I like the concept of digital storytelling and can see how beneficial it could be to increase overall student engagement in both learning and demonstrating an understanding of a topic. I have not yet had any experience with digital storytelling in my teaching practice but look forward to exploring it.
I think digital storytelling could really support the needs of a diverse and wide range of students, especially those who may be very uncomfortable with formal presentations in class or speaking in front of a group of peers. Especially for those students who experience anxiety or lower self-confidence. Using digital storytelling to create a video to share and demonstrate one’s learning could be a powerful tool for those students with social anxieties.
In addition, I see digital storytelling used as a tool to advocate for change, get students inspired to seek change and increase overall investment and participation. When students can make meaningful connections and take ownership in their learning journey they are far more successful in learning and applying the learning outcomes into everyday practice and the “real world”.
It’s further interesting to consider if we could reach more people and be more effective with spreading messages through digital storytelling. I wonder if this format is in fact more convincing than traditional teaching methodologies? With the ever-evolving use of technology being used both in and out of the classrooms and the overwhelming number of social media platforms that people are vested in, my guess is “yes”.
I thought I would check out a few apps being used for digital storytelling seeing that I am clearly behind with the use of this technology. I looked at ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard, Toontastic and Adobe Spark Page. Here are a few notes on each with what I found.
ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard– this was easy to use as you can turn your iPad into your personal interactive whiteboard. You can easily record your voice over whiteboard tutorials that you type, draw or upload pictures to. Very easy to use and easy to upload online. I found a free version, while you can upgrade for additional features for an added cost. As I played with this app I thought of how useful this could be working with a class that I co-teach in, exploring this as a means of presenting for Heritage Fair.
Toontastic– this is a very easy storytelling learning tool which enables you to use drawings to animate and share your ideas through cartoons. I could see this being a great way to get students to demonstrate their learning or create narratives through oral storytelling. I liked that you could select the images provided or draw your own. In addition, you can select from several backgrounds or upload your own picture. Again, this was free although options are limited, you can upgrade for an added fee. The only limitation I found with the narration is that it didn’t seem to give you very much time to narrate each section, however once finished you can easily upload to several other platforms, email yourself etc. I could see this being used as a fun way for students to share a few points of what they have learned or to use for a story writing unit, where students could practice their oral storytelling skills. There are several templates to choose from ranging from very easy (beginning-middle-end) to more complex. I was impressed with how easy this was to use.
Adobe Spark Page– this is a great app that is designed to make creating videos really easy. You can upload additional videos, add music and captions as well. There are easy to follow tutorials that make mastering these video productions. This is the app that I am using for our group project to explore student inquiry. I think it lends itself to lots of options for usage and again was free. Of course, you can upgrade for a fee, but it is surprisingly easy to use, although for the age of my students (Grades 3-4). I think initially I would start with the ShowMe Interactive Smartboard.
“My Iceland Spark Page Featured” by Terry White is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0Â
Here is a quick tutorial that explains how easily and quickly you can use Adobe Spark to create a project.
I feel that opportunities for students and teachers to engage in digital storytelling, provides them with ways to make learning and teaching more engaging and allows the audience to connect and identify with the message of the story.
I recently watched a video through TEDx on digital storytelling. Ashley Fell, discusses how in our current climate, with the overuse of screens and social media, how the power of storytelling is able to inform, instruct and inspire audiences alike. Here is the link to watch the TEDx talk on YouTube, it is well worth a watch.
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