Live and Interactive

A picture is worth a thousand words... The presentation and online session (using Elluminate) about Digital Storytelling with Alan Levine last week in my 8Y59 class made me think about this adage I’ve heard a million times before in a new way. Digital Storytelling is a way in which people use digital tools (images, sounds, animation, video just to name a few) to tell their own story. Alan began by asking our class, “What is the last story that you told?” In the backchannel, I believe I typed that one of the last stories I told was during my block which was about the Trojan Horse (you know, the one where the ancient Greeks hid inside a huge wooden horse to sneak into Troy and crept out at night to completely destroy the city? Yeah, that one). However, come to think about it, that was most definitely not the last story I told. We as social beings tell stories and communicate those stories to each other on a daily basis. We all have stories which is extremely important to remember as a teacher candidate. Stories have the potential to connect us all together, especially to our students. As Zoe mentioned, the beauty of asking someone to share a story is the reality that we all have one, no matter what learning level or style. So, I got thinking about digital storytelling and our role as educators. Alan and Zoe shared some great digital storytelling resources during the presentation that could be applied within a classroom environment. Check out VoiceThread (a multimedia slide show that allows multiple contributors to collaborate), Audacity (a free online audio recorder and editor), and New Digital Storytelling by Bryan Alexander (and you have to check out Alan’s site and wikispace as well!). As a teacher, I could use one of these resources as a way for me to get to know my students and to hear one of their stories as an introductory activity. Also, as a history teacher, digital storytelling would be an excellent way to get students to use and critically think about primary source images for an assignment (I’m thinking for Grade 10 Canadian History in particular). History, after all, is a collection of stories, isn’t it?

Thanks again Alan for illustrating to us a creative spin on storytelling. I would love to hear if anyone has any additional suggestions/ideas for digital storytelling in the classroom.

This quick YouTube clip provides a short synopsis on what digital storytelling is in video format.

This YouTube clip shows how a Grade 8 teacher implements Digital Storytelling in her classroom and provides us with a free Digital Storytelling e-book resource 

(http://www.microsoft.com/education/teachers/guides/digital_storytelling.aspx)