There was a time I thought I’d never stop buying CD’s. Why would I want a song from I-tunes when I would be forced to forgo an entire CD including liner notes and a case to proudly display with my vast music collection? Yet a few years later, I now can’t see the point of purchasing a CD. With music, I have evolved; but with books, I am still behind the technology curve a little! The new wave of storytelling comes in many formats, from ebooks and self published tales on the internet, to short stories told through digital storytelling.
A Brief Reflection on Ebooks
We could probably all agree that one of the best ways to prepare a child for an education is to read to them and with them. We could also probably agree that many students arrive at kindergarten with little to no experience with books. This is the beauty of ebooks. Ebooks can be used by teachers to allow students to read along, showing word to sound relationships in a meaningful, current, and entertaining format. My school uses ebooks on Tumblebooks in the computer lab and in the classroom and elementary students of all ages enjoy them. We also use them for lessons about vocabulary, story elements, and for examples of rich language.
Tips for Digital Storytelling
Digital storytelling, however, is so much more than just eBooks. Teachers and media specialists can find tons of resources online that offer historical viewpoints, life lessons, interesting narratives that support learning objectives. We can also design our own stories to use in class or help students develop their own stories.
As you continue to create your own digital story over the next few weeks, The University of Houston offers seven tips to keep in mind. They first suggest having a solid point of view in your story. Next, to generate interest, creators should begin with an intriguing question that will be answered by the end of the story. Their third tip relates to connecting with your audience. I think this is done through honesty, realism, and putting some emotion into the piece. Their fourth tip, using your voice, does not mean recording narration. It’s the same as I tell my students so often when teaching writing: use your voice, make your story sound like you are the one telling it. Are you funny? Thoughtful? Stay true to how you would tell the story to your friends. Don’t be afraid to let your personality show. (Sound like Writing 101 so far?)
The fifth element is the power of the soundtrack which of course means adding music or sounds to enhance your story. This element matches so well to the third tip because music connects us all and certainly evokes emotion from the listener. The sixth facet may remind you of a family relative that extends a Sunday prayer much past what is necessary, leaving your mind drifting to the decreasing temperature of the hot meal that awaits you. With today’s “Now” generation, it is imperative to not overkill the story. We all loathe hearing someone talk in circles who does not get to the point because we lose interest. Which leads me to wrapping up this blog with the last suggestion: Pacing. Keep your story stead; don’t go too fast or too slow.
All of these suggestions seem right in line with traditional storytelling. Hopefully these tips remind you that the basics of traditional storytelling can be applied to the latest way to get a meaningful message to your students.
As for me, I’ll keep thinking about purchasing a Kindle…well, one day.
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I really enjoyed reading the tips provided, too. For those of us that love the entire experience of reading; the paper, the smell and the heft of a book, thinking of going completely digital is a bit overwhelming. Like you said, though, who would have thought that CDs would be out of style?
ReplyDeleteMoving into the digital age with stories is important and good next step for many of us. As we promote reading, this is a good way to do it! Even the most reluctant reader will sit down and listen to a story on the computer.
And I'm with you on the Kindle...one day.
Friends, you gotta skip the Kindle and go for the iPad, there is absolutely no comparison between the 2 interfaces and yes, it's a wee bit more expensive, but sometimes you just have to spend a little more to get a little more. I was watching Good Morning America before dashing off to work today and it was reporting that the President of Denmark, who was stranded because all the airports have suspended flights due to the volcanic ash floating all over Europe, is staying connected by his iPad. Pretty cool that world leaders are using it! Your CD comment really summarizes where we are headed with eReaders. Governor Schwarzenegger was not far off target when he said, "Basically kids are feeling as comfortable with their electronic devices as I was with my pencils and crayons. Textbooks are outdated, in my opinion. For so many years, we've been trying to teach the kids exactly the same way." He has advocated e-textbooks as an alternative to traditional hard-bound books. Schwarzenegger wrote. "Especially now, when our school districts are strapped for cash and our state budget deficit is forcing further cuts to classrooms, we must do everything we can to untie educators' hands and free up dollars so that schools can do more with fewer resources." As a media specialist I see eBooks as another way to provide access to information in all formats.
ReplyDeleteAs always, Tiffany, you provide a great review of the 7 tips for digital storytelling and I thought it was great the way you linked to the sites. I look forward to seeing our classmates productions.
I appreciate you mentioning tumblebooks. Our school had a subscription; however, when the budget got cut we had to discontinue it. To replace tumblebooks we found many websites that offer FREE online e-books/storytelling for students.
ReplyDeletewww.storylineonline.net
www.magickeys.com
www.storyplace.org
www.plcmc.org/bookhive
E-books are great for students. Teachers don’t have the quality time to read daily with each individual student; therefore, e-books are a great way to expose students and monitor their listening and reading comprehension skills.
I, also, had the same thought about cd's and the ipod. I now have an ipod classic and an iphone where I store all my music. I cannot imagine buying a cd anymore.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about Tumblebooks until I read your post. My school doesn't use Tumblebooks but I may look into it for my pre-k students. They are always wanting us to read to them. This would allow more students to have more of a choice about the book being read. I have used Starfall.com for students to listen to and read books. With Starfall, they can listen to the story or practice reading the story themselves. If they do not know a word then they can click on it and the computer will sound out and say the word. My pre-k LOVE it and my past kindergarten really were interested too.
I agree Tiffany I never thought that I would want to just download music instead of buying the entire CD and having the case to show in my music collection. These days I havent bought a CD in who knows when! I guess the same could be true with books. I just have those feelings about having the book in my hand, the smell of it, the touch of the pages, and the fact that its not just another electronic. These thoughts could change just like my thoughts did about downloading music. I agree that digital storytelling is great to share in classrooms. The students are sure to enjoy every moment of it.
ReplyDeleteMy school doesn't use Tumblebooks. I think my Pre-K students would absolutely love it. I will definitely have to check into it. Ebooks is a great way to monitor students reading, and it is a great way for a student to get individual time with learning.
While researching topics for other classes in semesters past, I am excited to say that I already had more experience with Digital Storytelling than I knew! YouTube and TeacherTube are rife with great examples (and some mediocre ones as well) that would be great to include on a wiki for training purposes that would help to illustrate the important points that the U. of Houston made about production. I saw some great ones on the Vietnam War last semester.
ReplyDeleteGood point about the Sunday prayer....let's not belabor the point, folks. Even the brightest kids can totally kill the appeal of a project when it rambles and repeats itself.
Also, e-books are a way that students can "take home" the books without actually taking materials out of the school. Books and other materials are so precious right now, and e-books are a way to ensure parity of resources while maintaining their integrity for the next user.
By applying through Sylvan Dell, I was able to get my school a complimentary subscription to their e-books service this year (each system in Georgia has one that is up for grabs among the schools within it--may I suggest that everyone who reads this, tries it?). It has capabilities (which I assume may be available with other e-book subscriptions as well) that can track usage, which helps one to make his or her point in terms of justifying the potential expense. I really am itching to try out the free e-books listed above, as our subscription ends in June and our school doesn't have a snowman's chance in the Cayman Islands of actually being a paying customer. However, I also wanted to make a point about training....the e-book subscription that we have also has online resources available for use by teachers (and parents, if desired), but it has been my experience that unless a live face-to-face session discussing the use of e-books and said resources in the classroom, most teachers--even the technologically savvy ones--are apt to try it once and forget about it in favor of hard copy resources. However, there are even quizzes and games....long story short, be in close contact with your faculty and make sure that you are providing the missing pieces that might help them to take that initial step and try new technologies that will benefit students without costing big bucks.