Lights... camera... action! I created a digital story for my Integrating Technology and Literacy graduate course focusing on what to expect in first grade. This digital story was developed to share with incoming first graders on the first day of school. This digital story shares what students can expect to learn and do in first grade, along with pictures and commentary from previous students. |
This digital story was made using iMovie. In order to develop this digital story, I first created a storyboard. This storyboard focused on the purpose for my project (to inform and persuade), my script, and the images / videos I had chosen to use as part of the project. Once I created the storyboard, I began uploading pictures, looping music, and recording audio using Quicktime Player and the voiceover option on iMovie. Once all of the components were in place, I adjusted the timing for each of these components so that the movie transitioned nicely.
Although I had only previously made one video using iMovie, I found the software to be very user-friendly once I was accustomed to it. Although I did have to do my fair share of Google searches to troubleshoot, I was able to quickly address many issues that arose.
Digital storytelling can be appropriate for all grades and subject matter. I have used more simplistic platforms to develop digital stories with my first graders in the past, such as Storykit, but I prefer the features that iMovie has to offer as compared to all the others I have tried in the past. Digital stories are especially useful as a "hook" for special projects or future topics. Students can work together to develop digital stories or they can be developed independently dependent upon the purpose of the assignment.
Digital stories are hardly ever inappropriate. When being used as an assessment tool, digital stories might not be as appropriate when you are looking to assess discreet content knowledge with clear-cut answers. All other times digital stories present students with an interesting way of sharing their understanding while using different learning modalities. Not all students do well with paper and pencil assignments, and this tool could help these students.
Digital stories would be inappropriate to use if teachers didn't first teach the students how to use the movie making software. Students need to have a strong foundation in understanding how to develop a digital story or be provided with the support necessary; otherwise, you would be assessing their ability to use the movie making software rather than their understanding of another topic.
I'm sure you're wondering what a digital story might look like. Check out my final product below!
Although I had only previously made one video using iMovie, I found the software to be very user-friendly once I was accustomed to it. Although I did have to do my fair share of Google searches to troubleshoot, I was able to quickly address many issues that arose.
Digital storytelling can be appropriate for all grades and subject matter. I have used more simplistic platforms to develop digital stories with my first graders in the past, such as Storykit, but I prefer the features that iMovie has to offer as compared to all the others I have tried in the past. Digital stories are especially useful as a "hook" for special projects or future topics. Students can work together to develop digital stories or they can be developed independently dependent upon the purpose of the assignment.
Digital stories are hardly ever inappropriate. When being used as an assessment tool, digital stories might not be as appropriate when you are looking to assess discreet content knowledge with clear-cut answers. All other times digital stories present students with an interesting way of sharing their understanding while using different learning modalities. Not all students do well with paper and pencil assignments, and this tool could help these students.
Digital stories would be inappropriate to use if teachers didn't first teach the students how to use the movie making software. Students need to have a strong foundation in understanding how to develop a digital story or be provided with the support necessary; otherwise, you would be assessing their ability to use the movie making software rather than their understanding of another topic.
I'm sure you're wondering what a digital story might look like. Check out my final product below!
I must say that I am incredibly proud of the final product! Although creating this project caused some stress and took more time than I originally envisioned, I believe that it was very successful. This digital story will definitely be a great tool for me in the years to come. As my students helped with some of the voiceovers for this story, they expressed their disappointment in me for not having made a video for them to see when they entered first grade this year! I am sure this video will get all my future students just as excited and knowledgeable about first grade activities and expectations.
After sharing my project with my peers in my grad school class, everyone had very positive feedback. The most common suggestion I received was not to change anything about my project, which definitely motivated me to want to develop more digital stories. More importantly, when I shared this project with my students, they were literally squealing with excitement as they saw the pictures of themselves and previous students. The smiles beaming from their faces not only affirmed the need to use this video with future classes, but the need to get them making their own digital stories soon!
Although no one in my class brought this up, I believe that one of the weaknesses of my digital story is that I would need to replace many of the pictures throughout the years. Students will find the presentation more exciting and meaningful when it is filled with their own or familiar faces. Additionally, each year different staff members are present within the classroom based on student needs, such as paraprofessionals. It might be beneficial to include something about these individuals so that the students are familiar with and comfortable with them right away.
One of my classmates asked if I would be sharing this with my students' parents. I thought this was a great idea! I would love to share this at Meet the Teacher Night at the beginning of each school year. On this evening, I always tell parents what to expect, but why not show them!
The biggest challenge I had was the time it took me to upload all of the photos. Unfortunately, I was not able to share a folder of photos due to issues with the Cloud on my Mac. Instead, all photos had to be emailed from my cell phone and saved to my computer prior to uploading into iPhoto and then iMovie. This presented as a challenge to me due to the sheer amount of photos I included in my digital story. If I were to use this software with my students, I would have to make sure that I had a better way to share photos between my devices.
This technology would bring many benefits to my class. One benefit of the technology is that it presents a natural way to differentiate for students. Students who have limited written English proficiency can share their understandings through their oral presentation rather than their written presentation. Additionally, student projects can be as simple or complex as they are capable of making them.
The major impediment for using this technology in my class is the age and capabilities of my students. Students are not academically ready for a project such a this until the second half of the school year when they have developed their public speaking skills, writing, and overall maturity level. Another impediment is the type of technology that I have available in my classroom. Although I am familiar with iMovie software, my school does not have Mac computers. Therefore, I would have to learn a new program, despite how user-friendly I have learned that iMovie is. My students could use a variety of different apps on our iPads to create digital stories, but they would not have all the "bells and whistles" that this story had, such as background music and smooth transitions.
The best way to overcome these impediments would be to learn more about different apps and programs that can be used to produce digital stories. I can do this by reading blog posts, reviews, and actually trying out the software. Although I was concerned about many of the other programs out there not having all the digital enhancements, it might be better to start off simple for my young learners, especially if I am eventually looking for more independence in this process. By providing clear-cut examples and directions, as well as using a gradual release model during instruction, this will hopefully become possible.
So, where do I go from here? I will begin to share this software with my coworkers, as well as support them in creating their own digital stories. It would be wonderful if we could all kick-off next school year with videos to share with the students and their parents. In terms of in the classroom, I want to begin using my digital stories to introduce new units that I am going to teach. I could use this simply to enhance excitement or share more about what I expect from my students. Later in the school year, I would like my students to begin to develop their own digital stories. I would need to teach them about the different software and apps, as well as how to create a storyboard. This would likely be done through the use of a graphic organizer to structure their thinking.
Although creating this digital story was a definite learning process, I am so happy with what I have taken away from it. I cannot wait to continue to use this software in my classroom!
After sharing my project with my peers in my grad school class, everyone had very positive feedback. The most common suggestion I received was not to change anything about my project, which definitely motivated me to want to develop more digital stories. More importantly, when I shared this project with my students, they were literally squealing with excitement as they saw the pictures of themselves and previous students. The smiles beaming from their faces not only affirmed the need to use this video with future classes, but the need to get them making their own digital stories soon!
Although no one in my class brought this up, I believe that one of the weaknesses of my digital story is that I would need to replace many of the pictures throughout the years. Students will find the presentation more exciting and meaningful when it is filled with their own or familiar faces. Additionally, each year different staff members are present within the classroom based on student needs, such as paraprofessionals. It might be beneficial to include something about these individuals so that the students are familiar with and comfortable with them right away.
One of my classmates asked if I would be sharing this with my students' parents. I thought this was a great idea! I would love to share this at Meet the Teacher Night at the beginning of each school year. On this evening, I always tell parents what to expect, but why not show them!
The biggest challenge I had was the time it took me to upload all of the photos. Unfortunately, I was not able to share a folder of photos due to issues with the Cloud on my Mac. Instead, all photos had to be emailed from my cell phone and saved to my computer prior to uploading into iPhoto and then iMovie. This presented as a challenge to me due to the sheer amount of photos I included in my digital story. If I were to use this software with my students, I would have to make sure that I had a better way to share photos between my devices.
This technology would bring many benefits to my class. One benefit of the technology is that it presents a natural way to differentiate for students. Students who have limited written English proficiency can share their understandings through their oral presentation rather than their written presentation. Additionally, student projects can be as simple or complex as they are capable of making them.
The major impediment for using this technology in my class is the age and capabilities of my students. Students are not academically ready for a project such a this until the second half of the school year when they have developed their public speaking skills, writing, and overall maturity level. Another impediment is the type of technology that I have available in my classroom. Although I am familiar with iMovie software, my school does not have Mac computers. Therefore, I would have to learn a new program, despite how user-friendly I have learned that iMovie is. My students could use a variety of different apps on our iPads to create digital stories, but they would not have all the "bells and whistles" that this story had, such as background music and smooth transitions.
The best way to overcome these impediments would be to learn more about different apps and programs that can be used to produce digital stories. I can do this by reading blog posts, reviews, and actually trying out the software. Although I was concerned about many of the other programs out there not having all the digital enhancements, it might be better to start off simple for my young learners, especially if I am eventually looking for more independence in this process. By providing clear-cut examples and directions, as well as using a gradual release model during instruction, this will hopefully become possible.
So, where do I go from here? I will begin to share this software with my coworkers, as well as support them in creating their own digital stories. It would be wonderful if we could all kick-off next school year with videos to share with the students and their parents. In terms of in the classroom, I want to begin using my digital stories to introduce new units that I am going to teach. I could use this simply to enhance excitement or share more about what I expect from my students. Later in the school year, I would like my students to begin to develop their own digital stories. I would need to teach them about the different software and apps, as well as how to create a storyboard. This would likely be done through the use of a graphic organizer to structure their thinking.
Although creating this digital story was a definite learning process, I am so happy with what I have taken away from it. I cannot wait to continue to use this software in my classroom!