Module+5



Lead Instructor: Terrie RIchardson (terrie_richardson@dpsk12.org)

Runs March 31st- April 14th
 * Digital Storytelling- Why is it an important skill or process in which to engage students?**

Digital Storytelling is the art of telling stories using digital media and usually includes digital images, video, sound or music, or a combination of any of these and is usually narrated. More often than not the focus is on only one topic. They are generally between 2 - 10 minutes in length, but can be shorter. Not only are there many great educational uses of Digital Storytelling, but business leaders also understand the value and benefit of Digital Storytelling. It is an effective way to present information and data when people are already on information overload. Digital Storytelling connects the audience with the speaker. It can build trust and provides the hook or anchor for information and data. It engages the audience in a personal way that makes an emotional connection and cements the ideas or learning into their thinking. For the storyteller, this process has many learning and educational benefits and helps student meet a variety of standards. Consider this quote about Storytelling as stated by Annette Simons in her book, **//The Story Factor//**, **"By telling thoughtful stories, we clarify our own thinking about what we have learned to share with others in a profound way that sticks with us over time."** While Annette Simons doesn't mention the digital aspect of storytelling, imagine how much images, sound, music and other digital effects can impact the student's ability to communicate compellingly with the intended audience. We know from research that images communicate up to 66,000 times more than the written word and music contributes to 50% of the message of movies or productions. There is also a lot of writing that goes into creating the script and planning the design in a sotryboard before the technology is even considered. Students in the 21st Century will need to communicate beyond the written word and Digital storytelling is just one great way to begin preparing students for the world we live in and the jobs they may have in the future. Storytelling itself is not new, but the need for students to also develop a visual literacy has become increasingly more important so that they can communicate beyond words and understand how the media they see and hear affects their thinking.
 * INTRODUCTION:**

In Module 5, we will learn more about Digital Storytelling and why it is an important place to begin to help studetns develop 21st Century skills or habits of practice. You will have the opportunity to view lots of examples of Digital Stories, see how connections to content can be made, and develop an understanding that this is not just photo essays or summary reports with some media added in. We will also learn about how to engage students in Digital Storytelling process and what tools are available to help produce these stories. There are two different websites we will focus on in order to learn more about Digital Storytelling, but you are free to discover additional resources to support your own learning. First, we will visit Bernajean Porter's Digitales website. Bernajean lives right here in Denver and is both a nationally as well as internationally well known technology leader and presenter. She is a teacher of teachers, writer, mentor ,and much more, including the creator and facilitator of the Digitales Storytelling Camps for teachers.

Let's learn a bit more aboujt Bernajean. Click on the picture or the following link to learn more abour her, []. ​ You can visit several links from this webpage to learn more about Digital storytelling. But be sure to visit her main Digitales website as well.

Bernajean will be leading a 3 day session on Digital Storykeepers Camp, as part of the pre-conference sessions for the ISTE conference being held here in Denver in June 2010. To learn more about her 3 day workshop, please click here.

The second website we will visit is one that was created more for teachers and pre-service teachers at the University of Houston to learn more about Digital Storytelling in education. Here is the link to visit their website, **//The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling,//** @http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/. You will find specific assignments below for exploring these two resources with a few required pieces. Feel free to do some additional exploration on your own in order to build your knowledge and understanding of Digital Storytelling. Remember that the Digital Educator Academy offers workshops on Digital Storytelling and how to actually create one with different tools. After completing this module you shuold have a better understanding of how and why to implement Digital Storytelling, but may find that you still need some of the practical training on how to utilize the technology tools available to pull it all together.

As you learn more and view examples of Digital Storytelling, you will also find that these can be created by teachers to share content knowledge that can hook students as you begin a new unit. But the more powerful component to Digital Storytelling is when students are the producers of information and create the Digital Stories as a way to share theirstories or their learning. Think about the ways you could utilize Digital Storytelling as a way to present new information to students. But, more importantly, think about the many different ways your students can utilize this process as a way to share their stories, clarify their thinking, and share their learning in several content areas, beyond just literacy.


 * EXAMPLES and LINKS:**
 * __Links:__**
 * DigiTales by Bernajean Porter - []
 * The Art of Digital Storytelling with Hal Davidson and Bernajean Porter (a unitedstreaming article where Hal Davidson interviews Bernajean Porter) - []
 * The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling by Houston University - []
 * Software Tools that can be used for Digital Story creation. @http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/technology_tools.html
 * Stories As Understanding (Quotes about Sharing our Stories from Bernajean Porter's website - @http://web.mac.com/bernajeanporter/Site/Stories_As_Understanding.html
 * "And That's A Story That Need To Be Told By Bernajean" - @http://web.mac.com/bernajeanporter/Site/About_Me.html

(In order to view some of the examples below, you may be asked to update your Quicktime player. If you see a Quicktime symbol when viewing some of the Digital Stories from Bernajean's StoryKeeper's gallery, you may have to wait while the video is downloading from the Internet. It looks like nothing is happening, but will eventually begin to play or you will see the picture and a small play button on the bottom of the player.)
 * __Examples:__**

Teacher Created
 * Educational Technology Example
 * ESL Examples
 * Language Arts Examples
 * Social Studies Examples

Student Created
 * "Mrs. Granny Smith's Sensational Journey"
 * Tears of Change
 * Hiroshima
 * Should You Be Afraid of Snakes?

May Contain both student and teacher created examples
 * Docudramas - Several Examples From Bernajean's site
 * Living Memories- From Bernajean's website
 * Other stories from Bernajean's gallery


 * ASSIGNMENT: **


 * 1) View this video ** to watch and listen to an "Introduction to Digital Storytelling". **Read about** the Education uses of Digital Storytelling on this same website. Click on this link, then scroll down after reading to click on the play button for the video. []


 * 2)**. **Listen to the podcast** in which Bernajean Porter is interviewed by the First Lady of West Virginia, Gayle Manchin, about what Digital Storytelling is and why it is important in the 21st Century. Click here to access the podcast. Then respond to the following on the Module 5 Discussion Tab: //Bernajean talks about 21st Century Skills are not just skills to be memorized or learned, but rather practices that have to rehearsed until those skills are embedded in the way kids think and do. Based on what you have learned about Digital Storytelling, why do you think Digital Storytelling is a good place to begin to rehearse some of the 21st Century skills that all students need? How would this benefit students learning? //


 * 3) Explore​ ** websites and examples of Digital Stories to learn more about what makes a good Digital Story, how to begin with students, understanding the process, and what is the difference between a photo essay or summary report and a Digital Story**. You can view examples of Digital Stories from the examples listed above or by visiting examples on the websites below. Try to view at least 2-3 student examples and 2-3 teacher examples.**
 * On the Digitales website, be sure to explore the StoryKeeper's Gallery, Evaluating Projects and Resources. If you have already looked at the student examples of Digital Stories above, then you may not need to look at the StoryKeeper's gallery unless you want to view additional examples. There are a lot of great examples and you may want to locate some the you could share with students so that they begin to understand the difference between "telling about" something and the art of storytelling. Under Resources you will find the "Seven Steps to Create a DigiTales Story". Make sure to explore this as well as the "Story Making File" especially the "Take Six" document.
 * This website from the University of Houston has several areas you will want to make sure you check out and compare to what you learned from Bernajean's website. Each of the areas with an arrow below have several sub areas once you click on the main category, Take a look at the Examples. Essentials, Create, and Evaluate to learn more about the Digital Storytelling process and how it can be used in the Educational setting. If you have time you may want to explore the LInks and Web 2.0 resources as well.
 * Bernajean also has a website created that has some additional things that may be of interest. Some of these things you have already looked at in other assignments, but I wanted to put the link to the page here to make it easier for you to get to and explore additonal areas of interest. The quotes found on the "Stories as Understanding" are interesting and worth taking a look at.


 * 4)** ** Discover ** the software tools that can be utilized to create Digital Stories by clicking on these links": @http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/technology_tools.html and @http://digitales.us/tools/toolkits_kids.php.


 * 5) Reflect on your learning and your comments/reflections** to the Module 5 Discussion tab for the following questions.
 * What are the benefits of developing Digital Stories as perceived by students, teachers, administrators, and parents?
 * What are perceived obstacles to implemneting Digital storytelling with P-12 students and hoe can they be overcome?
 * How can you begin to enter into Digital Storytelling with your students? What additional training or information would you need in order to begin?

REMINDERS: ** - Respond to the Module 5 **Discussion Tab** - Email the Lead Instructor once you have completed a module/topic, so we can review your work. - Use the Discussion Tab above if you get stuck or have questions that an instructor or fellow student in this class can help you answer - we are all part of your Personal Learning Community (PLC).
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