Chapter 3:Digital Storytelling As An

Educational ToolThis chapter will examine DST within the

context of Standards, Instructional design and Literacy

From: Digital Storytelling in the Classroom by Jason Ohler

StandardsContent Standards•Content Standards exist for all grade levels•Most often content standards address outcome rather than methodology•Since DST is primarily viewed as methodology, it is usually overlooked•However DST has wide application and can be used to cover content areas as long as time, technology access and technology training existsTechnology Standards•educators have embraced the educational technology standards developed by ISTE (international society for technology in education)•nontechnically oriented teacher with an open mind and good classroom management skills can be very successful •students live in a media driven world, having students create digital media provides them ultimate media literacy opportunity

Language Arts Standardsfor Technology in the Classroom

• Web 2.0 is a social, "narrative environment"o expanded concepts of writing,

reading and grammar• multimedia collage:

o mix of text, graphics, video, audio• need literacy skills to navigate web

o same skillset required for D.S.T.

  Narrative in the classroom Literacy growth begins before

children enter school• students already

o text,o take digital pictures,o design and maintain their own web

spaces

What is more ... 

Students arrive at schoolwith an understanding ofnarrative form

  And yet at school theyreceive information in

'report' form

• we need to treat this knowledge of the story form as an "emerging ability" 

DST works with narrative to capitalize on and expand preexisting literacy

(more on this later)

Some of the standards:

NETS for Teachers 2008   available at www.iste.org:

(international society for technology in education)

– Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

– Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

– Model Digital-Age Work and Learning– Promote and Model Digital Citizenship

and Responsibility– Engage in Professional Growth and

Leadership

NCTE(national council of teachers of English)

– Wide range of print & nonprint textso acquire informationo build understanding of self &

society– From many periods & genres

o build understanding of dimensions of human experience

– Apply wide range of strategies to interpret & appreciate textso draw on previous experienceo interact with other readers

  NCTE / IRA Standards for English Language Arts:http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Books/Sample/StandardsDoc.pdf

Digital Storytelling is an important educational tool because students feel more comfortable with information presented in a story format rather than a unit format. 

We can use Backward Design to present a lesson in a story format:

– What transformation do students (as heroes of their own learning stories) need to undergo? 

– How can students, by the end of the story, prove to themselves and their evaluators that they internalized their transformation and discovery?

– What adventures, either of their own creation or designed by the teacher, should students undergo to make sure this happens?

Digital Storytelling can promote overall literacy, specifically the DAOW of literacy: Digital, Art, Oral, and Written literacy. 

Digital Storytelling helps develop Digital literacy by:

– Getting students to use digital technology effectively 

– Getting students to use technology creatively

– Getting students to use technology wisely 

Digital Storytelling can nurture & develop Art literacy by making students:

– Art creators– Art managers– Art producers

The "O" and "W" of DAOW"O"- Oral Literacy Oral literacy: the ability to understand and use the written word...Digital storytelling allows for both! Oral literacy valued in DST (digital story telling) because:• Its traditional. Oral storytelling is

how storytelling began.• Good oral storytelling is the key to

good teaching.• It provides a good oral skill set for

students.• It allows students to realize

their own voice.

"W"- Writing The Value of Writing in DST:• Like a good movie a script is an

essential part of the process.• Makes students who don't like

writing (essays etc...) better writers.

• Just expanding on traditional literacy, new venues and genres.

 * NOTE ABOUT PERMISSION*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA

Assessment is a pivotal point in the education process. It is the means by which we...

a)determine how our students are doing as learners,b)gain valuable insight into how we are doing as teachers, andc)communicate the effectiveness of this process to the public.

Your department heads and peers will naturally desire to know the relevance and value of Digital Story Telling (DST). Your assessment method for Digital Story Telling is a means by which you can effectively communicate the utility of DST

within your classroom.

• Due to the unavailability of technology (budgetary limitations) and time constraints, students in mainstream schools are not often required or encouraged to use forms of New Media such as DST.

• The author argues that even if the prices of the technology lowered, the lack of New Media literacy amongst traditional educators would continue to slow this down progression. In an age of No Child Left Behind, teachers see no incentive to branching out to new areas of literacy.

Note: MIT has recently developed a $100 laptop

• While students are interacting and experimenting with many forms of New Media on a daily basis, teachers often lack an effective way to bring these skills into the classroom and assess them.

The book was once seen as a form of “New Media”. It challenged the status quo in a major way and offset the prior forms of educating (ie. Oral Stories). Nonetheless, due to the

prevalence of books within the greater society, it became mandatory for schools to equip their students with a

knowledge of “how to use them” (ie.read). From that point onward, there has been continual debate about how best to

assess functions related to reading and literacy.

This chapter offers three compelling reasons to use and assess new media:

1.New Media, due to its intrinsic reliance upon Old Media, can spark an interest in reading and writing among New Media savvy students who would other wise show little interest in developing these vital skills.

2.In due time New Media literacy will be the norm within our society and thus an expectation for all students.

3.Students are going to experiment with New Media outside (and inside) of our classes whether or not this use is formally acknowledged and assessed.

ASSESSMENT CONSIDERATIONSThe author is reluctant to discuss rubrics for two reasons:1. Each teacher has his/her own way of doing things, most of which work just fine.2. Since DST projects are so new, and the assessment territory so uncharted, the author does not want to suggest structures that restrict rather than broaden. 

In spite of his reluctance, he does provide his approach to assessing digital stories.• Set clear goals• Assess the story• Assess all the artifacts students create to develop the digital story, especially

the written work• Assess student planning and process • Assess media grammar and student use of media• Assess student understanding and presentation of content• Assess student teamwork and use of resources• Assess their performance• Have students self-assess their projects

"New media assessment will be part of our futures, either by default or by design.  The more enthusiastically our education systems accept the need for new media assessment, the better prepared our children will be for the world beyond school."