ERIC EJ893806: A Reflection: Trials in Using Digital Storytelling Effectively with the Gifted

2010·0.11 MB·English

by  ERIC

A Reflection:
48 summer 2010 • vol 33, no 3
Technology is becoming an integral part of the educa- Digital stories not only reflect each student’s under-
tional realm. In an effort to blend technology with educa- standing of the subject, but also allow collaboration,
tion, I took on the challenge of digital storytelling as a which can encourage personality development, collab-
way to generate interest, attention, and motivation for the orative skills, and creativity (Dupain & Maguire, 2005).
“digital generation” in today’s classroom (Robin, 2006). Digital storytelling integrates technology with learn-
Digital storytelling is the practice of combining narrative ing, facilitates an emotional connection to the content,
with digital content, including images, sound, and video, and allows for the sharing of that content (Educause
to create a short movie, typically with a strong emotional Learning Initiative, 2007). Highly capable learners can
component (Educause Learning Initiative, 2007). They have trouble interacting with others, and this can lead to
may be instructional, persuasive, historical, or reflective difficulties with peers. Sharing an activity is one of the
in nature. There are seven elements necessary for creating best ways to create mutual respect (Webb, Meckstroth,
effective and interesting digital stories: point of view, a & Tolan, 1982); digital storytelling addresses that need
dramatic question, emotional content, the gift of voice, the by giving students opportunities to interact and brain-
power of the soundtrack, economy, and pacing (Center for storm through the creative process. People who are able
Digital Storytelling, 2006). All of the elements are critical to read and deal effectively with other’s feelings are at an
to the success of the digital story. advantage in all areas of life (Goleman, 1995). I felt that
digital storytelling would help my students to experience
Benefits of Digital Storytelling growth in the affective area.
I decided to use digital storytelling in my classroom for
Looking to motivate and challenge my students, I took a variety of reasons:
on the task of conducting my own action research on digi- • it motivates students because it involves them in the
tal storytelling. Articles on this topic gave me a multitude writing process in a novel way,
of reasons for trying it out with my advanced students. • it helps improve writing skills by having students learn
Digital storytelling enables teachers to provide differen- to write with a concise point of view,
tiated instruction that meets the needs and interests of • it encourages research skills, and
advanced and gifted learners while providing a venue for • it helps to develop organizational skills while appealing
them to be consistently and sufficiently challenged. to a wide range of learning styles.
Trials in Using
Lynda Kieler
Digital
Storytelling

Effectively
With the Gifted
gifted child today 49
Using Digital Storytelling Effectively
Table 1 Through the Puzzle of Autism. Since
Helpful Sites on Digital Storytelling then, that story has been used to raise
awareness for autism—I was a movie
The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu
producer! It was a highly motivating
The Center for Digital Storytelling’s http://www.storycenter.org/memvoice/
and rewarding experience for me. The
Memory’s Voices index.html
story I created was used as a closing
A Guide to Digital Storytelling http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/
to a workshop on the topic of autism
audiovideo/sites/yourvideo/pdf/
aguidetodigitalstorytelling-bbc.pdf and it can still found on the Five for
Fighting’s charity website (http://www.
Digital Storytelling http://electronicportfolios.com/digistory
whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com),
Tech Head Stories http://tech-head.com/dstory.htm
where it generates funds for autism
DigiTales—The Art of Telling Digital Stories http://www.digitales.us
research each time it is viewed.
Having created my digital story,
Barrett and Wilkerson (2004) coe.uh.edu) that includes information
I reflected on the steps I had taken
claimed that digital storytelling is a on creating stories, examples, and links
and the ways I would modify it with
deep learning tool and listed its ben- to other sites and scholarly articles; I
a group of gifted elementary chil-
efits. They defined deep learning as found it is a very good place to start.
dren. Clearly, I would have to break it
reflective, developmental, integrative, For those looking for sources about
down and teach it in small steps. I had
self-directive, and lifelong learning that digital storytelling, I have included a
learned that it was a worthy task for
develops critical thinking, communi- table of websites (see Table 1). My pur-
my students. It provided opportunities
cation, information literacy, and an pose in this article is to relate my own
for self-motivation, problem solving,
ability to understand diverse societies experiences and convey the learning
and collaboration, as well as learning
and cultures. Because advanced learn- benefits that digital storytelling might
and using information and communi-
ers require a broad range of informa- hold for those who are willing to dive
cation technologies—things that the
tion that they usually acquire faster into this technology. Additionally, I
Long Range Plan for Technology (Texas
than other students, they benefit from want to highlight aspects of digital
Education Agency, 2006) indicated
accelerated learning experiences that storytelling that I found critical for
our students need to compete as digi-
involve complex thinking and synthe- its efficacy—and which might other-
tal citizens.
sizing of information, both of which wise be omitted in the effort to get the
can be incorporated into digital sto- technical aspects of digital storytelling
My Classroom Experience
rytelling experiences. Additionally, it mastered.
has been determined that people pro- As recommended on many of the
cess visual information 60,000 times digital storytelling sites, I began with a I began with a small group of fifth-
more quickly than narrative informa- story of my own. At the time, I was not grade students who had been identified
tion, making visual literacy a key 21st- thinking about the best way to start, as gifted by a screening process that
century skill for today’s students to but I found that this was a wise way to determined their entrance to the gifted
master (Porter, 2006). I was sold and begin. It gave me an understanding of program in my district. I followed the
eager to get started. some of the frustrations and intoxica- technical steps I had taken, but in a
tions that come with the art of creat- hurry to get the task done, I left out
My Beginning ing something that has the power to a whole series of steps that I later dis-
move others. I realized that writing the covered were crucial—steps that help
Although my purpose is not to script for a digital story helped nar- participants develop an emotional
relate the technical steps in the cre- row my focus. With the script finished, attachment to the material.
ation of a digital story, sites that teach I was ready to mix text, photos, and My students wrote a story about
digital storytelling mechanics are plen- music to create a product that satis- escaping slaves on the run toward the
tiful and a search will yield a wealth fied my creative needs. I was Steven North. They knew it would become
of information. The University of Spielberg creating a masterpiece. I a digital story but did not really have
Houston maintains a most helpful site was absorbed and driven. When I was a good understanding of what a digi-
titled “The Educational Uses of Digital done, I had a moving story of a family’s tal story was or what a digital story
Storytelling” (http://digitalstorytelling. struggle with autism titled Joel’s Journey could do. In retrospect, I believe they
50 summer 2010 • vol 33, no 3
Using Digital Storytelling Effectively
thought of it as a developing a type of and time to figure out how to create own experience. Additionally, in tak-
PowerPoint presentation using a differ- a mood or point of view with visual ing on a point of view, the creator of
ent program. They lacked excitement images, music, and voice. This kind the story has to narrow the focus and
but they managed to focus and tell a of project could not be done quickly. be concise. Often, advanced students
story. Next, they found pictures of run- Digital storytelling requires time— have gotten by with a shallow learning
away slaves and maps and put them something many teachers complain of a subject. In having to narrow their
in their electronic folder, along with they don’t have enough of, myself
gospel music samples. Lastly, they used included. So, recognizing the value of I realized that it
a digital storytelling program, dropped it—how could I afford more time to
would take more
in the photos, and recorded themselves this task?
telling the story with the music in the collaboration and
background. The Missing Elements time to figure out
When we watched it, we all expe-
how to create a
rienced a sense of disconnection. It
I went back and looked at “Seven
was a decent product, but there was mood or point of
Elements of Digital Storytelling”
no real engagement. We did not feel
developed by the Center for Digital view with visual
the danger that the escaping slaves felt,
Storytelling (2006) and began to
we didn’t recognize their courage and images, music,
understand what I had left out of the
strength, nor did we feel their sense of and voice.
instructions to my students. I began
pride, accomplishment, or joy when
to understand that all of the elements
they made it to safety. No aspiring
are critical to the success of the story,
Steven Spielbergs had risen up to chal- focus, they must know how that focus
and I had not given them the attention
lenge my creative genius. What had was formed from the larger picture or
that was needed.
happened? What was the difference events of a situation, knowledge that I
To begin with, a digital story
between my own experience and that later realized they did not have.
requires the creator to find a perspec-
of the students? This experience was A second element I had omitted
tive or point of view. This step is not
not what the digital storytelling advo- was a dramatic question that should
easy for an adult, and is a real chal-
cates said would happen. Nor was it be answered by the end of the story.
lenge for fifth graders. Children of
what I had expected based on my own In asking a question about the event
this age are generally not that adept
experience with it. I knew that digital or person highlighted in the story, the
at seeing other people’s points of view,
storytelling could be a deep learning creator is developing an understanding
but if a child can learn to appreciate
tool (Barrett & Wilkerson, 2004), and of the situation. The creator is analyz-
somehow I had missed that deep learn- how the world looks through other ing, synthesizing, and evaluating the
ing with my students. We had gone people’s eyes and can put himself situation. In other words, a person is
through the motions, but my students in the shoes of others, he will have connected and interacting with that
had not had that transformative expe- fewer frustrations (Webb et al., 1982). point of view. Collaboration can be
rience of success. Although I knew that point of view very helpful at this stage because it
Had I not had my own personal was important to the story and for helps the creator of the story to clarify
experience to fortify me, I would have helping my students to have fewer points for herself.
considered digital storytelling to be a frustrations in life because their inter- The third element that I had some-
waste of educational time. I learned personal skills had been improved how managed to omit was in having
the hard way that going through an through their experiences in collabo- the students find the content that
abbreviated version of the steps would ration, I had still missed the mark. At spoke to them in a powerful and per-
not be sufficiently motivating to sus- the time the students were creating sonal way. Perhaps they had found it
tain the project nor would creating it the story, I had thought they under- but I had not given them the time to
in a disjointed way. In fact, I suspected stood point of view. Affective skills are discuss it, reflect on it, and interact
that perhaps I should not expect that sometimes handled intuitively and are with it so that they became emotion-
every learner would be up for this always a very personal experience, and ally involved. And so our digital story-
kind of creative challenge. I realized I assumed my students would get that telling experience was not the success
that it would take more collaboration internal connect as I had during my it could hcaovnet ibneueend. on page ??
gifted child today 51
Using Digital Storytelling Effectively
A Second Chance with this group of students. The previ- digital tools. I have learned that digi-
ous year, I had not given the students tal storytelling is a worthy educational
A new year has begun, and I have a the time needed to create, collaborate, endeavor for teachers who are looking
class of students chomping at the bit and to reflect. I didn’t instill that chal- for ways to prepare their 21st-century
to create a digital story. What made the lenge one must feel for creating the story gifted students for their future. GCT
difference? My introduction of a digital that will move people the most. I had left
story has been gradual. For novice digi- the emotions out of the point of view References
tal story creators, my new timeframe and I ended up selling those students
is the whole school year instead of 3 short. I had reduced digital storytelling Barrett, H., & Wilkerson, J. (2004). Con-
weeks. There is student buy-in because to nothing more than a PowerPoint pre- flicting paradigms in electronic portfo-
of the challenge I leave them with each sentation, and I had not made sure those lio approaches. Retrieved from http://
time we watch and evaluate digital sto- students really understood the point of electronicportfolios.com/systems/
paradigms.html
ries. I have provided the stimulus. They view of the escaping slaves. In that first
Center for Digital Storytelling. (2006).
are finding the emotional element and experience, my students operated at the
The seven elements of digital storytelling.
initiating their own dialogue about it. lower end of Bloom’s taxonomy instead
Retrieved from http://www.storycenter.
I created several digital stories with of at the higher end with analysis, syn- org/memvoice/pages/tutorial_1.html
moving music to introduce what hap- thesis, and evaluation. This time, I have Dupain, M., & Maguire, L. (2005). Digi-
pens in an oil spill and to retell a story managed to whet my students’ appetites tal story book projects 101: How to create
about the Alamo. I have shown them for the creative aspects. I have sold them and implement digital storytelling into
examples of digital stories created by on the passion and thrill of creating and your curriculum. Retrieved from http://
college students on the University of the challenge of evoking emotion while www.uwex.edudisted/conference
Houston’s (2010) “Educational Uses telling a story. Educause Learning Initiative. (2007, Jan-
uary). 7 things you should know about
of Digital Storytelling” website, and
. . . digital storytelling. Retrieved from
Conclusion
we have talked about what makes some
http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/
of them interesting and emotional and
ELI7021.pdf
what makes others lack emotion and My students’ outcomes for this year Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelli-
not seem as interesting. They are learn- are still evolving, but I have learned that gence: Why it can matter more than IQ.
ing that if they are concise, their story digital storytelling can indeed be moti- New York, NY: Bantam Books.
will be more effective. vating and leads to a deep understand- Porter, B. (2006). Beyond words: The
Our digital storytelling discussions ing of the material. To evoke emotion craftsmanship of digital products.
have led to other connections and dis- and be an effective storyteller, a person Learning & Leading With Technology,
33(8), 28–31.
cussions on how advertisers use color, must truly understand the point of view
Robin, B. (2006). The educational uses of
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Carlsen, K. McFerrin, J. Price, R. Weber,
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and I will have them create one about It broadens our students’ appreciation (pp. 709–716). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
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based on the research of a historic topic and haven’t understood before, and range plan for technology, 2006–2020.
in which they are interested. We have it clarifies situations so that they can Retrieved from http://ritter.tea.state.
tx.us/technology/lrpt/CoverLRPTfront.
already started collaborating on ways to learn from history or others. Students
pdf
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University of Houston. (2010). The educa-
move others. When the students need of interaction, while creating a memo-
tional uses of digital storytelling. Retrieved
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52 summer 2010 • vol 33, no 3