Authors, Regina Royer and Patricia Richards, discuss all the makings and processes of digital storytelling. Royer and Richards explain, in depth, an entire process from start to finish, which I found incredibly helpful before creating our own digital story. I learned that it is helpful to create a storyboard and sequence the events and setting in the story in an outline. Using digital storytelling in class can promote literacy development and reading comprehension, among many other skills related to technology use. I remember creating my own stories in all of my elementary classes and they were enjoyable to do but I was limited to my pencil and paper. With digital storytelling there are so many other elements thrown into the mix which can be very enjoyable to many students. The authors teach readers about reciprocal teaching, which is where the teacher gradual gives more freedom and control to the student. It is important in reciprocal teaching that the teacher effectively models and explains the task or project before the students are released to begin their work. It can be very stressful to a student when they have all the control but do not understand what they are supposed to be doing. I also learned that it is important to summarize in digital storytelling, like any other storytelling. One way that digital storytelling is different than original storytelling is that it promotes multimedia literacy, which is a growing skill in our day and age. Author, Bernajean Porter, shares insight to the world of Second Life and how digital storytelling plays into it. Porter discusses the steps of the project, starting with the beginning, students gather together to create the story on paper and are given a prompt to base their story off of. Once they had their story, they translated their story into the 3D world, which promotes multimedia literacy and fluency. Using Second Life, an online program which is what the title says, a second life, that you can create and make as real or fictional as you would like to.
I know personally, I have a lot of fun creating a video, from writing the script, to acting it out, and editing the film. Students also learn and practice working in small groups and on a team. It is a great assignment for promoting team work and falls under project based learning. I've seen it in my own classes and observing classrooms, students love when teachers practice reciprocal teaching. They get excited about the freedom and feel energized and creative with their new control. From Porter's article, I would definitely use the outline and lesson that she explains in the article. I think it is creative, fun, and very educational. I can see students getting really enthusiastic about the project and going above and beyond for the mere fact that it is enjoyable. I think Second Life would be really fun for students to use, but I would hope that they don't get too far into the program after the project is completed. I've known some people that really go overboard with the game and it affects their first life. Projects that involve the creativity of writing a story, then using media to create the project not only help develop important skills for students but it is an assignment they are likely to remember as one of their favorite projects. Thinking back on my high school classes, there have been so many projects that could have used this digital storytelling and I would have retained the information better and enjoyed the process much more. You could use digital storytelling in any subject, not just creative writing. I remember doing a physics assignment where I had to create my own marble machine. Filming the process and analyzing the project really would have driven the point home and gone above and beyond in my learning. Middle school and high school should be able to create these stories in groups or on their own without crucial issues, elementary students may need to perform the work in class and be monitored by the teacher and be able to ask questions and for assistance.
References:
Porter, B. (2010). Digital Storytelling in Second Life. Learning & Leading, 26-27.
