December - Digital Storytelling
Quote of the Month - December
The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon.
- Brandon Sanderson
Who doesn't love a good story?
One of my favorite activities to do with my child is to tell stories. She loves to listen to me make-up adventure stories about a pirate that sails the seas to have adventures with friends. And, sometimes she will even make up a story on her own. The whole activity allows us to connect with each other and use our imaginations. Educationally storytelling has incredible benefits for our students. By listening or telling stories our students can improve listening skills and imagination. And, developing and telling stories encourages higher-order thinking and deeper thinking of our content areas. The best part is storytelling can be incorporated into any content area.
So, what is "digital storytelling"?
Digital storytelling is not about just using a technology tool to replace writing a story on a piece of paper. Digital storytelling is about the skills that are developed through the process of learning. According to the Langwitches blog post from August of 2015 digital storytelling helps develop fluency, processing, language, listening, presentation, drama, and publishing skills. Among others! A digital story asks our students to develop meaning and communicate that meaning to a larger audience beyond the school walls. And, a digital story is all about working and collaborating with others to tell the story.
So, what does digital storytelling look like in the classroom?
Over the years I've had the opportunity to work with several teachers to create digital stories that supported student understanding of the content area. We made podcasts about advancements of the Roman Empire, we created movie trailers that demonstrated key events in Medieval European history, and we created simple animations that explained scientific concepts. Here are a couple of examples of digital storytelling and tools to help you get started:
Resources:
Videos
Digital Storytelling Playlist - This playlist includes several middle school examples from various subjects.
What is Digital Storytelling? - A quick overview of digital storytelling using PowToons
Articles
What is Digital Storytelling? - The Langwitches Blog post - an excellent resource with some really good examples
8 Steps to Great Digital Storytelling - EdTech Teacher is one of my favorite resources. This article is a concise step by step way to get started with digital storytelilng.
Tools:
PowToons - PowToons is such a fun tool! It's been around for awhile. The only downside is that it has a very limited free version. However, the premium is just amazing!
WeVideo -By far one of the absolute best web based video editing platforms. I absolutely LOVE this and have been using it for years.
Screencastify - Just keeps getting better. AND Billerica Public Schools has a premium subscription. Kids can use the tool too. All they need to do is create a story using Google Slides or another platform and screencast their story.
Google Slides - One of my favorite Google Tools and so versitlie. Have students create a choose your own adventure story by using hyperlinks. And, then they could screencast the final result!
Canva - I am obsessed with Canva. Not only can you create digital stories using Canva, but you can litterally make any other graphic for your class. The free version is amazing and the paid version is even better.
Tutorials: Canva - Google Classroom Header
This month's tutorial is on Canva. It's my new LOVE. I have made so many different things on Canva. This tutorial will take you through the steps of creating a custom header for your Google Classroom. This tutorial is also part of my Teacher Challenge! Complete 5 badges and win a prize!
Goo in the Loo - December
Carla Fitzgerald
Tech Integration Coach at the Marshall and Locke Middle Schools
Billerica, MA
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