Digital Storytelling Reflection

Digital storytelling is a useful tool in a language arts classroom. It can be used for students to tell their own personal stories, or to respond to a text they’ve read.  Many tools exist with varying levels of complexity so students of almost any age can engage in digital storytelling.  In addition, CCSS support the use of digital storytelling in the classroom, specifically standards involving using technology to create and publish writing, creating audio recordings of stories, using multimedia components, and summarizing key points or ideas. 

In Bridging Technology and Literacy (2015), Hutchinson & Colwell discuss digital storytelling in the language arts curriculum, specifically the importance of teaching students how to create meaningful stories with appropriate tone and music that contributes to the story. They also emphasize the importance of the planning process for digital storytelling, including using tools like Felt Board and Comic Life to create a storyboard before they actually begin developing their story.

 For my digital storytelling project, I used the tool Adobe Spark. This is an online-based tool that allows users to upload their own images, audio or video, as well as utilize images and music from stock websites. The interface is very straightforward and easy to use, and output is very professional looking.  As a trade off for the simplistic interface, the capabilities are somewhat limited: users can choose from a present menu of themes and fonts, and the text/images can only be placed in certain areas on the screen. In addition, the themes dictate the style of the transition between frames, and although users can choose how long to show each frame on screen. However, I found that even with the limited capabilities, I was able to use all the different elements I wanted in my story.

 I knew when I was planning my story that I wanted to create my story around a science concept, but also make it fun and engaging. My digital story is called “A Butterfly Story: The Lifecycle of a Monarch”. For my process, I first researched monarch butterflies and the different stages in their lifecycle, so I had some good background knowledge. Then I started thinking about how to bring the concept to life with interesting characters and what challenges they might face in their lifecycle. I also looked at stock websites to see if I could find photography of the different stages in a monarch’s lifecycle that would match what I wanted for my story, but would also be scientifically accurate. I used the tool Storyboard That to create my storyboard, which I did not find nearly as user friendly as my video creation tool. I found it very clunky and confusing to use and would not use it in the classroom. Once I created my story first draft, I shared with classmates for feedback. My first draft had images and text on the screen with music in the background. My classmates suggested that I add some narration component, as it was difficult to read all of the text on the screen before the frame had passed. In my revision, I added narration, and rather than just reading the text from the screen, I made the onscreen text either dialogue or science concepts, to make it more interesting. Overall I enjoyed exploring new tools with this project and I think creating a digital story myself will help me be able to teach the method to students in the future. 

About Me

Welcome to my blog! This blog is for EDUC 548 - Integrating Technology and Literacy. Before I begin blogging about other topics, I thought I'd introduce myself.

I'm currently in my second semester at University of Saint Joseph in the Masters of Educational Technology program. For my undergraduate degree, I went to school at Lebanon Valley College, a small private college in Annville, PA. My bachelor's is in Digital Communications with a minor in Business. Since graduating, I've worked at Cigna Health Insurance for the past 4.5 years, most recently in Strategy Communications.

I'm really excited to be back in school and studying a subject I'm really passionate about - technology in education. I've always had a natural knack for learning new technology and I love exploring new tools. When I graduate from the program, I want to use my degree as a technology consultant in a school, or educational organization to consult with teachers about how to integrate technology into their classrooms, curriculums and lesson plans.

Although I won't be using my degree as a K-12 teacher, I think it's still essential to understand the different components of digital literacy. The definition of literacy is changing from the traditional definition as proficiency in reading/writing to incorporate many modes of communications - including text, images, audio and video. Educators must prepare students to succeed in this new digital world, as well as align their lessons to the CCSS. The Common Core includes standards about creating and publishing work online, using multiple modes to demonstrate understanding of a text, using multimedia components to present information, and much more.

This blog explores different themes in digital literacy, as well as recommends tools and techniques for teaching literacy in the new digital world. I hope you enjoy it!

Storyboard

To create my storyboard for my digital storytelling project, I used StoryBoard that, a storyboarding tool with a 14 day free online trial. I found that I really enjoyed finding images and starting to write my story. At first I thought I really wanted to use illustrated images for my story, but I like the look of the photography so far, so I think I will stick with these visuals. I found lots of great photographs on stock photo sites that are free for all uses, so there are no copyright concerns. To build my final story, I would like to use iMovie but I'm open to trying other tools. Below is my storyboard:

References

Prototypes, L. C. (n.d.). The World's Best FREE Online Storyboard Creator. Retrieved March 05, 2017, from http://www.storyboardthat.com/

Popplet Graphic Organizer

For this week's blog post, I tried the Popplet Graphic organizer to arrange my thoughts for my Digital Storytelling project. I found the tool to be very easy to use and I think students could pick up on it quickly. I used my graphic organizer to document the important elements of my story - like the characters, setting and plot, but also to map out the butterfly lifecycle and important moments along the way. Some of the important moments in this scientific process will make way for elements of my story - like when butterflies come out of their chrysalis with crumpled wings, the main character can be confused and frightened, and work through that challenge as her wings get ready to fly for the first time. I haven't yet decided on the tool I'd like to use yet-  I wanted to use illustration to make it more like a narrated children's storybook - but I haven't yet found a tool I like that has illustrations of caterpillars and butterflies.

I think Popplet could have many potential uses in the classroom - students can map out important elements in a story they've read or in a story they'd like to write. They can also use it to brainstorm ideas and make notes about how the different ideas relate to each other. This tool could be used to support many of the CCSS, including creating and publishing work online, researching, writing collaboratively, etc.

Below is my creation with the tool as well as a link to the full view.

http://popplet.com/app/#/3890096

References
Popplet for School. (n.d.). Retrieved March 05, 2017, from http://popplet.com/

Digital Storytelling proposal

For my digital storytelling proposal, I've decided to create a video that explains the lifecycle of a butterfly, but in a story format, so students can identify with the butterfly as a character and its different stages in life. This story aligns with the 3rd grade Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), specifically the standard:

3-LS1-1 Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.

This digital story could be used as an introduction or hook to a unit about plant and animal life cycles, and could even be used in conjunction with students raising their own butterflies in the classroom,  from egg to release into the wild.

There are many opportunities to integrate literacy into the science curriculum. Students can create their own stories about a butterfly lifecycle, they could read blogs from other schools where classes have raised their own butterflies and comment, they can read online articles about butterflies that are endangered and write responses, or propose measures to protect the butterflies. Another option is to have students create butterfly journals that they write in throughout the duration of the project, writing down observations, hypotheses, questions, or thoughts. Teachers can work the butterfly theme into literacy lessons and that would help create a curriculum unit that spans multiple subject standards. I know with Common Core, educators are increasingly trying to tie the different subject areas together to create cohesive units, so this could be a great example.

To create my digital story, I think I will use iMovie, as it's fairly easy to use but has some more advanced tools than purely online platforms. I will plan to use photography from the internet and music, with text overlay or narration. I think one of the challenges I may have will be giving the characters life using photography rather than illustration,  so I think the music and text will be key to making it feel like a real story.

Infographics in the classroom

After reading about graphic organizers in our chapter for class this week and how they're a great tool for organizing and digesting complex information, it made me think about another great tool for breaking down complex information: infographics:

What is an infographic? Here's a fun explanation, in infographic form :)

Basically, an infographic is a way to display information visually using graphs, charts, icons and other images with minimal text. They've exploded in popularity over the past few years because they're so easy to read and understand, and people also enjoy sharing them on social media over articles because of the visual element. But, as with any visualization of data, infographic or otherwise, they have the potential to be misleading. The creator can mislead the audience by skewing the scale, color coding certain elements to show relatedness or. making certain text larger or smaller. This article from Fast Company gives some great details about how to evaluate an infographic for its accuracy and validity. Since these are such a popular medium for displaying information, I think it's important for students to understand how to spot misleading information, the same way they should be able to spot inaccuracies in a traditional news article. Some quick tips from Fast Company for spotting misleading infographics are:

1. Check the data presentation - Are different colors used to make a point? Have the X and Y axis in a graph been altered to make the data look more dramatic?
2. Check the source - Is the sources reliable and unbiased?
3. Check the data itself - Has some data been excluded or transformed?

In addition to knowing how to spot misleading infographics, students could benefit from learning how to create infographics themselves based on a text they've read. This would build their skills (aligned to CCSS) in reading comprehension, analyzing and synthesizing information, using digital tools to create and publish writing, summarizing text, interpreting visuals and much more. A great tool to get started with infographics in the classroom is Piktochart, available in a web interface.

References

Olson, R. (2014, May 22). Infographics Lie. Here's How To Spot The B.S. Retrieved February 26, 2017, from https://www.fastcodesign.com/3024273/infographic-of-the-day/infographics-lie-heres-how-to-spot-the-bs

Piktochart. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2017, from https://piktochart.com/

What is an Infographic? A single Infographic explains it all. (2016, March 21). Retrieved February 26, 2017, from https://fissionstrategy.com/what-is-an-infographic-a-single-infographic-explains-it-all/

Digital Storytelling - Qualities of an engaging story

Since we are beginning a unit on digital storytelling EDUC 584, and we recently explored StoryCenter, I decided to review some of the digital stories that were created by prior students to get some ideas for my own story proposal. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was surprised by the range of topics in the final digital storytelling project. Some bloggers chose to use the digital story to teach a specific concept in their classroom (like details, idioms or counting coins), others chose to tell a personal story, and others chose a historical event to share about. I found some of them very interesting and engaging, and others didn't hold my interest -  I only watched 30 seconds of before moving on to the next one. After viewing all these digital stories, I thought I might share a few elements that I noticed that contributed to good digital storytelling and made me want to keep watching.

1. Narration - An expressive narrator grabs your attention in telling a digital story - someone who sounds like they're reciting text from a script doesn't sound engaging
2. Transitions - Smooth transitions between video clips, images and text give the video a professional feel
3. Images and video quality - High quality images and video clips make the video more aesthetically pleasing
4. Music - Background music can change the entire tone of the story. A great example I found of this was one blogger who told the story of the Torrington and the flood of 1955 and used music to portray sadness, suspense and intrigue
5. Creativity - An interesting topic, like the video mentioned above, catches people's attention and makes them want to keep watching
6. Passion - Some bloggers wrote a really engaging post with their digital story about why they chose to tell that story, and those who were really enthusiastic made me as excited about the subject as they were. 
7. Spelling and grammar! - Misspelled words in the onscreen text make the video seem less credible

I'm excited to start brainstorming ideas for my own digital story and begin creating!

References:
Listen Deeply... Tell Stories. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2017, from https://www.storycenter.org/

Reinert, K. (1970, January 01). Torrington and the Flood of 1955. Retrieved February 18, 2017, from http://teachingmrsreinert.blogspot.com/search/label/Digital%20Story