Digital Storytelling and Ebooks - Where are we headed?

DIGITAL STORYTELLING

“Tell me a fact and I’ll learn

Tell me a truth and I’ll believe

Tell me a story and I’ll remember it forever”

(Matthews-DeNatale, Ph.D., 2008)

I was not familiar with digital storytelling until this assignment.  Digital storytelling is the process of telling a story with the use of digital tools.  It is usually a 3-5 minute video produced by a novice user, and it is typically about a personal experience that is important to the creator.

This technology is becoming widely used in the classroom and can improve students understanding of subject areas.  It also helps with writing, technical, and presentational skills.  Students also gain in higher level thinking, social, and language skills.  Educators report that they successfully use this technology in all subject areas with language arts and social studies receiving the highest percentage of votes.  The process of creating a digital story appeals to all learning styles:  aural, visual, and kinesthetic.  To successfully implement a digital story assignment, teachers must plan properly.  Below I have included a recommended time line.

Two Months Prior to Start of Class

·         Inform technology and media staff of the upcoming assignment.  This will allow them time to plan for an increase demand of equipment.

·         Meet with media staff to help plan training for students on equipment and video editing software

·         Plan for the additional media space needed for this project.  (Possible solution – external hard drives)

The Assignment

·         Develop a clear project outline.  Include all requirements for the assignment.

·         Provide students with a rubric so that students know the criteria for success.

·         Provide a timeline with periodic progress reviews.  Suggested stages for review are:

o    Brainstorming: Students share their ideas with others in the class (sometimes called a “story circle”). Peers and instructor ask questions and help each other refine their ideas.

o    Scripting: Students author a 200-300 word script that will become the audio for their stories. Peers and instructor can ask questions and provide feedback on the script as well.

o    Storyboarding: Using a comic strip format, students show how the words in their scripts will synch up with the images they plan to use in their stories. Time permitting, this is another opportunity for feedback.

o    Recording and Editing: This is where the piece comes together

o    Fine Tuning and Titling: Students add transitions, titles, and credits. It’s important for this to come last, as transitions can change the timing of a piece.

o    Burning: Students export their projects and burn them to CD or DVD – at least one copy for the student and another for the teacher.

o    Sharing: It’s important to schedule a final screening so that students can present and discuss their work. This is where some of the most important reflective learning takes place!

When designing a digital story, The Center for Digital Storytelling (CDS) in Berkeley, California has developed “The 7 Elements of Storytelling” as a useful starting point.  I have listed those elements below.

CDS' Seven Elements of Digital Storytelling

1. Point of View What is the main point of the story and what is the perspective of the author? 2. A Dramatic Question A key question that keeps the viewer's attention and will be answered by the end of the story. 3. Emotional Content Serious issues that come alive in a personal and powerful way and connects the story to the audience. 4. The Gift of Your Voice A way to personalize the story to help the audience understand the context. 5. The Power of the Soundtrack Music or other sounds that support and embellish the storyline. 6. Economy Using just enough content to tell the story without overloading the viewer. 7. Pacing The rhythm of the story and how slowly or quickly it progresses.

Resources for Assignment Development and Assessment

Banaszewski, Tom Digital Storytelling Finds Its Place in the Classroom

http://www.infotoday.com/mmschools/jan02/banaszewski.htm

Teach Story Blog and Teach Story http://techszewski.blogs.com

Barrett, Helen "Digital Storytelling Research Design" (includes rubrics)

http://electronicportfolios.org/digistory/ResearchDesign.pdf

Digital Directors Guild: How to Create a Digital Moviemaking Activity

http://www.ddguild.org/how_pedagogy.html

Digital Storytelling Education http://story.e2bn.net

Digital Storytelling: Using Technology to Tell Stories

http://www.umass.edu/wmwp/DigitalStorytelling/Digital%20Storytelling%20Main%20Page.htm

EdTech Center (Northeastern University) “Digital Storytelling”

http://www.edtech.neu.edu/interactive_tools/digital_story_telling

The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling

http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/default.htm

Educause/ELI: Seven Things You Should Know About Digital Storytelling

http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7021.pdf

The Elements of Digital Storytelling http://www.inms.umn.edu/elements

Integrating Digital Storytelling into your Classroom http://its.ksbe.edu/dst

May, Kathie "Digital Storytelling as a Narrative Approach to Public Speaking"

http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/mlx/slip.php?item=1765

Middlebury Community Digital Storytelling Collaborative

https://segue.middlebury.edu/index.php?action=site&site=collaborative

Ohler, Jason Digital Storytelling Overview http://www.jasonohler.com/storytelling

Handouts http://www.jasonohler.com/resources/handouts.cfm

Widson Lists http://www.jasonohler.com/resources/educwisdom.cfm

Photobus: Digital Storytelling Tutorial http://www.photobus.co.uk/dstory_pages/find.html

Shewbridge, Bill “Intergenerational Storytelling as Process and Product”

http://www.nercomp.org/data/media/NERCOMP%202007.ppt

Spinning Yarns Around the Digital Fire http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_1/huffaker

Rubistar http://rubistar.4teachers.org

Tip: In the "Find a Rubric" section, enter the keywords "digital storytelling," search type "match all of your words"   Thinking Spaces: Handouts (Templates, Revision Strategies, Elements of Narrative) http://www.thinkingspaces.org/resources_handouts.html

Visible Knowledge Project: Learning Technology Inquiry

http://crossroads.georgetown.edu/vkp/newsletter/0902/resources.htm

Visible Knowledge Project: Three Types of Grading Rubrics for Digital Stories

http://crossroads.georgetown.edu/vkp/newsletter/0902/resources.htm#gr

EBOOKS

I personally own a Kindle, and I love it.  I can’t imagine now picking up a traditional book to read.  The portability and vast access to multiple texts at any time makes the Kindle a must have in my life. 

Ebooks are becoming more and more popular and accessible.  The platforms that can support this technology are expanding.  Free eBooks by project Gutenberg can download books to a PC, iPad, Kindle, Sony Reader, iPhone, Android, and other portable devices.  With this expanding technology, the media center must address this new demand.  My school media center does not have fictional ebooks, but does have access to electronic encyclopedias. 

This technology could solve some existing issues found in the media center.  Electronic books could be set to have timers so that late charges and lost books will become a thing of the past.  No longer will the media specialist have to apply the sixth layer of tape to the most popular book because electronic files will not show everyday wear and tear.  As the technology expands, I believe the cost of an electronic book will be less than a conventional printed book.  So the media center collections can expand.  Finally, students could have access to books 24/7.  As this technology expands, students could “check out” books at night, on weekends, and possible during the summer months.

References

Digital Storytelling. (n.d.). Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling. Retrieved April 02, 2011, from http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/survey/index.html

Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling. (n.d.). Retrieved April 02, 2011, from http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/7elements.html

Matthews-DeNatale, Ph.D., G. (2008). Digital storytelling: Tips and resources. Retrieved April 2, 2011, from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI08167B.pdf

Bring Technology into the Classroom

I currently work in a small rural school with approximately 200 students.  Our staff works very hard to meet the needs of our students, and my school was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence last year.  Even though my peers do an excellent job in their classroom, very few teachers incorporate technology skills into their lessons.  Recently each classroom was given a Qomo pad, and only a few teachers have embraced this technology. 

Each teacher received one day of training to use the Qomo pad.  I believe the training was well organized and provided ample opportunities to use the technology.  I actually provided this training.  After my student teaching, the principal hired me to train all of the teachers to use the recently purchased Qomo pads.  I provided teachers with printed notes and a predesigned online tutorial.  The training took place in the computer lab where I was able to demonstrate using the multimedia projector, and teachers were able to use their Qomo pads on individual computers.  I loaded each computer with a custom made tutorial.  As teachers worked through this tutorial, they were given the opportunity to use many of the popular functions.  I allotted one hour at the end of the day for teachers to develop their own application to be used in their classroom.       

The biggest problem was that the teachers had a great deal of difficulty thinking of ways to incorporate this technology into the classroom.  Every teacher completed the training, demonstrated their skills in class, and previewed upcoming lessons.  But as soon as they left the computer lab they were overwhelmed with daily demands and issues.  This left them with little to no time to explore the possibilities of this technology.  As a result, many teachers are not utilizing this technology today.    

For this process to be a true success I believe some follow up support and training is needed.  I do not totally blame the teachers with the limited success of this implementation.  I work in a classroom and realize how precious time is to a teacher.  If someone was able to follow up and provide additional assistance, I cannot think of a single teacher that would not welcome the support.  I then believe once the teacher becomes familiar with the technology, the additional support will no longer be needed.

Are you the "Copyright Police" in your School?

The Board of Education in my school district has adopted a copyright policy that states “The school Media Specialist is charged with informing school staff members of copyright regulations so that school materials, employees, and equipment will not be involved in the infringement of this applicable copyright law.”

Although many school districts have adopted such a policy, very few provide their media specialists with the training and support they need to properly enact the policy in their school. Researching and understanding complicated copyright laws becomes yet one more item on a busy media specialist’s already too long list to-do list. For this reason, many media specialists resort to obtaining a professional resource that provides “guidelines” for copyright law compliance in schools. Unfortunately, these guidelines end up being viewed as “rules” that must be followed rather than just guidelines that should be taken into consideration. Sadly, the media center staff becomes the dreaded “copyright police” who enforce the rules instead of being copyright leaders who teach others how to understand copyright laws.

But how does a busy media specialist become a copyright leader?

First, stop relying solely on professional resources that provide “guidelines” for copyright law. In the introduction to her book “Copyright for Schools” (Linworth Books, 2005), Carol Simpson admits that her book presents the “safest position” and “in some instances, the recommended practices might even be considered ultraconservative.” However, she also reminds readers not to be afraid of copyright laws. She does encourage readers who wish to advantage of their full rights under Fair Use to have strong rationale and good documentation to support their decision. But one must ask…how many readers take the time to read the introduction? Have you ever taken the time to read the introduction to your professional resources?


Thankfully, the Center for Social Media has taken on the task of educating media specialists and other teachers about exercising their rights under Fair Use. Through their publication “Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education” the Center for Social Media provides educators with information on HOW to interpret Fair Use. In other words, instead of giving educators fish (specific guidelines) they teach educators how to fish (how to interpret Fair Use for their specific circumstance).

In summary, educators must recognize that any expert “guidelines” that they refer to are just that…guidelines. Educators must take into account their specific circumstances before making their own judgment about whether their educational use is fair use. I encourage you to explore the information provided by the Center for Social Media information and become the copyright leader in your school.


Center for Social Media - http://mediaeducationlab.com/code-best-practices-fair-use-media-literacy-education-0

When It Comes to School TV News - Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

The fifth graders at Sawnee Elementary School produce a daily live video broadcast. My fifth grade daughter is a member of the broadcast team and she gave me a tour of the video broadcast room and explained how the broadcast is produced. Her knowledge of the how to produce a school TV news program was impressive. If you are a media specialist who needs to produce a school TV news program – just find a fifth grader –they will be glad to share their knowledge.

At Sawnee Elementary, four rotating teams of fifth grade students produce the daily school TV news. Each team is made up of 8 members – 2 anchors, 1 weather reporter, 2 camera persons, 1 mixer operator, 1 graphics operator, and 1 director. The volunteer teacher who oversees the program chooses students based on a written application they submit at the end of fourth grade.

Sawnee is fortunate to have decent equipment which they use to produce the program.

The anchors read the script off a laptop which serves as a teleprompter. The volunteer teacher uses PowerPoint to create slides with the script. The anchors simply click the laptop mouse to scroll through the slides.

The video broadcast room has a wall painted green (by yours truly!) which serves as a green screen.

The graphics operator uses a laptop to switch the graphics. The volunteer teacher creates a script for the graphics operator to follow.

The video broadcast room has 2 cameras – one focused on the anchor desk and one focused on an open area in the room.

The mixer is used to add graphics and sound to the broadcast and to switch which camera is being broadcast. The mixer is connected to a simple monitor that previews the broadcast.

The mixer operator refers to a posted list of instructions to help them remember when and how to change the mixer.

The broadcast has a basic format:

Introduction

Weather

Moment of Silence

Pledge

Announcements (lunch menu, upcoming events such as book fair)

Special Feature - Vary daily and include items such as guest speakers, students presenting book talks, presentation of Star Students, presentation of W.A.T.C.H. Dog Dads, etc.

Sign Off - Anchors end broadcast with “Sawnee Students Shine Shine Shine”

The broadcast encounters very few difficulties. The volunteer teacher does wish that they had laptops with Wi-Fi so that there would be less cords running through the room. She is planning on petitioning PTA for new laptops.

The school TV news at Sawnee is basic and their equipment is far from being cutting edge. But that just serves to prove that a School TV News broadcast does not have to be an insurmountable task. Follow Sawnee’s model and start simple, then work your way to having a full blown production such as the one at Pleasant Grove Elementary (http://www.henry.k12.ga.us/pges/knn/).

Remember, the information about Sawnee’s broadcast was obtained from a fifth grader. If they can learn how to create a live broadcast, so can you!

Great Rewards with Social Networks

Social networks go beyond the commonly known MySpace and Facebook.  Social networks include blogs, podcasts, tagging, and wikis.  Each of these formats allows people to connect, collaborate, and form virtual spaces.  These formats provide a unique opportunity to connect to students, staff, and parents.

Students are engaged in reading and writing when working with social networks such as MySpace and Facebook.  Creating a profile, posting comments, and performing searches all require reading and writing skills.  In the environment of MySpace and Facebook I question the educational value.  From my point of view, posts are often brief and poorly organized, so grammatically I don’t think that I could recommend these social networks for educational purposes. 

MySpace or Facebook would be a perfect format to promote upcoming events, advertise services, or preview new selections in the media center.  Students could also ask the media specialist questions or make request.  I believe this format could change the way students perceive the media center.  Instead of the media center being housed within four walls down the hall, the media center could come alive and be accessible 24 hours a day.  The primary concern would be monitoring the site and assuring appropriate comments. 

The other formats of social networks include blogs, podcasts, tagging, and wikis.  Each of these formats could be setup to post, review, and update books reviews, group projects, or special topics.  These formats cater more to a structured format and would better meet my concerns with grammar.  These sites would also have to be monitored to assure appropriate content.

Many OPACs are already embracing this technology.  Auto-Graphics, Fish4Info, Follett’s Destiny, SirsiDynix’s Enterprise, and Mandarin’s OPAC are designed or are being designed to support community/social networking capabilities. 

The bottom line is that we all prefer to have 100% control.  To implement social networks, media specialists must give up some control.  The information that appears on these sites will come from multiple sources with little to no initial filtering.  This puts a greater burden and responsibility on the media specialist to monitor and manage these sites.  I believe that if it is an option… it is an option that can yield great rewards.     

Media Center Websites - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Media Center websites have become a vital way of providing students with access to media center resources 24/7. The question is no longer should a media specialist have a website but the question now is how effective is the website. The information age allows media specialist the opportunity to have a virtual library that is available to patrons 24/7. A student working on a research paper over the weekend could simply open the media center website to find links to research databases and information about proper citation. Every time a patron uses the website the media specialist has provided a service. Take advantage of this opportunity to serve your patrons 24/7 by creating an effective website.

Do you think your website is good, bad, or ugly? Do your patrons view the website as useful? Would you love to have a great website but you just don’t know where to begin? Check out these examples of the good, the bad, and the ugly to find ideas for improving your website.

THE UGLY

• No website

• Only contains basic information such as contact information and hours


THE BAD

• Only advertises the services available in the media center (no content that can be used from
outside of the media center)

• Not age appropriate (i.e. using advanced vocabulary on a website for younger students)

• Poor color choices and font choices make reading difficult for visually impaired students

• Lack of eye-catching graphics


THE GOOD

• Navigation bar (easy to locate, easy to activate links, appears on all pages)

• Special navigation features (‘back to top’ and ‘home’ links on all pages; links to outside sources open in a new window, bread crumb trails)

• Transcripts of sound clips available for hearing impaired students

• Link to the OPAC

• Theme/pictures changed periodically to keep site interesting to repeat viewers

• Promotes reading (award winning book lists, book talks, most popular lists, ‘if you like this than try this’ lists)

• Creative forms of presentation (podcasts, use of Web 2.0 tools such as Wordle.net and Glogster.net)

• Uniform presentation (same template for each page)

• Caters to student egos (information created by students such as video book talks and information about students such as photos of projects and award ceremonies)

• Organized (i.e. grouping information and links by subject, grade level, or type of user)


Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. View your website as a work in progress. Use this improvement plan to get started today.

1. Start by conducting a simple survey of the media center patrons to determine what information would be useful to include on a website. The survey should include students, staff, and parents.

2. Explore websites created for other school media centers. The School Libraries website (www.school-libraries.net) has a listing of school library websites with links. A list of my favorite websites is included below to help get you started on your exploration. While exploring the websites, take note of any features that would be useful to your patrons.

3. Compile the suggestions from your patrons, your notes from exploring other websites, and ideas from this blog into a wish list of improvements for your website.

4. Gradually make improvements and add new features over time. Adopt an “Improvement of the Month” plan where you work on one new improvement each month. Start out with simple improvements for immediate results.

5. Don’t forget to check in with your patrons periodically to see if the improvements are taking your website from the ugly to the good.



Suggested Media Center Websites

Collins Hill High School, Georgia – created using Weebly.com
http://www.chhsmediacenter.com/index.html


Locust Grove High School – created using school system template
http://schoolwires.henry.k12.ga.us/79612042710331133/site/default.asp?7961Nav=1113&NodeID=1113


Settles Bridge Elementary – created using school system template
http://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/13062072183334793/site/default.asp


Jackson Middle School– created using WordPress.org:
http://jmslibrary.wordpress.com/



Further Reading

How to Design Library Web Sites to Maximize Usability by Chris Jasek
http://www.elsevier.com/framework_librarians/LibraryConnect/lcpamphlet5.pdf

Easy-to-read pamphlet that outlines how to create a user-friendly website. Includes annotated screen shots of good web sites to illustrate concepts.


Best Practices in School Library Design by David Walbert
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/969

Examples of poorly designed websites are used to illustrate the concepts of good web design. Includes screen shots of websites.


School Library Websites: Examples of Effective Practice
http://schoollibrarywebsites.wikispaces.com/

This educational Wiki is an extensive collection of elementary, middle, and high school media center website examples and examples of content to include on media center websites.


References

Credaro, A. (2002). School library websites: More than pix and clicks?. Orana, 38(3), 20. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Franklin, P., & Stephens, C. (2007). Creating webpages for the 21st century library media center. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 24(3), 41-42. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Jurkowski, O. (2010). Technology and the school library. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.

Schrock, K. (2003). Sources of great ideas. School Library Journal, 49(11), 37-47. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Warlick, D. (2005). Building web sites that work for your media center. Knowledge Quest, 33(3), 13-15. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Amazing Wikis

By: Sharon Folds

Wikis are the ultimate worktable among group members on the internet.  It is a web page that can be viewed and modified by any user.  This provides both amazing flexibility and some risk.  Since the wiki is web based, users can access the information from any internet access.  This ease of access also opens the door to risk.  Users can modify information with little or no oversight.

Media centers are beginning to utilize wikis in various ways.  With the reduction in staff, wikis can be designed to answer many of the basic questions stakeholders might have. 

·         Research:  A wiki can be designed to answer basic research questions, link users to available resources, and provide information on sighting sources.  During the research process, students can utilize a wiki to work on the project.  This enables teachers to monitor their work easily, and students can easily collaborate on the project.

·         Homework Help:  Another wiki might be organized by subject area and provide links to websites for homework help.  

·         College:  A wiki can be created to provide a guide for students through the process of selecting, applying, and attending college.  This would be a useful resource for both the students and their parents.

·         Technical Support:  A wiki can be created to help manage technical issues within the school.  A portion of the wiki can be designated for user manuals and trouble shooting, while another portion might be designated for requesting services.

·         Classroom Collaboration:  While collaborating with teachers, the media specialist might create a wiki for a specific topic to provide information and links for teachers.  After completion, the wiki can be easily incorporated into the classroom lesson plan.  

·         Training:  Wikis are also an excellent method to provide training for teachers or extended staff. 

Training and promotion are keys to the success of wikis.  First, stakeholders must be trained on how to access and utilize wikis.  This can be done within the media center utilizing multiple forms of training, such as classes, podcasts, wikis, and handouts.  Promotion of available wikis can be done on the school web page, through newsletters, and in mini-lessons.  As with any form of information, media specialists need to assure all stakeholders are aware and familiar with all forms of information.

One of the greatest appeals of wikis, the ease of use and amazing flexibility, can also be considered one of its greatest weaknesses.  Multiple users can access, modify, and delete existing information.  This level of access can lead to concerns regarding accuracy and lack of standardization and organization.  Policy and procedures can help avoid many of these problems.