply in art, elementary school (shapes), math, special education, and more. It started my wheels turning for applications though I am still a little at a loss on the contents of the Kit.
ReplyDeleteAs you point out, it will be our role not only to facilitate, but to educate on issues of copyright. Seems this is becoming my biggest challenge in my new role. For students and teachers, especially for images... complying with fair use and creative commons is just to cumbersome and limiting. The images they seeks are just keystrokes away with Google.
Sundi,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that digital stories are a powerful way to tell a story. Using digital stories to bring history alive is an excellent idea. Even though textbooks have many illustrations, the combination of music that sets the tone and the carefully collected pictures and short movie clips engages the unmotivated student.
Asking students to “dig” into their own history is also a great way to incorporate technology, decision making, speaking, and writing in a way that is creative and safe for those students who do not like to present in public.
I think, like you, that one important aspect of creating and teaching digital stories, is the topic of copyright infringement. With a little bit of effort, it is not difficult to create amazing digital stories that also respect other people’s property.
Digital stories sound like a lot of fun to do with students. I am always in awe of what students can do in terms of projects like these. You bring up some good ideas for incorporating digital stories in the curriculum. The sky is really the limit in terms of what can be done.
ReplyDeleteOne aspect of this type of project that is important is training. It would be vital to show students how to put a digital story together, as well as show them how to use the materials they find. My other concern is our limited access to technology at my school. Teachers would have to plan very carefully to ensure that students had enough time to use the laptop carts or computer labs to complete the project.
As for teacher-created projects, I think that they would certainly be a great tool for catching the students' attention. Starting a unit with a digital story could be a great way to get them hooked!
Great overview of digital storytelling. I also can see many uses for this in the classroom, especially in social studies with history topics. I can see using this to really show students what life was like during a specific time period. Also, students would love to use technology to show what they know. I can see digital storytelling as being very motivating to students. They will be far more excited to complete a digital storytelling project than a paper pencil assessment. You bring up a good point about copyright laws especially about images. It is much better to think about these types of issues before you begin a problem so you can have a solution ready. I like the idea of having a database of images that are not copyrighted for students to pick from. This could really help with maintaining copyright laws.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing some great ways to use digital stories in the classroom. I agree that digital stories can be a good way to introduce topics to students and help them understand them more fully. It seems like new topics just make more sense when they are presented with a combination of pictures and audio.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that students would benefit from making their own digital stories. They're a great way to show what students have learned in an interesting, engaging format that students would be proud to share with their peers. I would love to teach students how to make digital stories to use in class projects. You're right that this would be a good opportunity to teach them about copyright laws and how to fairly use the original work of others. Thanks for sharing!