Saturday, March 20, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Digital Storytelling - reaction
OK, I admit it. I got hung up at "teachertube.com" in the first article. I was compelled to check it out, and I ended up spending about two hours just watching videos and searching for things that would enhance my classes this week!
Then I got caught up on HotChalk.com, to which I now have a membership. I browsed around that site for a while, too. But ended up bookmarking it so that I can return to it when I have a little more time.
I actually did read on — eventually. But the mere fact that I got so caught up in the storytelling that I found on teachertube.com kind of proves the point of the lesson this week. People are more likely to learn new things when the storytelling approach is used.
I don't know anybody who isn't drawn in by a good story. I know I am. From a good book, to a TV show, to the children's story at church, everybody's ears perk up when they hear a story being told.
The technique is not new. Go back to the Bible and you'll see that the majority of the lessons it teaches are through stories of real people, doing real things. We can relate to that, so it grabs our interest. The Bible uses fiction, too. Jesus told stories in parable form in order to teach a spiritual lesson.
So, it's only logical that we, as 'savvy' educators, should use present-day technology to teach old truths, as well as newly discovered information. Thus, this class finds purpose in guiding us to find the best ways to impart that knowledge to our students.
How digital storytelling might benefit current/future students states that digital storytelling appears to more learning styles. There is a correlation in the fact that auditory, kinesthetic and visual learners all tend to learn better when given the opportunity to take part in digital storytelling.
Cheryl Diermyer, is a learning technology consultant with DoIT Academic Technology. “Digital storytelling forces you to decide what to say in the space of a brief video; there is an intensity there,” she says. “Someone suggested that it’s like poetry — that every part of it must support the theme.”
The following chart is her representation of how that story can be mapped out.
There are many different definitions of “Digital Storytelling,” but in general, they all revolve around the idea of combining the art of telling stories with a variety of digital multimedia, such as images, audio, and video.
There are many different types of digital stories, but it is possible to categorize the major types into the following three major groups:
1. Personal narratives - that contain accounts of significant incidents in one’s life;
2. Historical documentaries –that examine dramatic events that help us understand the past;
3. Stories designed to inform or instruct the viewer on a particular concept or practice.
Of the samples I found on our assignment list, I was somewhat disappointed to find so many stories that tended to be dark or sad. At www.storycenter.org I listened to one story after another that reminisced in a sad, melancholy fashion that left me feeling a little 'down' myself.
I would prefer to think that my students would benefit the most from this type of learning experience if they were to choose a light-hearted, even fun, subject that they could get excited about. There are way too many sad stories in this world for my liking.
In fact, I think I may just draw my students into this week's assignment to see if they could be part of my "digital storytelling." We'll see what comes of that!
Then I got caught up on HotChalk.com, to which I now have a membership. I browsed around that site for a while, too. But ended up bookmarking it so that I can return to it when I have a little more time.
I actually did read on — eventually. But the mere fact that I got so caught up in the storytelling that I found on teachertube.com kind of proves the point of the lesson this week. People are more likely to learn new things when the storytelling approach is used.
I don't know anybody who isn't drawn in by a good story. I know I am. From a good book, to a TV show, to the children's story at church, everybody's ears perk up when they hear a story being told.
The technique is not new. Go back to the Bible and you'll see that the majority of the lessons it teaches are through stories of real people, doing real things. We can relate to that, so it grabs our interest. The Bible uses fiction, too. Jesus told stories in parable form in order to teach a spiritual lesson.
So, it's only logical that we, as 'savvy' educators, should use present-day technology to teach old truths, as well as newly discovered information. Thus, this class finds purpose in guiding us to find the best ways to impart that knowledge to our students.
How digital storytelling might benefit current/future students states that digital storytelling appears to more learning styles. There is a correlation in the fact that auditory, kinesthetic and visual learners all tend to learn better when given the opportunity to take part in digital storytelling.
Cheryl Diermyer, is a learning technology consultant with DoIT Academic Technology. “Digital storytelling forces you to decide what to say in the space of a brief video; there is an intensity there,” she says. “Someone suggested that it’s like poetry — that every part of it must support the theme.”
The following chart is her representation of how that story can be mapped out.
There are many different definitions of “Digital Storytelling,” but in general, they all revolve around the idea of combining the art of telling stories with a variety of digital multimedia, such as images, audio, and video.There are many different types of digital stories, but it is possible to categorize the major types into the following three major groups:
1. Personal narratives - that contain accounts of significant incidents in one’s life;
2. Historical documentaries –that examine dramatic events that help us understand the past;
3. Stories designed to inform or instruct the viewer on a particular concept or practice.
Of the samples I found on our assignment list, I was somewhat disappointed to find so many stories that tended to be dark or sad. At www.storycenter.org I listened to one story after another that reminisced in a sad, melancholy fashion that left me feeling a little 'down' myself.
I would prefer to think that my students would benefit the most from this type of learning experience if they were to choose a light-hearted, even fun, subject that they could get excited about. There are way too many sad stories in this world for my liking.
In fact, I think I may just draw my students into this week's assignment to see if they could be part of my "digital storytelling." We'll see what comes of that!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Week 3 Blog Post
Week 3 Blog Post
Dr. Ruben Puentedura is an expert in education who presented a lecture entitled, "As We May Teach: Educational Technology, From Theory Into Practice" that is available as a free iTunes video. In it, he explained two methods of integrating technology into education. The first, TPCK, is represented visually with a Venn Diagram that shows how Technology, Pedagogy and Content have common elements that, when united in education, can enhance a student's performance.
The second method, SAMR, indicates the progress that students make as technology is integrated into a lesson. In it, S equals Substitution, which is the lowest level of technology that simply substitutes a piece of technology for an older form of teaching, but it still has the same basic function. The A equals Augmentation, in which technology still acts as a substitute, but with functional improvement. The M equals Modification, that results in significant task redesign. In it, new uses of technology are put into practice. The R equals Redifinition, that allows for new tasks to be done that were previously impossible before the technology was added.
I would like to consider how I might incorporate what I learned from Dr. Puentedura's lecture in my own lessons. In order to make the best of the project assignment in the class I am taking, I can't help but think that it would be good to follow the SAMR model.
My lesson is for 8th grade reading. The book is Phineas Gage: a Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science.
On the Substitution level, I could download the audiobook of Phineas Gage and play it through the classroom sound system while the students read along in their copies of the book. Using this step of SAMR, students would be using technology, but in essence would still just be reading the book.
On the Augmentation level, students could put sticky notes on words in their books that they are unfamiliar with. Then, after they read / listen to a chapter, they can look those words up on their laptop computers (we have a mobile computer lab) to find the meanings, and share them with other students. They could also do research on the internet to find out more about brain injuries and surgeries. This is information that they would not have access to in our school library.
The Modification level requires a significant task redesign. To take this step students will be introduced to another 8th grade class in Dallas, Texas, that is reading the same book, by way of iChat on the MacBook computer. The two teachers of the respective classes will hook up their computers to the classroom video projector and speakers, so that the students can see each other and get acquainted. They will then discuss the introduction to the book and form teams to work together on the book together.
The Redefinition level will allow students to collaborate between the classrooms via internet, to write reports, design blogs, develop wikis, or create Powerpoint or other computerized presentations that would become reports, teaching tools or enhancements for the book. Teachers will be present to guide and facilitate, but the students will be given the freedom to be as creative as they want with their group projects. When the projects are completed, they will be presented as possible publishable teacher helps for the Pathways reading program that is being implemented in the Texas and Georgia-Cumberland conferences.
Dr. Ruben Puentedura is an expert in education who presented a lecture entitled, "As We May Teach: Educational Technology, From Theory Into Practice" that is available as a free iTunes video. In it, he explained two methods of integrating technology into education. The first, TPCK, is represented visually with a Venn Diagram that shows how Technology, Pedagogy and Content have common elements that, when united in education, can enhance a student's performance.
The second method, SAMR, indicates the progress that students make as technology is integrated into a lesson. In it, S equals Substitution, which is the lowest level of technology that simply substitutes a piece of technology for an older form of teaching, but it still has the same basic function. The A equals Augmentation, in which technology still acts as a substitute, but with functional improvement. The M equals Modification, that results in significant task redesign. In it, new uses of technology are put into practice. The R equals Redifinition, that allows for new tasks to be done that were previously impossible before the technology was added.
I would like to consider how I might incorporate what I learned from Dr. Puentedura's lecture in my own lessons. In order to make the best of the project assignment in the class I am taking, I can't help but think that it would be good to follow the SAMR model.
My lesson is for 8th grade reading. The book is Phineas Gage: a Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science.
On the Substitution level, I could download the audiobook of Phineas Gage and play it through the classroom sound system while the students read along in their copies of the book. Using this step of SAMR, students would be using technology, but in essence would still just be reading the book.
On the Augmentation level, students could put sticky notes on words in their books that they are unfamiliar with. Then, after they read / listen to a chapter, they can look those words up on their laptop computers (we have a mobile computer lab) to find the meanings, and share them with other students. They could also do research on the internet to find out more about brain injuries and surgeries. This is information that they would not have access to in our school library.
The Modification level requires a significant task redesign. To take this step students will be introduced to another 8th grade class in Dallas, Texas, that is reading the same book, by way of iChat on the MacBook computer. The two teachers of the respective classes will hook up their computers to the classroom video projector and speakers, so that the students can see each other and get acquainted. They will then discuss the introduction to the book and form teams to work together on the book together.
The Redefinition level will allow students to collaborate between the classrooms via internet, to write reports, design blogs, develop wikis, or create Powerpoint or other computerized presentations that would become reports, teaching tools or enhancements for the book. Teachers will be present to guide and facilitate, but the students will be given the freedom to be as creative as they want with their group projects. When the projects are completed, they will be presented as possible publishable teacher helps for the Pathways reading program that is being implemented in the Texas and Georgia-Cumberland conferences.
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