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Digital Storytelling Breathes New Life Into Lessons

EducationWorld is committed to bringing educators the practical tools they need to make good decisions, engage in effective leadership and implement strategies that work. To further this commitment, we have formed a content partnership with Stenhouse Publishers. EducationWorld is pleased to feature a variety of book excerpts as part of this collaboration. Check back frequently as we feature additional excerpts from Stenhouse titles.

The following excerpt comes from chapter 3 of Can We Skip Lunch and Keep Writing?, by Julie D. Ramsay (Stenhouse Publishers, 2011). The book retails for $20 and is available on the Stenhouse Web site.

This excerpt demonstrates how incorporating digital resources can enhance the narrative writing process. Be sure to check out two more excerpts from this book: Got Wikis? Grab Great Project Ideas and Tech-Enhanced Writing: Strategies and Safety Tips.

When I initially explored digital storytelling, I thought it would improve our narrative writing lessons and reinforce the required pacing guides, curriculum plans, and standardized test preparation. However, what I discovered was that digital storytelling provided many more opportunities for students to write and create outside of the limited label of narrative writing. My fifth-grade authors now write across expository, narrative, and descriptive writing modes or genres throughout digital storytelling projects.

My students have used prewriting sheets in the Writing Lab class for several years, so they feel comfortable with the tool and use it throughout the writing process. I have found that this prewriting tool will usually work for any genre of writing. Adding the highlighting direction at the end helps students visualize whether they have focused on their message or just on the “about” aspect of their digital story.

  1. Topic:
  2. Message: What is the lesson that you want people to learn that applies to life today?
  3. Introduction:
  4. Focus:
  5. Conclusion:
  6. Highlight the statements or points that you will include that lead to your audience learning your message.
A Word About Copyrights

Today, students regularly create and publish work for the global community. The issue of fair use and copyright licensing is a very real concern, and students need to know what is appropriate. (For more information, see ISTE’s National Educational Technology Standards [NETS] for Students, in particular Standard 5 relating to digital citizenship).

I’ve found that often students don’t fully understand the importance of asking permission to use others’ work, including photos and music easily accessible on the Internet. Once we have a discussion about what it means to “borrow” the work of others, we look at ways for them to locate materials that they can freely use to enhance their writing.

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that seeks to increase collaboration through a variety of different licensing conditions, such as attribution, no derivative works, noncommercial, and share alike.

In my class, we look at the differences among the categories (the types of permissions or rights for publication), and I model a search process. Many photo Web sites, such as Flickr, have photos categorized by types of Creative Commons licensing agreements, making a search much easier for students.

One thing that I stress is that although they may have obtained permission to incorporate another person’s photos, artwork, or music, they still must cite the creator/author of the work used.

In that first year when my small group of webinar students were embarking on their digital storytelling project, we created a prewriting plan through trial and error. They had determined their topic (the American Revolution) and the message that they wanted to communicate (“Freedom isn’t free”). They brainstormed ways to share the message about “the price of freedom” while also teaching their peers about the American Revolution.

Then two students came up with the idea of telling the story through letters written between characters. Two other students agreed and suggested that the letters be written by imaginary cousins who lived in key places during the American Revolution, such as Philadelphia and Boston. The students then created a timeline of important events and dates to ensure that they incorporated accurate details from the period. They divided into pairs, each assuming a name of one of the two imaginary cousins, and decided what should be included in their letters to teach and enlighten. Then each pair took turns verbally composing a letter and sharing it with others before they wrote.

We spent time conferencing each day before school so I could check their writing and focus. Now that they had a stronger understanding of the historical period, a time line of events, and an objective, they gradually needed less and less input from me. They edited each other’s work for historical accuracy, organization, grammar, and mechanics, using a method similar to the one they had learned while writing their electronic pen pal letters.

Going Digital
Because digital storytelling was new for me and I didn’t have the money to buy software, I found a free tool from Microsoft called Photo Story. Since then, I’ve discovered that there are many options for creating digital stories, including free open-source software, such as Gimp, and a wide range of tools for integrating music, transition, and effects. For more information on creating digital stories, see Dr. Helen C. Barrett’s (2009) handouts and tutorials.

Another helpful site is “The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling” from the University of Houston (2010). I chose Photo Story because it was easy to use on our Windows-based laptop. Many teachers have told me that they use Apple’s iMovie, but we are currently an all-PC district.

Photo Story creates video using still pictures. After downloading the free software, you can set up a slideshow/video of your digital pictures, adding narration and music. Photo Story has some nice features, such as pan and zoom effects, picture rotation, photo editing, and cropping tools. It also has a built-in feature to allow you to create your own music. Photo Story also lets you share the final project in various ways

About Stenhouse Publishers

Stenhouse publishes professional development books and videos by teachers and for teachers. Their titles cover a range of content areas -- from literacy and mathematics to science, social studies, the arts, and environmental education -- as well as a variety of topics, including classroom management, assessment, and differentiation.

: through playback on your computer, in an e-mail message, or through playback on a pocket PC or smart phone with Windows Media Player.

While watching some streaming educational videos, I had drawn the students’ attention to the filmmaker’s use of music to enhance the feeling of the films. They were surprised to discover that music can help tell a story. That gave them a frame of reference when it came time to add music to their own digital stories.

After they uploaded photos and images to Photo Story and placed them in the correct order to enhance their writing, they used a small microphone to record their voices into Photo Story to narrate the story. The students saved everything into a project file within Photo Story. The last step was to convert the project file into a movie file. With Photo Story, all you have to do is click a button, and voila!

When these webinar students shared their digital stories with their classmates, their peers were very focused and engaged. The webinar students led a discussion about the price of freedom, based on their subject of the American Revolution, and applied the topic to current events, such as the U.S. military operations in the Middle East. When the presenters suggested that their classmates create their own digital stories focusing on a patriot from the American Revolution whose choices impacted us today, the enthusiasm and excitement were palpable.
 

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