Transcript The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling

The Educational Uses of
Digital Storytelling
Bernard Robin
College of Education
University of Houston
What is Digital Storytelling?
• Combining the art of telling stories with
some mixture of digital graphics, text,
recorded audio narration, video and music
to present information on a specific topic.
• Revolve around a theme and often contain
a particular viewpoint; stories are typically
just a few minutes long.
Types of Digital Stories -1
• Personal Narratives as described by the CDS:
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Character Stories – explore how we love, who we are inspired by, and the importance of finding meaning
in our relationships.
Memorial Stories – deal with memories of people who are no longer with us. These stories are often
difficult but are emotionally powerful and can help with the grieving process.
Stories about Events in Our Lives
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Adventure Stories – revolve around places we visit and adventures we have in our travels.
Accomplishment Stories – deal with achieving goals and understanding defining moments in our lives.
Stories about Places in Our Lives – examine the important places in our lives: our homes, our towns, and
our experiences that connect us to our communities.
Stories about What We Do – allow us to talk about our jobs, professions and careers in terms of how we
value and find meaning in the work we do.
Other Personal Stories
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Recovery Stories – deal with how we overcome great obstacles and challenges in our lives.
Love Stories – provide us with an opportunity to share some of the most meaningful parts of our lives with the people
we most cherish.
Discovery Stories – let us reflect on what we have learned and illustrate our journeys of discovery.
Tools We Use
• Photo Story 3 (Free from Microsoft)
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx
• System Requirements (Requires Windows XP & Windows
Media Player 10)
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/sysreqs.mspx
• Stories Can Be Converted with Premiere
Elements for Playback on Apple Computers or
Older Versions of Windows
Types of Digital Stories -1
• Examples of Personal Narratives
• Almost Paradise
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/almostparadise.htm
• The Computer and I
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/computer-I.htm
• Fleeing Hurricane Rita
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/rita.htm
• Coming to Houston
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/comingtohouston.htm
• My Mama
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/mymama.htm
Types of Digital Stories -2
• Examination of Historical Themes and Events
• Based on Material Students Explore
• Facilitates Research and Organizational Skills
• Needs to Go Beyond the Digitized “MTV Video” or
the “Encyclopedia Entry”*
* Digital Storytelling: Moving from Promise to Practice
Mark Hofer, College of William & Mary, USA; Kathleen Owings Swan,
University of Kentucky, USA - 4:00pm Wednesday, Universal E1
Types of Digital Stories -2
• Examples of Historical Digital Stories
• The Gettysburg Address
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/stories/gettysburg-with-intro-final.wmv
• Race to the Moon
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/civilization.htm
• The Holocaust
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/holocaust.htm
• Hiroshima
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/hiroshima.htm
Types of Digital Stories -3
• Stories that Inform or Instruct
• Can be Argued that All Digital Stories Inform
(or Instruct)
• But the Distinction is that Digital Stories Can
Be Created that Deliver Instructional Content
on Many Different Topics, Including: Math,
Science, Language Arts, Medicine, etc.
Types of Digital Stories -3
• Examples of Stories that Inform or Instruct
• Geometry: Art & Architecture - Using the van Hiele Levels of
Geometric Understanding to Improve Student Achievement
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/geo-story.htm
• Pinhole Cameras
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/pinhole.htm
• Aging Well
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/agingwell.htm
An Effective Tool for Teachers
• Stories Created by Teachers Can
Serve:
• As a Lesson Hook
• As a Way to Integrate Multimedia into
the Curriculum
• As a Way to Make Difficult Content
More Understandable
• To Facilitate Classroom Discussion
An Effective Learning Tool
for Students
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Research Skills
Writing Skills
Organization Skills
Technology Skills
Presentation Skills
Interview Skills
Interpersonal Skills
Problem-Solving Skills
Assessment Skills
Student Literacy
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Digital Literacy
Global Literacy
Technology Literacy
Visual Literacy
Information Literacy
Challenges to Students Creating
Digital Stories
• Trouble formulating a sound argument
• More interested in technology than the
storytelling
• Limited access to technology hardware and
software
• Limited ability to save from the Internet
• Time consuming
• Copyright and intellectual property issues
University of Houston’s
Educational Uses of
Digital Storytelling Website
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling