Digital storytelling PD workshop

WHY I LOVE DIGITAL STORYTELLING

I love digital storytelling for many reasons. The first is the research that supports teachers using storytelling to teach. The research states, when listening to stories, many areas of the brain are activated and we search for personal connections to our previous experiences, which then leads us to learn and retain the content more easily So why not use storytelling to teach content?

If you need information and ideas for how to tell get the point across to students and tell a tory well, there are some great resources available. Amy Yorke and Molly Brennan have some useful tips on The Scholarly Teacher Blog.

Here is a quick overview of their tips.

• Use what they use: Use social media to tell your stories to meet the students where they “live”
• Be purposeful: Make your students understand the purpose of you telling the story. Include a contextual introduction to the story and a summarizer to help students link what they heard their current knowledge.
• Be clear and succinct: Keep the story short.
• Practice makes perfect: Practice the story a few times to make sure you are comfortable with it.

The second reason I love digital storytelling is, when creating a digital story, students are using all types of skills that we want them to acquire, as well as showcasing their acquisition of content knowledge! The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling site from the University of Houston outlines some of these.

• 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

I would also add that students have to be creative and learn how to communicate their story to an intended audience, as well as reflect on the process.

The third reason I love digital storytelling is that it is content-neutral. Digital stories can be used across the curriculum as a formative or summative assessment. I believe it is one of the best ways for students to show their content knowledge.

So, with all these great advantages of digital storytelling, I wanted to share a sample professional development workshop with you. Feel free to edit it as you wish to make it your own. I believe it is  important teachers practice with digital storytelling so they understand the concept before using it for a student assessment. In addition, they can create exemplars to show to students or use as unit introductions!

DIGITAL STORYTELLING PD WORKSHOP

This workshop would be a 2-3 hour workshop with two created projects. Both use the Adobe Spark suite which works on laptops and Chromebooks and iOS. The online suite of the Post, Page, and Video tools are integrated. On the iPad, there are separate apps for each tool that need to be downloaded. Adobe’s Education Exchange provides a great introduction to the Adobe Spark suite and the Education Exchange also includes tons of lessons from teachers who use the tools.

To prepare for the workshop, send out a link to the online tools and apps and have users create accounts and download what they need. Also, create a shared workshop document or Padlet where participants can share their project URLs. In addition, I have tons more digital storytelling resources on my Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Everything site.

PART 1: LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR THE WORKSHOP

• Engage learners in designing and creating media-rich products using technology tools to encourage collaboration and voice.
• Foster and develop competencies and mindsets for productive, innovative, and effective use of digital technologies with students.
• Objectives borrowed and edited from a Rutgers class unit by Joyce Valenza.

PART 2: IMAGE AND TEXT PROJECT

Laptops, Chromebooks, ChromeOS Tablets, Surface Tablets

Online tool: Adobe Spark Post

1. Write a six-word story. (Here are the instructions!)
2. Open Adobe Spark Post and create an account.
3. Pick a template, change it, use a photo from the Adobe Post collection or from Discovery Education Streaming’s image collection for a background that represents your story. (My sample) Don’t forget to note the URL of the image you use.
4. Type your 6-word story on the image.
5. Type the citation to the image in smaller type on the Post. You may want to use http://bit.ly to shorten the URL.
6. Share the created image via the LINK option, pick “publish options” to pick a category, and the 6-word story will be live.
7. Copy the URL and add it to a shared workshop tool page titled Adobe Spark Post with your initials.

iOS Devices

iOS app: Adobe Spark Post

1. Write a six-word story. (Here are the instructions!) (My sample)
2. Open the Adobe Spark Post app and pick a template to edit or click the green + sign to start from scratch.
3. Find an image by searching in Adobe Post or in Discovery Education Streaming’s image library (save it to your Camera Roll and update it into Post) to represent your quote. Don’t forget to note the URL of the image
4. Using the text tool, put the URL of the image in small type, in the bottom right-hand corner of the image. (Use http://bit.ly to shorten the URL)
5. Add your 6-word story to the image.
6. Save the completed image to the Camera Roll and/or pick LINK and either attach the image to an entry on the shared workshop tool page or share the URL from the iPad’s clipboard. Don’t forget to put your initials and title the entry Adobe Spark Post.

PART 3: VIDEO STORY PROJECT

Laptops, Chromebooks, ChromeOS Tablets, Surface Tablets

Online tool: Adobe Spark Video

1. Write the script for your story
2. Find 6-10 Creative Commons-licensed images by using the Creative Commons search in either Google or Flickr and pick images that are licensed for re-use with attribution. You are going to “tell a story” in a unit you teach, i.e. the invasion of Normandy, places a character in a book visited, the history of the personal computer, the evolution of infectious diseases, etc. Save these images to the desktop or in an online file storage site.
3. Make sure to keep track of the URLs of the images you use for citing later.
4. Open the Adobe Spark Video tool and create an Adobe account if you have to.
5. Skip the first prompt to tell about your story. Pick a template to use or start from scratch.
6. Create a video by uploading the images in order and creating a voice narration behind each one, telling the story. You can pick background music that matches the tone of your story if you want to.
7. Make sure the last slide includes the text of the citations of the photos you used.
8. When you are done, pick SHARE and enter the information requested. Be sure to tap CREATE LINK to copy the link to your finished story.
9. Copy the URL and add it to a shared workshop tool page titled Adobe Spark Video with your initials.

iOS Devices

iOS app: Adobe Spark Video

1. Write the script for your story.
2. Find 6-10 Creative Commons-licensed images by using the Creative Commons search in either Google or Flickr and pick images that are licensed for re-use with attribution. You are going to “tell a story” in a unit you teach, i.e. the invasion of Normandy, places a character in a book visited, the history of the personal computer, the evolution of infectious diseases, etc. Save these images to the desktop or in an online file storage site.
3. Make sure to keep track of the URLs of the images you use for citing later.
4. Open the Adobe Spark Video tool and create an Adobe account if you have to.
5. Hit the plus sign to create a video. You can pick a template to use or start from stratch.
6. Create a video by uploading the images in order and creating a voice narration behind each one, telling the story. You can pick background music that matches the tone of your story if you want to.
7. Make sure the last slide includes the text of the citations of the photos you used.
8. When complete, pick the share button and “copy link to clipboard. You can also pick to “save to camera roll”.
9. Copy the URL and add it to a shared workshop tool page titled Adobe Spark Video with your initials.

PART 4: REFLECTION

After the two projects are complete and some have been shared with the group, have the participants do a large group reflection on the following questions. Make sure someone is scribing in the shared Google Doc or Padlet.

1. What are some different types of digital stories and the components of each? (A personal narratives, a story to inform/instruct, a story to document an event)
2. How can digital storytelling be used as a student assessment?
3. How does one assess a digital story?
4. What other types of tools can students use to create digital stories and why?
5. What are the challenges to utilizing digital storytelling in my educational environment and what are some practical solutions to overcome these challenges?
6. What do I need to learn about the process of digital storytelling so I can help my students with their stories?

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Do you have ideas or other methods to teach teachers how to create digital stories? Do you have teacher-created samples to showcase? Please share on Twitter! #kathyschrock

Using Pokemon Go in the classroom

How can you utilize the game "Pokemon Go" in your classroom in a meaningful way? Student excitement about this game can be easily harnessed to support all kinds of fun and pedagogically-sound lessons and activities!

Before we start, and if you have not yet played the game, there are some vocabulary words you might need.

VOCABULARY

Pokemon Go: an augmented reality, GPS-based, mobile device game which uses real-world locations to gather virtual items

Pokemon: the characters in the game you seek to capture and use for other purposes

Pokeball: the item you need to capture Pokemon

Pokestop: Place you locate in the game and visit to gather Pokeballs

Pokedex: An incomplete encyclopedia given to you in the game that is populated with details of the Pokémon as you capture them

Gym: a specific place in the game where you can have your Pokemon battle for control

Journal: a time-based list of your activity in the game

Pokemon trivia: Pokemon is short for "Pocket Monsters"

APA style guide for "Pokemon Go" information.

I doubt if there are many Pokestops or Pokemon in or around your school. And I'm not suggesting playing the game in your classroom. However, after playing it myself for the past few days, I've had some thoughts on how to use the game to expand the learning and target some of the literacies we want students to attain.

Some of the following activities require students to take some extra time and gather information as they're actually playing the game. Others they can complete after they're done for the day.

VIRTUAL REALITY IMAGES

Many of the Pokestops in the game showcase a local business, attraction or historical site. Since students  already have their phone in their hands, have them use the Google Street View app to take a 360° spherical panoramic image of the Pokestop. Having these images to share with others will both promote community pride as well as allow immersion in the Pokestop via a Google Cardboard Viewer or via the Ricoh Theta S app. By taking the time to create and share the 360° images, students will become familiar with some of the cool sites in their community.

Here is a sample of a 360° image taken at a site of a Pokestop. Click and drag your mouse around the image to view it. (Direct link)

As you or students create 360° images, please consider Creative Commons-licensing them for use by others, joining my Flickr group called 360° Images for Schools and uploading them!

• Google Street View app (iOS) (Android) (Windows Phone)
• Theta S App (iOS) (Android) (Windows) (Mac)
• Google Cardboard app (iOS) (Android)
• Kathy's Katch Discovery Education blog post: Virtual reality in the classroom

DIGITAL STORYTELLING

One of the neat features of the "Pokemon Go" game is, when students find a Pokemon in the wild, they can turn on an augmented reality version of their mobile device screen which puts the virtual Pokemon into the live scene where their camera is facing.

Students can then take a screenshot of the image. By saving the screenshots to their camera roll, students will have access to them later to use in other classroom projects, such as creating a digital story about their adventures.

Don't forget- students will need access to tools for planning, preparing, and producing their digital story. Ideas and successful practices for creating digital stories can be found on my digital storytelling site.

Easy digital storytelling creation tools

• Adobe Spark Video: easy-to-use video creation tool
• Explain Everything: screen casting tool which allows students to speak, mark-up, and save as a video
• Pixntell app: One to five images with student recording behind them
• Adobe Spark Post: single image with overlaid text

DATA LITERACY

The Journal component of the game automatically records the time and date of the events as they occur -- whether it be collecting Pokeballs or capturing a Pokemon. Students can use the data to figure out the average number of events per day or to graph their allocation of items from a Pokestop. 

Using data they have collected and analyzing it will help students start to become familiar with the data literacy skills of data processing, data manipulation, data presentation, and data analysis. A great rubric for data literacy analysis by Andrew Churches can be found here.

Another treasure trove of data can be found in the Pokedex. Each Pokemon that is captured includes an information card, including height and weight (in metric). This data can be analyzed and manipulated for any number of measurement activities. (i.e. How many of which Pokemon would you need to stretch all the way across the US? What would be the total weight of all of them?) In addition, students could use Airtable (iOS app) to create their own relational database of their "Pokemon Go" data and become familiar with some of the features of a database (i.e. tagging, searching, sorting, etc.)

MAPPING

Encourage students to either gather the GPS points of their finds as they play the game or have them collect that info when they are done for the day. One site that makes this easy is http://www.gps-coordinates.net/ Students can search for a location on Google Maps from this site and then copy the GPS coordinates that show up.

Once students have this GPS data, have them locate the GPS point in Google Earth, add the screenshots for the Poketops or areas they visited in the game, and have them create a "Google Pokemon Go Trip". Students quickly become aware they are actually using real-life places in the game and can share their journeys with others. To learn how to start this process, instructions for the Google Lit Trips project will help you out!

INFOGRAPHICS

Use the data compiled from the "Pokemon Go" Journal and any additional information students collect (for instance, the number of steps they take in any one day) to have students create an infographic using one of the online tools or mobile apps. I have lists of these apps and tools both on my Guide to Everything Infographics page as well as in a previous Discovery Education Kathy's Katch blog post.

Infographics should have an eye-catching image at the top with the most important data and then include secondary and tertiary data for those want to know more. Shaelynn Farnsworth provides some solid tips about teaching the basics of infographics to students here.

I used Canva to create a health-related infographic based on the number of steps I have taken while playing the game.

SKETCHNOTES

Have students write a short piece about their personal reflection of the game. How long did it take them to learn how to play "Pokemon Go"? Have they joined any groups of people searching for rewards? What do they like best about playing? Least?

Have students exchange their writings or share a Google doc with another student. Each student should create a sketchnote from the writings of the other. Provide students with the basics of sketchnoting before you begin this project (i.e. text connectors, containers, shading, color, format) and then have them share the completed sketchnote with the author of the original piece. This can help students both practice visual notetaking, as well as learn how to pull out the most important points from a piece of writing. 

I have much more information about sketchnoting on my Guide to Everything Sketchnoting in the Classroom page.

POKÉ PODCASTS

Once students have reflected on their sketchnotes and reworked their essay on the topic, have each student create a short podcast about their experience with "Pokemon Go". Embed these podcasts in your class website and parents can enjoy the excitement that will definitely come through as each student reflects on their time with the game!

Podcasting tools

• Audioboom
• AudioPal
• iPadio
• Podomatic

Do you use Pokemon Go in the classroom? Share tips with us on Twitter! #kathyschrock

DST and DST

Last month I posted about digital storytelling and provided you with links to some great resources. In addition, the Google+ Hangout about digital storytelling with Joe Brennan and Midge Frazel was a wealth of good information, too! You can find the resources discussed and a link to the Webinar on my digital storytelling page at http://www.schrockguide.net/digital-storytelling.html. Look for the “Discovery Education/Wilkes University Digital Storytelling Webinar” section of the page.

I have decided I need to plan, develop, and produce a digital story of my own. So, I have decided to create a digital storytelling (DST) project about Daylight Saving Time (the other DST). There is such a wealth of information about the changing of the clocks which targets science, history (how many of you remember when the US government extended DST in 1974 and 1975 to try to save energy and we all wound up walking to the bus stop in the dark?), math, geography, and there are also some great stories that have come out of the changing of the clocks, too! I hope to create an interesting digital story and share it with you! This month, I will share some of the links from which I am gathering my information and a DST sample I located about DST!

• The History of Daylight Saving Time (timeanddate.com)
• SpringAhead app: includes the ability to set the change dates on your calendar
• WebExhibits interactive museum of science, humanities, and culture
• Daylight Saving Time: Its History and Why We Use It
• National Geographic: The History of Daylight Saving Time
• National Museum of American History: Story of time zones

I did a little searching, and came up with this YouTube video which I think is is well-done digital story about the current state of Daylight Saving Time: Daylight Saving Time Explained. And, in November of 2012, the Today Show did a piece about DST as did CBS and CNN. Here is a video intended for younger students that explains the history of Daylight Saving Time.

It seems like such a simple thing, but, after looking through all the sites and resources, it seems to become complex really fast!

Digital storytelling and the CCSS

One of the perks of teaching for the Wilkes/Discovery Master’s program (besides the great students I come in contact with) is my access to the online library databases at Wilkes University.  In library school, I still remember signing on to the ERIC databases, via an acoustic coupler, for a total of fifteen minutes of online search time for the entire semester! And all I received was the abstract of an article. The next step was to go to the cabinet that housed the microfiche (at least this was after the microfilm era!) and look up the article, read it, and perhaps print it off. One other cool thing that could be done was to make my own copy of the microfiche through some ammonia bath process. I collected a file box of hundreds of microfiche of educational articles. I held on to them for years until it became impossible to find a microfiche reader to read them!

My research in the databases this month was to gather some practical information on the use of digital storytelling in the classroom. I found many research studies that showcased the positive impacts of this project-based method of assessment on student engagement and content acquisition. If I had been writing some type of grant, I would have been all set with the research I needed to support it!

I actually was getting some background knowledge to support the first in a series of Google Plus Hangouts that will air this month.  I will be hosting these Hangouts to bring you experts discussing a topic that is taught in the Wilkes/Discovery Master’s program. This month’s Hangout deals with digital storytelling, so I decided to learn more about it. Sign up for the January 10, 2013 Google+ Hangout here!

As described by Leslie Rule (2010), “digital storytelling is the modern expression of the ancient art of storytelling. Digital stories derive their power by weaving images, music, narrative and voice together, thereby giving deep dimension and vivid color to characters, situations, experiences, and insights.”

Hum, let me see.  This sounds eerily like something I have heard before. The Common Core State Standards include many of these same goals. The anchor standards for writing state students will be able to “write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences”.

The anchor standards for speaking and listening include students learning how to “make strategic use of digital media…to express information and enhance understanding of presentations; present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning; and to adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks”.

It seems to me, digital storytelling as a project-based assessment is a natural to add to the classroom toolbox of resources to help students master the Common Core State Standards. I have included some online resources and citations to the documents I have located that can support you embed this technology-based model of assessment into your classroom.

The Discovery Education Hub for Teachers (http://hubforteachers.discoveryeducation.com/taking-it-digital/index.cfm) has a great introduction to digital storytelling including an overview of the basics, the process, assessment rubrics, tools and resources, and sample digital stories.

Jennifer Dorman, an adjunct instructor in the Wilkes/Discovery masters program, has a comprehensive page of ideas and resources to support the us of digital storytelling to support teaching and learning. (http://jdorman.wikispaces.com/digitalstorytelling)

Bernajean Porters Digitales site includes a make-your-own scoring guide for easy creation of a rubric to target the content and skillsets your students will be working on. (http://digitales.us/evaluating-projects/scoring-guides)

Alan Levine provides a list of many Web 2.0 tools that can be used for digital storytelling as well as an overview of the process. (http://50ways.wikispaces.com/)

Here is a Pinterest search on “digital storytelling” that will lead you to loads of pinned items of interest: http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=digital+storytelling

Primary Access, from the Curry School of Education, includes a suite of tools to help students create digital stories.  (http://www.primaryaccess.org/)

The University of Houston has a comprehensive site entitled “Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling” found here: http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/index.html

Microsoft offers a 28-page downloadable guide to digital storytelling with links to resources and K-12 examples. (http://download.microsoft.com/download/D/F/0/DF087781-EDEF-45E1-9FAA-18FE7CD1E7E3/digitalstorytellingebook.pdf)

Here is an updated link to the wiki created by a group of Apple Distinguished Educators entitled “Digital storytelling with the iPad” that can help you get started with apps to complete a project using the iPad: https://sites.google.com/site/ipadmultimediatools/digital-storytelling-tools and access to some student audio samples. (Thanks to Karen Bosch for the updated links!)

Practical and theoretical articles dealing with digital storytelling

Gabel D. Down to earth digital storytelling. (2011). Library Media Connection, 30 (1), 24-27.

How digital storytelling builds 21st century skills. (2009). Library Technology Reports, 45(7), 15-19.

Rebmann, K. R. (2012). Theory, practice, tools: catching up with digital storytelling.  Teacher Librarian, 39(3), 30-34.

Robin, B. R. (2008). Digital storytelling: A powerful technology tool for the 21st century classroom. Theory Into Practice, 47(3), 220-228.

Rule, L. (2010). Digital storytelling: Never has storytelling been so easy or so powerful. Knowledge Quest, 38(4), 56-57.