Digital story telling for me i think will be key in my classroom. As somone who wants to teach in the Elementery school i think my students could really enjoy this fun way of learning and can definetally be an asset in the classroom. Kids like to learn visually and have a tendency to pay more attention to the lesson, if they can be engaged in the learning. Digital story elling definitally does all these great things and is something that should be used in almost every classroom.
Archive for the 'Week 05' Category
I think the website on digital story telling was really informative. Digital Storytelling is the modern expression of the ancient art of storytelling. Digital stories derive their power by weaving images, music, narrative and voice together, thereby giving deep dimension and vivid color to characters, situations, experiences, and insights. I found this really interesting when I was googleing Storytelling
“iTales.com started as a simple enough idea…create a website to house bedtime stories I tell to my children. But what started as a simple project based on a love of storytelling, evolved into a much better and more complex idea, still based on a love of storytelling! That idea became iTales, a website that allows storytellers to upload and sell individual stories.”
IT LOOKS SO FUN
I found the website about Digital storytelling to be really interesting and I definitely plan on using this method to make my classroom more dynamic. I found the examples for language arts to be the most helpful because I plan on teaching high school English. I would love to be able to use digital storytelling to connect books read in class with the personal experiences of the author. It would be awesome to be able to be able to help my students understand the role that the life of the author plays in regard to the book. I also think that digital storytelling would be a great way to visually engage students when teaching about literary terms such as alliteration, allegory, similes, etc. The possibilities for lessons using digital storytelling are endless. History lessons could be made to be much more relevant and exciting! The idea that a teacher could use both voice and vision to further motiviate students when learning concepts typically thought to be boring is really exciting!
Digital storytelling seems to be, at least from my experience, something rare in today’s teaching environment. I don’t see why seeing that it is not only an easy process to create one, but would enthrall the students and encourage them to learn. And this method is not limited to one age group or subject.
I plan to teach history/geography in high school, and it is rather hard to get the students involved in the learning process at that age. One example of how I would incorporate digital storytelling into my classroom would be through teaching my students the different capitals and countries in Europe. When I was in my seventh grade geography class my teacher had these songs that made a rhyme out of the different places and put it to a catchy beat. I would put those songs into a podcast and put maps and pictures of the places to go along with the music to help them memorize the places.
When I do do different projects based on history I would include real pictures, not just clipart, music, and different video clips. There are many movies out these days that address historic time periods such as, Amazing Grace, The Other Boleyn Girl, Luther, etc; I would be able to take clips from these movies and place them in my digital story to emphasize certain important information. There is also the topic of music, which I could take from the same time period or put into the presentation to give it a more dramatic undertone to keep the students engaged.
Digital story telling is good for all grades. For my grade that I would like to teach I would use letters, numbers, shapes, and concepts as the theme of my digital books, and I would use the creative side of my students with finger painting, using macaroni, and using crayons. I believe that the digital story telling is a great way to get your students to interact. Here is one example of a lesson plan I would do with the digital story telling.EXAMPLE:Grade: Pre-k thru KindergartenTopics: Letters Objectives: Learning and remembering the entire alphabet.Materials:
· For the first project I would use dry macaroni and have them make their favorite letter after they have heard the letter book.
· For the next project I would have them use crayons and heavy paper to make a book similar to the digital letter book.
· Last project they would do would be to use paint to paint a picture. The first letter they learn will be the first letter of the word that they paint.
Digital storytelling in today’s classroom is a great way to engage students into a lesson. With digital storytelling many different subjects may be taught. If I were teaching my elementary students a science lesson and the experiment would take to long or it would consist of to many materials, I could do the experiment at home and video it and turn it into a digital story then bring it into the classroom. I would have to have a video camera and technology to show it in the classroom. This would help the students have a better understanding of the lesson while watching it. With digital storytelling you can even involve the students in some of the video or use their different science experiments. This would make the students want to watch themselves or their friends in the video. This idea of storytelling will help with students who are visual learners.
While telling stories through digital storytelling pictures, video, music, and sound will help keep the students interested. Examples will be available and students will hopefully have a better understanding. I can not wait to experience a classroom with digital storytelling and see student’s interactions.
I really liked the To Kill a Mockingbird presentation on the digital storytelling website. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite books, and seeing that presentation made me think about other books I could present in a similar manner to an english class. As far as content goes, I think a presentation with video, music, and pictures could really engage my class. For example, if the book we were reading had a movie equivalent, I could incorporate a clip of the movie in the digital story. Or if the book were set in a specific time and place, music from that time period could be playing under the dialogue of the story the whole time. I suppose the only materials I would need would be a digital projector and a laptop, but a classroom with a Smartboard would be optimal, I suppose. This form of visual technology is something I look forward to using in my classroom in the future.
Digital storytelling is a great tool that allows teachers to enhance their classrooms. It is obvious that using this computer-based method would be a great way to engage my students. When creating a lesson plan, I could incorporate a digital story to help achieve my objective.
For example, at the Elementary level students use numerous songs that help with memorization. I could create a podcast that had pictures or even a video to go along with music. This will allow my students to have a visual memory that could have a greater impact on those individuals who are visual learners.
When teaching the months of the year, I could create a short digital story which allowed students to see a picture that is associated with each month. Instead of giving them the answers, students could write down which month they think it is. The only materials needed would be paper and I could use this activity as a form of assessment. Digital storytelling is something that I hope to learn more about because I want to utilize this tool as much as possible in my classroom.