Ashley Schmoll

EDUC W200 PowerPoint Presentation

Digital Storytelling and Literacy in the Classroom

Slide 3-5 include: The article titled, Show and Tell, by Matt Bolch•Summary One•Summary Two•Personal Reflection

Slide 6-8 include: The article titled, Teaching Literacy in the Technology Classroom, by Chris Panell

•Summary One•Summary Two•Personal Reflection

Slide 9-11 include: The article titled, The World of Digital Storytelling, by Jason Ohler

•Summary One•Summary Two•Personal Reflection

Slide 12: Conclusion

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Title: Show and TellAuthor: Matt Bolch

The article, Show and Tell, by Matt Bolch focuses on the positive benefits of using technology in

the classroom. This article revolves around a teacher, Brian Crosby, and his students ranging from

fourth to sixth grade. One piece of technology he has allowed his students to explore is the computer.

He even supplied each student with their own “Apple laptop” (Bolch, 2008, para. 3). One of the

programs he has allowed his students to investigate is blogging. In the article, it mentions how

blogging has allowed his students to communicate “with other students in Thailand, Canada and

Florida” (Bolch, 2008, para. 4).

The project that was assigned to the students was for them to create their own digital story.

According to Bolch, “Digital storytelling is a modern take on an oral and written tradition that traces

back to early human history as a way of passing down institutional knowledge and beliefs from

generation to generation” (Bolch, 2008, para.6).

In the article, Show and Tell, four steps were mentioned relating to how the students

created their digital story. “The first step was they prepared a storyboard; the second step

was they were recorded telling their story; the third step was to use a computer to get digital

photos they wanted to add to their story; and the last step was they used the program,

Microsoft Windows Movie Maker, to create their movie” (Bolch, 2008, para. 12).

I really liked this article and thought it was interesting to find out how a digital story can actually be made. I

wasn’t really familiar with digital storytelling before reading this article, but I really think it is an activity that should

be included in the classroom. I think digital storytelling allows the children to use their imagination and creativity

skills to come with something that interests them. I think it is a good way to incorporate reading and literacy into the

classroom and it gives the students a chance to get involved and work with one another.

When I become a teacher, digital storytelling is definitely an activity I would try with my students. This is

because technology is becoming more and more popular and in the next few years it wouldn’t surprise me if almost

everything in the world revolved or depended on technology. I think it is good for children to learn different types of

technology at a young age, so as they grow up, they are familiar with and understand technology.

There were three things that surprised me or caught my attention in this article. The first thing is what digital

storytelling actually is and how it works; the second thing is how blogging allowed the students to communicate

with other students in different places of the world; and the third thing is how talented the children were with

computers and the different programs they were exploring.

Interesting quote: “We are a fifth-grade class that is piloting a 1-to-1 laptop program using iBook

computers. We blog, Skype, make wiki pages, and produce digital videos, podcasts, and vidcasts” (Bolch,

2008, para. 1). I thought this quote was interesting because these children understood how to use these different

technology programs at the elementary grade level, and I just started to explore some of these programs this

semester, my third year in college.

Title: Teaching Literacy in the Technology ClassroomAuthor: Chris Panell

The article, Teaching Literacy in the Technology Classroom, by Chris Panell focuses on literacy

and how it can be taught by using technology in a classroom. This article revolves around a college

teacher and her different ways of how she teaches literacy in her classroom. She mentions two

methods that seem to work with her students. The first method is “to have the students read out loud,

from the textbook or references materials, when new concepts are introduced. The second method

is to make sure the students actually use their textbooks as resources” (Panell, 2005, para. 8).

These methods are very helpful because they “let the students know the textbook contains

relevant resources; it allows those who are not comfortable participating out loud in class, a chance

to be involved; and it helps demonstrate to students how to interact with the textbook” (Panell, 2005,

para. 9).

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2103.html

Interesting Link:

In this article, it also explains how technology helps incorporate literacy into the classroom. One

way is to make sure the students understand and know they should “use all of the resources

available” (Panell, 2005, para. 13) . Technology is also used to help students because if they “can’t

find something in the textbook, they can use the Internet to help them” (Panell, 2005, para. 14). This

article also explains how it is important to not just give the students the right answer if they wrong,

but instead allow them to try to figure out on their own, what they did wrong. I agreed with this part of

the article because teachers are not going to be with their students all the time, therefore, I feel like it

is important they learn to be independent at a young age. I’m not saying teachers shouldn’t help if a

student is struggling, but first they should give the student a chance to figure the problem out on their

own.

I thought this article focused on many important concepts that should be taken into consideration while

teaching in the classroom. I liked both of the methods mentioned and even though, this article is based around a

college grade level, I feel like these methods could also be used at the elementary grade level. I agree with the

article and feel like it is important to allow the children to be independent, but at the same time be there to make

sure they understand and are not struggling with any of the concepts being taught.

When I become a teacher, I will try to find different techniques to use so everyone gets a chance to

participate and be involved in the lesson I’m teaching. I would definitely take both of the methods mentioned in

this article into consideration when I start teaching because I want to see all my students succeed. I think it is

good to introduce technology and the Internet to students because mostly everything around the world involves

technology. I thought the article, Show and Tell, by Matt Bolch was similar to this article because they focus on

different ways to use literacy and technology in the classroom.

Three things I found useful and helpful in this article were the two methods because they seemed like they

would be good ways to assess the children to make sure they understand. The second thing is that these

methods were focused around the college level, but yet could be used at the elementary level as well. The third

thing is that the Internet and technology can teach students to be independent and find things on their own.

Interesting quote: “I would respond that my role as a teacher is not to show off my own knowledge—it is

to show students how to gain knowledge” (Panell, 2005, para. 17). I liked this quote because I agree that

teachers are there to make sure students understand the concepts they need to know in order to be successful

later on in the future.

Title: The World of Digital StorytellingAuthor: Jason Ohler

The article, The World of Digital Storytelling, by Jason Ohler was very similar to the article,

Show and Tell, by Matt Bolch. Although they both relate to digital storytelling, this article adds

in the importance of a story map, which comes before the storyboard. The other article just

discussed how the story board is the first step in making a digital story. According to Jason, “A

story map is a one-page diagram showing how the essential components of a story are

incorporated into the overall flow of the narrative” (Ohler, 2005-2006, para. 12). He also

explains three things that should be noticed in a digital story. These three things are: “A call to

adventure; problem-solution; and closure” (Ohler, 2005-2006, para. 13).

This article also focused on the different ways digital storytelling relates to education. There

are two things that should be taken into consideration: “The first is to focus on the story first and

the digital medium later; and the second is to use digital storytelling to enhance student’s skills

in critical thinking, expository writing, and media literacy” (Ohler, 2005-2006, para. 8).

This article helps explain how sometimes students can struggle with digital storytelling because

they don’t fully understand the technology they are working with. I feel like it is important to make

sure all the students are familiar with the technology and its programs before using it to create

projects like digital storytelling. I think both the story maps and the storyboards are good ideas

because it allows the teacher to be involved and help the student fix mistakes before they begin

recording their story.

http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/

Interesting Link:

I really liked this article because it taught me some different ways in creating a digital story. I learned about

story maps and how they play an important role in creating digital stories. I like the idea of creating story maps

before the storyboard because I feel like it offers the students different ways to form their stories. I thought this

article was very helpful because I was able to learn how digital storytelling relates to education and how it benefits

students. I didn’t realize at first, how important it is to make sure the students are familiar with the technology and

its programs before its used. I thought it was important for students to understand and learn about the technology,

but I didn’t take into consideration at first, the fact that some students may be more focused on the technology and

not so much on their actual project. I thought the author did a good job explaining the importance of understanding

technology.

There were three things I found helpful in this article. The first thing was being able to learn what a story map

was and how it relates to digital storytelling. The second thing was actually understanding how important it is for the

students to understand the technology before they use it to create projects. The third thing was how important it is

to create story maps and storyboards before recording the story because it allows the students to get feedback

from the teachers.

Interesting quote: “Through creating electronic personal narratives, students become active creators,

rather than passive consumers, of multimedia” (Ohler, 2005-2006, para. 1). I liked this quote because to me, it

seemed like it was referring to the importance of allowing the students to be involved and participate in engaging

activities. I have always felt like if the lesson or activity is fun and the students are involved, then they learn more

and they are more eager to learn.

I thought the articles, Show and Tell, Teaching Literacy in the Technology Classroom, and The World of Digital Storytelling were very interesting and related well to one another. I thought they all focused on important concepts and methods that could be incorporated into the classroom. I learned new information from these articles that will be beneficial for me in the future when I become a teacher. When I become a teacher, I think digital storytelling is something I will use in my classroom along with incorporating literacy. I think it is important to have different techniques and activities to help incorporate literacy into the classroom because everyone learns differently. I also think technology should be taught at a young age because I feel like most of the world revolves around technology and it is only going to improve.

References:

Bolch, Matt (2008). Show and Tell. THE Journal, 35(5). Retrieved November 16, 2008, from Teacher Reference Center database.

Ohler, Jason (2005-2006). The World of Digital Storytelling. Educational Leadership, 63(4). Retrieved November 16, 2008, from Teacher Reference Center database.

Panell, Chris (2005). Teaching Literacy in the Technology Classroom. Tech Directions, 64(6). Retrieved November 16, 2008, from ERIC database.