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Digital storytelling so far has been really similar to writing I require of my eighth-graders. The students must think about the medium through which they will be conveying their message and their audience and purpose. Just as my students must think about how to write a letter, or how to write an argumentative paper, they must, too, think about how they will write a story that could be framed for digital storytelling. They must organize the information they want to convey, monitor the time limit (just like length in a written piece), and they must think how they can convey this information both in written (verbal) and visual form. After this process is done, they must think about the images they'd like to show to heighten the impact of their information. I like the templates offered through the Pearson website for students to organize their thoughts. This is a great graphic organizer that students can use to get organized. They can collaborate together and bounce off ideas as well, just like in peer revision. I like how it makes students think sequentially, but also think abstractly in other regards. How multi-modal is that! They must plan out their narrative, the pictures, and the pauses as they construct their iMovie. Yet, they must also think abstractly about the pictures they choose to represent their thinking. Plus, a student may even choose the pictures first and then construct the narrative around it; therefore the project promotes more creative thinking and allows student choice. The effects and audio…well, that's just fun! The students love the creativity involved and how they get to make the presentation their own, yet also academic. Students in my school use MySpace as a mode of communication. They love choosing backgrounds, pictures, songs – anything that sets them apart and allows them to talk about themselves and share themselves in unique ways. Digital storytelling allows them to share their creativity. I always try to give students choice in projects. This sort of project is exciting and is full of possibilities. I love that it can be used in so many ways and for so many different purposes. Describe your current teaching situation, as well as the rubric(s) you might implement for digital storytelling projects. I teach four classes of eighth-grade English each day. Some classes are often inclusion classes, which involve a parapro. My students vary in degree of computer knowledge. Many of the eighth-grade teachers already use Appleworks for slide presentations, and in eighth grade we require students to take a computer class where they learn what is, in my opinion, a not-so-great equivalent of Apple programs. I can see myself using iMovie right away, but we'll have to put certain restrictions on the kids because we don't have the manpower to scan everyone's relatives for the project. I'll be working on how to incorporate this. When it comes to rubrics for the digital storytelling project, I would require certain items, like a minimum number of stills, a title screen, a specified length for the written work, aesthetic points, and, of course, completion of the digital story. What are your thoughts about audience and voice? I think the audience is very real for the students. They really think about their technology projects in terms of sharing and who will be seeing them. I think they take technology projects more seriously than writing, because the presentational aspect imposes a different kind of pressure. I think most of my students would jump at the chance. Challenging them is really a key in keeping eighth-graders interested and engaged. The constant activity involved in this project will keep them on their toes. It's good to have projects they haven't done before, because they spend time really listening so they can perform the task. Especially when the results look so great. Describe your project and your workshop experience. I chose my daughter for the subject of this workshop. I've tried to teach myself this program before, and I had little luck. I have tons of pictures of my daughter, so I knew that portion would be easy. I also love writing about her, so this part again would not be challenging. I would then have the time to really learn the program and try different things with it. It was short, so I didn't waste time doing the same procedures I already knew, like aligning sound with the pictures. I have really taken off with this. I love the medium and have so many other movies planned in my head. I know I want to experiment with video now and try more things with that. I have to learn how to burn the DVD so I can do this for my students. I also think I'll have a few displayed on the website with permission. This has been invaluable for me. It was the perfect setting, and the perfect pace. I loved the freedom to change things I wanted and ask for help. I feel smart. (At least in this small way!)
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