Adapting Digital Story Telling

In Moroccan Classrooms

Aissam EL Hani

The University of Tsukuba, Japan.

Plan :

1-Any definition ?

2- Why Digital story telling in Education ?

3-Digital storytelling: a constructivist approach to learning.

4-The Seven Elements of Digital Storytelling.

5-Digital Storytelling as an Effective Instructional Tool for

Teachers.

6-Digital Storytelling as an Effective Learning Tool for Student.

7-21st Century Skills.

8-How to Use Digital Storytelling in Your Classroom?

Any definition ?

Digital storytelling is the modern expression of the

ancient art of storytelling. Throughout history,

storytelling has been used to share knowledge,

wisdom, and values. Stories have taken many

different forms. Stories have been adapted to each

successive medium that has emerged, from the

circle of the campfire to the silver screen, and now

the computer screen. (Digital Storytelling

Association, 2011, para. 1)

Digital storytelling at its most basic core is the practice

of using computer-based tools to tell stories.

" Digital storytelling is a technology application that is well-

positioned to take advantage of user-contributed content and

help teachers overcome some of the obstacles to productively

using technology in their classrooms.“ -Bernard Robin

2- Why Digital story telling in Education ?

In recent years the use of new technologies in educational

systems has increased worldwide as digital cameras, personal

computers, scanners, and easy-to-use software have become

available to educators to harness the digital world.

The impact of new technologies in educational contexts has

been mostly positive as new technologies have given

educators the opportunity to enhance their knowledge, skills,

and therefore enhance the standard of education.

Researchers have found that student engagement,

achievement and motivation are enhanced through integration

of such technologies.

As confirmed by Armstrong , computers, digital cameras,

editing software, and other technologies are becoming more

readily accessible in the classrooms, and provide learners and

teachers with the tools to create digital stories more easily than

ever before (Armstrong [2003]).

The power of storytelling as a pedagogical tool has been

recognised since the beginning of humanity, and in more

recent times, for e-Learning (Neal [2001]).

3-Digital storytelling: a constructivist

approach to learning

Digital storytelling can thus facilitate a constructivist

approach for teaching and learning. It can be a helpful

educational tool, as it provides a vehicle for combining

digital media with innovative teaching and learning

practices. Apart from building on learners’ technology skills,

digital storytelling encourages additional educational

outcomes (Dakich [2008]).

It enhances learners’ motivation, and helps teachers in building constructivist learning environments that encourage creative problem solving based on collaboration and peer-to-peer communication. In addition, digital storytelling can be used to facilitate integrated approaches to curriculum development, and engage learners in higher order thinking and deep learning (Dakich [2008]).

4-The Seven Elements of Digital

Storytelling.

1. Point of View – what is the perspective of the author?

2. A Dramatic Question – a question that will be answered

by the end of the story.

3. Emotional Content – serious issues that speak to us in a

personal and powerful way.

4. The Gift of your Voice – a way to personalize the story to

help the audience understand the context.

5. The Power of the Soundtrack – music or other

sounds that support the storyline.

6. Economy – simply put, using just enough content to

tell the story without overloading the viewer with too

much information.

7. Pacing – related to Economy, but specifically deals

with how slowly or quickly the

story progresses.

5-Digital Storytelling as an Effective

Instructional Tool for Teachers.

There are numerous ways that Digital Storytelling can be used in education.

One of the first decisions to be made when deciding to use this tool in the

curriculum is whether an instructor will create the Digital Stories or have their

students do it. Some educators may decide to create their own stories and show

them to their students as a way to present new material. An engaging,

multimedia-rich Digital Story can serve as an anticipatory set or hook to capture

the attention of students and increasing their interest in exploring new ideas. A

number of researchers support the use of anticipatory sets at the beginning of a

lesson to help engage students in the learning process (Burmark, 2004; Ormrod,

2004) and as a bridge between existing knowledge and new material (Ausbel,

1978).

Teacher-created digital stories may also be used to enhance

current lessons within a larger unit, as a way to facilitate

discussion about the topics presented a story and as a way of

making abstract or conceptual content more understandable.

While many educators still lack a cohesive plan for integrating

multimedia into their instruction, a growing number of teachers

are interested in exploring ways to engage their students by

including images, audio and video elements in their instruction.

Researchers such as Hibbing and Rankin-Erikson (2003) and

Boster, Meyer, Toberto, & Inge (2002) have shown that the use

of multimedia in teaching helps students retain new information

as well as aids in the comprehension of difficult material. And

Digital Storytelling can provide educators with a powerful tool

to use in their classrooms.

6-Digital Storytelling as an Effective Learning

Tool for Student

Digital Storytelling can also be a potent tool for students who

are taught to create their own stories. After viewing example

digital stories created by their teachers or other story

developers, students may be given assignments in which they

are first asked to research a topic and then choose a particular

point of view and, as described in the Seven Elements of

Digital Storytelling, a dramatic question. This type of activity

can generate interest, attention and motivation for the "digital

generation" students in today’s classrooms.

7-21st Century Skills Digital Literacy -the ability to communicate with an ever-expanding

community to discuss issues, gather information, and seek help.

Global Literacy -the capacity to read, interpret, respond, and

contextualize messages from a global perspective.

Visual Literacy -the ability to understand, produce, and communicate

through visual images.

Technology Literacy -the ability to use computers and other

technology to improve learning, productivity, and performance.

Information Literacy -the ability to find, evaluate and synthesize

information.

8-How to Use Digital Storytelling in Your

Classroom?

1. Learn from what you watch.

Think of movies you adore, movies you could watch again and

again. What makes them so effective? Is it the dialogue, the

character development, the way shots are framed? Likewise,

consider movies so bad they make you squirm. Just why are

they so excruciating? Work with your students to dissect

several well-known films; you'll soon find yourselves with

several categories that fall under the rubric of storytelling

techniques. You will be amazed at how much you already

know.

2. See technology as a storytelling tool, not as a

teaching goal.

Though students need some knowledge of how to use

equipment, teaching about technology should never be the

focus of the curriculum. Simple editing programs such as

iMovie are intuitive and easy to learn. If you have a camera

or phone and a computer, you're ready to go; your creative

aspirations will drive your technology learning curve. Once

you think of an element you want to include that requires

more advanced software or gear, you'll be compelled to learn

how to use it.

3. Allow your students to push you (and lead

you)

Don't be intimidated if your students learn faster than you

do. Many of them are accustomed to quickly absorbing

technology. Use their aptitude to your advantage by letting

students teach each other; you'll find that they show their

strengths fairly quickly. Within a class, you'll have great

writers, editors, camera operators, and technicians. They

can improve their weaker points while using their strengths

to help others (including you).

4. Learn by trial and error.

Accept the fact that you will spend a portion of your time scratching your

head, wondering, "Why won't that work?" Seek out resources where you

can post questions and get answers quickly. (Creative Cow is an

excellent online destination; it has sections for virtually every kind of

production and postproduction software and hardware.) Every glitch will

build your technology savvy until you get to the point where you can

anticipate the kinds of problems students will have. Take heart in

remembering that most great filmmakers come from a creative

background, not a technical one; they depend on others to make

technology work on their behalf.

5. Give your students freedom, but hold them

accountable.

Kids are not used to the kind of freedom they'll need

to do great creative work. Some will thrive in that

environment, others will require close supervision to

make sure they complete their projects. One good

way to do this is to have students pitch a one-

paragraph description of their project and provide a

production schedule. In essence, it's a work contract.

6. Consider yourself the executive

producer.

Work with your students as a partner learning about

technology and storytelling, but don't forget that you call the

shots. You have to be the arbiter of good taste and the studio

boss who decides whether an idea is production worthy.

Serving in this role as a teacher is actually much easier than

it is for a real-live executive producer, because students

naturally look to you for leadership.

7. Don't forget to celebrate your students' work.

Whether you show completed projects to the class alone or to

the entire school or even the whole community, present the

stories your students tell. There's a good chance their work

will be much more professional than you expect, and light-

years beyond what your community might anticipate. A great

side benefit of public showings is that your students will take

their work very seriously. The knowledge that others are

going to see it (and you can't hide C-quality work on a big

screen) has been the source of tremendous inspiration for

filmmakers for a hundred years.

Thank You !