My Thoughts re: Do You See Digital Storytelling as a Meaningful Tool and Measure for Learning?

I must admit that before this class I had never really heard of digital storytelling before. Coincidentally, at a Spanish teaching conference I attended last week, a seminar was offered on iMovies. I went in hopes that I'd learn a little bit more about digital storytelling, especially given the fact that our upcoming assignment for the week was centered around this concept. While at the seminar, I was exposed to the various ways in which certain tools, namely-the digital videocamera and movie-making tools (iMovie) can be applied in the classroom. I was thankful I attended this hour-long session because although it didn't teach me about the benefits to student learning this application provides, it did teach me how to use iMovie and about different ways of incorporating this media into the classroom. Now that I have read this week's articles, completed the techsercises, and have gained knowledge of using such tools, I am anxious to begin using these technologies in my classroom because I do feel that digital storytelling is a meaningful tool and measure for learning.

As I mentioned before, I wasn't familiar with digital storytelling prior to this class. I also didn't realize all the benefits that result from using this technology in the classroom. I would have to say that the article by Theodosakis really opened my eyes to the many plusses of using digital stories and filmmaking in the classroom. His article pointed out the numerous skills students learn such as problem-solving skills; visioning skills; planning and time-management skills; logic skills; and finally, analytical skills. Clearly, these are life-long skills the students can begin to develop during their childhood, adolescent, and teenage years and take with them into their lives as adults and into their workplace and personal lives. I also think that the use of filmmaking and digital stories helps the students with their metacognitive skills. This is so because students are actively involved in the learning process. The project is theirs right from the start. They need to envision it, plan it, organize it, edit it, and finally present the final product. Clearly, they will be thinking about and analyzing their work from the beginning of the project. They will consider what exactly they are going to talk about or perform; they will choose what pictures, songs, or other items they want to use if they are telling a digital story or they'll need to decide what clothes, props, and perhaps what other people (extras) they want to use if they are making a movie. Throughout the entire process the students will be thinking critically about how their production is coming along. What is going well? What is not? What needs to be added or taken out? What changes need to be made?

Not only does digital storytelling help with the aforementioned skills, but it also helps students with their writing and researching skills, as both the Theodosakis and Ohler articles pointed out. Writing is such a critical component of a child's education. Often times, and speaking from my experience as a language arts teacher of middle school students, students get bored and are seemingly uninterested in the traditional research report or written paper of any kind. However, when the writing assignment calls for more creativity, I feel it is then that the students become more engaged in their work and in the learning. It is no wonder then that the digital story would be an excellent medium to use not only in the language arts classroom, but in any classroom really. The possibilities are endless. Furthermore, since the students are more involved in the whole process since it is a story they are telling and one in which there will be a large audience and not just the one teacher who is grading the assignment, I feel that the students will make more of an effort to really plan and organize their story, especially since they will most likely need to create a story map and a story board before they can actually begin to start filming or scanning items. More thought and effort will go into the project, basically. And, as the readings suggested, the use of digital story-making would give many students the chance to experience and build upon their other interests such as acting, creating, filming, etc. This is obviously not something the students get to do on an everyday basis, especially if they attend a traditional school system.

Lastly, I think digital storytelling is an excellent way for students to learn about and utilize primary sources and to learn about each other. Basically, it's a good way to build community amongst the students, and it's a great way to learn about others' experiences and cultures. Since there are endless possibilities for what the digital story will be about, students could learn anything from what it's like to be an immigrant from another country to what it was like peforming on stage for the first time in one's life. Hopefully, the students would learn respect and would learn to develop an appreciation for all that they are learning through their peers.

All in all, I do see digital storytelling as a meaningful tool in any curriculum. Using this medium would not only allow students to become more actively involved in the learning process, but it would also nurture students' other interests and abilities. Digital stories would also enable students to develop and build a copious amount of skills needed throughout their lives, and would foster metacognition, which could hopefully enable students to be more aware of their thoughts and actions, not only in relation to school work but also in other areas of their personal lives.

Are We As Educators Prepared to Embrace New Literacies Fostered by "Digital Natives?"

My belief, after reading the articles and thinking about my own experiences teaching and using technology, is that I do think we educators are prepared to embrace new literacies fostered by "digital natives." The Prensky article did an adequate job with defining what a "digital native" is, which is a person who has grown up with using technology. Opposite this is the "digital immigrant" who is a person who did not grow up using technology because it wasn't around at the time, but who may have learned to use it as it developed. I think that the notion of the "digital immigrants" not being able to understand the ways of the "digital natives" does make a lot of sense. I know my students are always in a rush to get things done, and their often times difficult to read homework, is quite telling of this. Now I have a better understanding as to why this is -- because their brain patterns and the way they go about doing and completing their work is different from students of the past, let's say, the students who grew up in the 1920's and 30's. With this being said, I do think that teachers and school administrators need to alter some aspects of the school curriculum in order to accommodate the needs of our "digital natives," or in other words, our students. We make accommodations for students with special needs, whether the students have a learning disability or are of very high intelligence, so why not accommodate every student if we know now a good reason as to why our students so often get bored at school?

I know my school district promotes and supports the use of technology. We don't have all the resources in the world, but we do have a small supply, and I do mean small -- a set of 8-- portable laptops for student use in the classroom. We have a number of digital cameras and digital video cameras that can be checked out by teachers for use in the classroom. We have 4 LCD projectors with laptops, and we have an ELMO. With our limited supply, not everything we do can be done using technology, but of course, some activities can. What really bugs me is the fact that we cannot use blogs or do any online learning projects or online collaboration activities with an outside school. The administration claims there are too many risks yet to be ironed out. I really feel these are what our students need though. They need to have these experiences since they are so immersed in technology in their personal lives and technology is a tool that they probably use most often throughout their day. I think that the administration needs to understand this, but most likely doesn't because school administrators may very well be "digital immigrants." Prensky's article clearly stated that the "digital immigrants" do not understand the "digital natives." However, it's probable that many teachers of today do fall into the "digital native" category and could advocate for more technology to be used.

As for new literacies, namely, "visual literacy" which can be defined as students having the ability to look at and use visual images in a critical, responsible way, is important. Roblyer and Bennett's article pointed out the fact that students use technology so often, and since they are expected to use it at school, there should be some guidelines put into effect and they should have a solid understanding of how to produce visual, technology-based works. Even when students are exposed to any visual image, let's say, a picture depicting children in a Nazi concentration camp, they should have the knowledge to view the image in a critical way and be able to understand the emotions and situations the image is portraying.

Overall, I think that as long as educators realize the impact that technology has on our student's live, and as long as the administration gives us educators the tools, knowledge, and support necessary to carry-out different technology-based activities, such as videoconferencing, blogs, and online learning projects, the students will have a more positive outlook while at school. Students will be more engaged and more motivated to come to school and do the work. Teaching students about visual literacy will help students become more proficient at using technology, and it will give them an opportunity to use images, whether they are analyzing them for a class activity or analyzing them to put in a project, and to create a visual presentation that is of a higher caliber. All in all, it would help our students become more productive students and in turn, more productive and capable citizens of our society. Plus, enabling these new technologies and the literacies that come along with them, would give our students the tools they need to be prepared for their future.

My Thoughts re: The Role of Media in Learning

I must say that I honestly learned quite a bit from reading this week's articles. I do favor the use of media and technology in the classroom, as I believe they do play an integral role in the learning process and can result in improved student outcomes, yet I am still left with some of the same concerns - mainly the financial concerns - that I have had all along when it comes to incorporating these tools into the classroom. This issue will be discussed in a little bit.

In discussing the articles, I especially found the "Tech Tools for Learning" article by Will Richardson to be extremely insightful. I had heard of such tools as weblogs, podcasts, webcams, and streaming video before, but I didn't fully know what all of these tools were capable of. The RSS tool was new to me, so it was valuable to learn about that as well. I am disappointed though, by the fact that my school district doesn't allow the use of these tools at this time. There are too many issues, safety issues in particular, that must be ironed out before we can begin incorporating any of these modalities. But despite this pitfall, of all these technological tools, I found the podcasting and webcam ones to be of particular interest. It is amazing to learn about the possibilities these tools can offer. I really like how webcams can bring the outside into the classroom, such as through virtual fieldtrips. I'd like to try this someday, when it's allowed, of course!

Going along with the aforementioned, I also read the article, " In Pod We Trust" by Mikael Blaisdell. I was not aware of all that the iPod has to offer, to be honest. I knew it was mostly used to listen to mp3s; however, I did not know it could be used as a recording device which would allow for audio content to be uploaded to the computer and then broadcasted on the Internet. It seems that a device that is not allowed in some schools has the potential to serve as an excellent learning tool. I appreciated how the article raised this concern but presented the various capabilities the iPod has to offer. In a way, I do think that if students were allowed to bring iPods or other mp3 players with the same capabilities as an iPod, that they would be more open to this new way of learning. Students would feel as though they are given more freedom, yet at the same time, they can demonstrate, through proper use of the contemporary learning device, that they can be trusted to use this tool in school the way it was meant to be used. The major concern I have though is that some districts likely do not have the money to purchase such tools. Or, if the district can purchase them and offer them to families to buy, I fear that not all families would have the necessary funds to buy this device. The article mentioned how an iPod can cost between $300-$400, though with an educational discount, the price is about $30 less (p. 36). I still think that is a hefty price, especially given the fact that some families (and I'm referring to families within the school district where I teach), cannot readily afford sending their children on a $10-$15 field trip or even purchasing necessary school supplies. Then again, I wonder if families would set aside enough money for this tool since it provides benefits in and out of school. By this, I mean that students can use the "playback" feature to listen to the same material over and over again, and they can have access to the material at any time. Not only this, but it provides personal benefits as well. In a sense, it'd be like killing two birds with one stone because not only do students have a portable device in which they can listen to their music, but also their entertainment is serving as an educational tool. Students may feel more responsibility to take care of the device and actually use it since it provides a new way of learning, isn't as boring as learning via pencil, paper, and book, and essentially, "is a tool of their own" as the article mentioned on page 32.

I must also say that before reading these articles, I was skeptical about the use of the iPod in the classroom and its educational value. I know our principal briefly passed the idea by us last year saying that we might be getting iPods in the future. I didn't really think much of it except, "Well, what exactly, could we do with those?" Now, I'm very relieved to know about all they have to offer. I would be a proponent for obtaining these for classroom use, especially seeing as how media and technology have proven to be effective in the classroom according to the Reeves article.

I believe that media does have a positive effect on learning. It was interesting to read about the way "media" and "technology" were defined in the Reeves article. This helped to clarify the two. I have seen technology work in the school where I work because the computer acts as "tutor" just like the article mentions. Our struggling reading students use the software program Read 180 by Scholastic. I did an evaluation on this program for one of my past CTER classes and indeed, this program proved to be effective. Students' reading levels increased and their attitudes toward reading soared dramatically.

I agree with the Reeves article, that as long as teachers plan accordingly, choose the right materials, and plan enough in advance, that media and technology will work in the classroom and will yield positive results. I also feel that as long as other technology-based learning tools, such as iPods, weblogs, webcams, and streaming video are used effectively, to supplement the curriculum or to simply aid in the teaching and learning process, that students will be more motivated and eager to learn. Teachers will not be using technology just for the sake of using it, rather they will use it to benefit the students and the overall learning process.