While out of school students are constantly exposed to and interact with forms of digital media that move beyond the printed word (Student Achievement Division, 2012). These digital medias allow students to build on their knowledge and create new understandings and meanings while using literary forms that stray from the traditional texts that are typically used in schooling. Digital media is not only an excellent way of engaging students in their learning but also allow for creativity and differentiation within the classroom. Some may feel that by giving students a camera or tools to create videos may lead to narrowing our focus of teaching too much on digital literacy and excluding other traditional forms of literacy. However if digital storytelling projects are well-planned and constructed, they can actually help to strengthen students’ writing, reading, and oral communication skills (Student Achievement Division, 2012). The process of creating a digital story is similar to that of the writing process outlined in the Language Arts curriculum.
The process for video production and digital storytelling involve six stages: preparation and exploration, development, pre-production, production, post-production, and marketing and distribution (Student Achievement Division, 2012). Student must first familiarize themselves with the process of creating a video, the tools and techniques that can be used, and any rules or guidelines that may be involved with the media being used (copyright law, licensing agreements, etc.). Next students brainstorm ideas for their video or story, this could include a word web or list of possible topics. The third stage requires students to plan out the video or digital story by creating storyboards for each scene. Students are then able to create the digital story which is then followed by editing the video. For the final stage of video production students must distribute their video, this could be considered handing it in to the teacher or showing the video to other students. In language arts students are encouraged and guided to use the writing process to develop their ideas. The writing process is broken down into planning, writing a draft, revising, editing, and publishing (). In both processes students are encouraged to plan out ideas that are appropriate and relevant to their topic, create a draft and make revisions or edits as needed, and then produced a finished product. Digital storytelling not only connects well with the writing strand of language arts, but also with oral communication and reading because students are communicating their ideas and reading scripts or points they have developed for their digital stories.
Digital storytelling could be incorporated into the classroom as form of differentiation for language arts assignments. Students could use digital storytelling produce stories that they have created on their own or as a way of retelling stories. The retelling of stories does not have to be done in the typical form of students creating a video production of the story but it can also be done using social networking and social medias. I have seen many students use social medias such as Snap Chat, Instagram, Facebook, Text Messaging, and Twitter to retell stories that they have read in class. An assignment such as this can allow students to be creative and share their knowledge of social medias with each other. As well digital storytelling can also be used in other subject areas. It could be useful to have students create news reports or new stories about a science experiment that happened in class or to retell a part of history for social studies. The social studies curriculum also links itself to the idea of citizenship both within the local and global communities. Students could create public service announcements for another engaging project that incorporates digital storytelling with social studies. Digital Storytelling can also be a great way to have students to complete expectations of the visual arts, drama, and music curriculum, as these are all components that could be used in a digital story production.
References
Ministry of Education and Training. (2005). A guide to effective instruction in writing: kindergarten to grade 3. Retrieved from http://www.eworkshop.on.ca/edu/resources/guides/Guide_Writing_%20K_3.pdf
Student Achievement Division. (2012). What Works? Research into Practice Monograph: The student filmmaker: Enhancing literacy skills through digital video production. Retrieved from https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/WW_StudentFilmakers.pdf
Digital storytelling could be incorporated into the classroom as form of differentiation for language arts assignments. Students could use digital storytelling produce stories that they have created on their own or as a way of retelling stories. The retelling of stories does not have to be done in the typical form of students creating a video production of the story but it can also be done using social networking and social medias. I have seen many students use social medias such as Snap Chat, Instagram, Facebook, Text Messaging, and Twitter to retell stories that they have read in class. An assignment such as this can allow students to be creative and share their knowledge of social medias with each other. As well digital storytelling can also be used in other subject areas. It could be useful to have students create news reports or new stories about a science experiment that happened in class or to retell a part of history for social studies. The social studies curriculum also links itself to the idea of citizenship both within the local and global communities. Students could create public service announcements for another engaging project that incorporates digital storytelling with social studies. Digital Storytelling can also be a great way to have students to complete expectations of the visual arts, drama, and music curriculum, as these are all components that could be used in a digital story production.
References
Ministry of Education and Training. (2005). A guide to effective instruction in writing: kindergarten to grade 3. Retrieved from http://www.eworkshop.on.ca/edu/resources/guides/Guide_Writing_%20K_3.pdf
Student Achievement Division. (2012). What Works? Research into Practice Monograph: The student filmmaker: Enhancing literacy skills through digital video production. Retrieved from https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/WW_StudentFilmakers.pdf