Bongiorno_Cameron_Reading Reflection 2

 Digital Storytelling

The World of Digital Storytelling | by Kyle Klocke | Medium

     Hello again! My blog post today reflects on the reading I did this week concerning digital storytelling. I have to admit that I am not very familiar with this type of storytelling and am not certain that I have ever created a digital story in my years of teaching or in any of my graduate courses. The closest thing to digital storytelling I may have done is when I created a PowerPoint presentation of my vacation to Mexico for my Spanish II classes. The students were learning about the difficult concept of describing an event in the past using the preterite and imperfect tenses. To help them with this, I put photos from my trip on slides and then added text below the photos to describe the setting, situation, or event that included the correct use of the preterite and imperfect tenses. I used a SMARTboard to present the slides.

Smart Board Blank No Projector Clip Art at Clker.com - vector clip art online, royalty free & public domain

Is that really an example of digital storytelling? To find out this answer, I found several definitions of digital storytelling in the readings. Morris (2013) stated that "digital storytelling is a short, multimedia presentation of a story (p. 54), and Rebmann (2012) defined it as "the fusion of narrative and digital media content" (p. 30). Finally, Rutta et al. (2021) described it as "combining the art of telling stories with digital tools" (p.22). Based on these definitions, I do believe that my aforementioned PowerPoint presentation which included graphics and text qualifies as an example of digital storytelling.  That makes me smile to have included the teaching method of digital storytelling without even knowing I did it. Maybe, just maybe, I am not as technologically challenged as I previously thought...

     Once I better understood what digital storytelling entails, I then wanted to know more about the process of creating a digital story. In Rebmann's article (2012) she referred to a 

      seven-step approach to constructing digital stories:

     1. Write an Initial Script

      2. Plan an Accompanying Storyboard

      3. Discuss and Revise the Script

      4. Sequence the images in the Video Editor

      5. Add the Narrative Track

      6. Add Special Effects and Transitions

      7. Add a Musical Soundtrack if Time Permits (p.30).

Both Greene (2013) and Chuang (2019) referenced the process or more specifically, the four phases, of digital storytelling as pre-production (planning of the script, storyboarding, and practicing), production (developing multimedia elements and recording), post-production (editing), and distribution (sharing of product and getting feedback from viewers). While both processes are in some ways similar, I feel that Rebmann's (2012) seven-step theory did not include the important steps of post-production editing and distribution with feedback. I will admit that my earlier foray into storytelling was not as involved as these processes. I definitely did not create a storyboard for that PowerPoint presentation, and I did not use a variety of media - simply photos and text. After learning more about the process of digital storytelling, I was curious about the length of the digital story. Exactly what did Morris (2013) mean in her definition of digital storytelling when she called it "short"? 

Pace Yourself! The importance of timing in good storytelling. (association.tv)

Zia (2023) explained that a digital story should be two to three minutes long, and Kearney (2009) described it as lasting between two to six minutes. Dogan (2023) cited the longest length at two to ten minutes for digital stories that are educational. That Spanish II PowerPoint presentation I created probably lasted four minutes. What do you know? Not only did I include multimedia in that digital story, but I also presented it within the appropriate time frame that the people indicated above. Wow! Not too shabby! 

     Feeling a bit proud of myself for my basic venture in digital storytelling, I wanted to learn even more about the available tools that could further enhance a digital story. Morris (2013) presented Xtranormal and Animoto as useful digital tools. Rebmann (2012) suggested "software such as Photostory, MovieMaker, and iMovie" (p. 32), and she also recommended Alan Levin's wiki site. When I tried to go to that site, however, I found his site instead at https://www.50ways.cogdogblog.com and discovered his YouTube video titled "50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story" (Levine, 2011). He shared 34 different digital tools he used to create this video (Levine, 2011). On his blog, he has created one story about his dog Domino using fifty of the tools he found helpful when creating a digital story. He also provides a list of web tools in alphabetical order, by type, and by media capability on his site (Levine, 2014). I think that this site will be very helpful when we create our own digital story for this course. I have provided the video below for you to watch. 

(32) 50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story - YouTube

          I better understood the definition of digital storytelling, its process, its length, and some of the tools available for its creation, but I was interested in its purpose.  Alan Levine (2011) stated that it "is the foundation for effective and persuasive communications" (2:20) in his YouTube video about digital storytelling. He went on to say that these communications may entail how-to guides, work presentations, a recap of events, or the discussion of projects (Levine, 2011). Rebmann (2012) mentioned that digital storytelling can be used by students to master content. Lisenbee and Ford (2018) recognized that it fosters learning and practice of a story's literary elements as well as being an effective method of instruction. As a method of instruction, digital storytelling can be used to meet various standards put forth by the American Association of School Librarians, the International Society for Technology in Education, and the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (Rebmann, 2012; Lisenbee & Ford, 2017). In addition to all of these purposes, librarians can create digital stories to promote the resources they offer, publicize their space, and advertise their collections (Rebmann, 2012). Finally, I believe that sharing a personal story with others is the most interesting and meaningful purpose of digital storytelling and is the most pertinent to this course (Morris, 2013). 

     Through the readings and videos from this week's module, I discovered that digital storytelling has many benefits. First, this storytelling method has very few limitations as it can be used across different ages, skill levels, grade levels, and content areas (Dogan, 2023). Also, this type of storytelling addresses all three learning styles with the use of multiple modalities (Rebmann, 2012). Morris (2013) discovered through her study that observed nine to eleven-year-olds creating a digital story that this process facilitated the important skill of self-assessment as the students functioned as creator, viewer, and editor of their stories. Moreover, digital storytelling creates opportunities for librarians to collaborate with teachers as they share their knowledge and understanding of this subject and also an opportunity for teachers to collaborate with students during the digital storytelling process (Rebmann, 2012; Green, 2013). Lisbenbee and Ford (2018) also highlighted that students use critical thinking skills and their ability to problem-solve when creating a digital story. During the study concerning comic-based digital storytelling as a means to learn content and a second language, Rutta et al. (2021) found that the students thought that it was fun, engaging, and easy. In this same study, the teachers observed the students actively participating in the learning process, having a more positive attitude toward learning, and increasing their academic performance (Rutta et al., 2021). Based on the many benefits listed above and the positive aspects presented in this blog, I believe digital storytelling is a success and that it should be more widely used! I am very grateful that Professor Watson brought this type of storytelling to our attention!

***As a side note, I would like to add I found the articles by Rutta et al. (2021) and Green (2013) the most interesting since they both dealt with second language acquisition. They brought back fond memories of when I taught Spanish at the secondary level. 

Poetry

     In this post, I am going to focus on the genre of poetry. For our assignment this week, we had to read ten poems and complete the Annotated Bibliography with the poetry information. I hate to admit that I have never liked poetry. It is the most difficult type of literature for me to enjoy. I am embarrassed to say that this is due in part to my lack of understanding of the genre. I have always struggled with literature analysis, and I believe that is necessary when reading and processing poetry. Until this class, I had never considered poetry to be a type of storytelling. In our textbook, however, Greene and Del Negro (2010) suggest using poetry as a part of storytime, especially in conjunction with folktales or fairy tales, as all of these encourage the use of a child's imagination. They also offer the warning that a storyteller should not include a poem during a storytelling program if the storyteller does not like the poem (Greene & Del Negro, 2010). Soooo, I am probably not going to include poems when I tell a story. Oh well.

References

Chuang, H., Hsieh, M.  & Cheng, Y. (2019). An instrument for assessing the development of scientific imagination via digital storytelling for elementary school students. Creativity Research Journal, 31(4), 408-418. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2019.1670025

Dogan, B. (2023). What is digital storytelling?. University of Houston, College of Education. https://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/page.cfm?id=27&cid=27

Green, L. S. (2013). Language learning through a lens: The case for digital storytelling in the second language classroom. School Librarians Worldwide, (19)2, 23-36. www.lucysantosgreen.com/uploads/6/8/3/3/6833178/final_article_file_slw_libre.pdf

Greene, E. & Del Negro, J. M. (2010). Storytelling: Art and technique (4th ed.). Libraries United.

Kearney, M. (2009). Investigating digital storytelling and portfolios in teacher education. University of Technology, Sydney. https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/104543/11358/1/2009003292.pdf

Levine, A. (2011). 50 web 2.0 ways to tell a story [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDYJAZiskRw&t=300s

Levine, A. (2014). 50+ web ways to tell a story. https://www.50ways.cogdogblog.com

Lisenbee, P. S. & Ford, C. M. (2018). Engaging students in traditional and digital storytelling to make connections between pedagogy and children's experiences. Early Childhood Educational Journal, 46, 129-139. doi10.1007/s10643-017-0846-x

Morris, R. J. (2013). Creating, viewing, and assessing: Fluid roles of the student self in digital storytelling. School Libraries Worldwide, 19(2), 54-68. https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/slw/index.php/slw/article/view/6864/3862

Rebmann, K. R. (2012). Theory, practice, tools: Catching up with digital storytelling. Teacher Librarian, 39(2), 30-34. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260339931_Catching_up_with_Digital_Storytelling

Rutta, C. B., Schiavo, G., Zancanaro, M. & Rubegni, E. (2021). Comic-based digital storytelling for content and language integrated learning. Educational Media International, 58(1), 21-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523987.2021.1908499

Poems I Have Read:

Spinelli, E. (2015). Thankful. Zonderkidz.

Coelho, J. (2020). Try. In J. Coelho (Ed.), Poems aloud (p. 4). Wide Eyed Editions.

Archer, M. (2016). Daniel finds a poem. Nancy Paulsen Books.

Grimes, N. (2017). David’s old soul. In N. Grimes (Ed.), One last word (p. 66). Bloomsbury.

Hauth, K. (2011). Wood turtle stomp. In K. Hauth (Ed.), What’s for dinner? (p.16). Charlesbridge. 

Sidman, J. (2013). Chant to repair a friendship. In J. Sidman (Ed.), What the heart knows: Chants, charms and blessings (p.3). Houghton Mifflin. 

Grimes, N. (2021). What girls can do. In N. Grimes (Ed.), Legacy: Women poets of the Harlem Renaissance (p. 84). Bloomsbury Children’s Books. 

Nelson, M. (2014). Dances with doorknobs. In M. Nelson (Ed.), How I discovered poetry (p. 88). Dial Books. 

Dallan, M. (2018). My pictures. In M. Dallan (Ed.), Everyday me (p. 15). Marnie Dallan. 

Skinner, A. M. & Skinner, E. L. (2022). November. In A. M. Skinner & E. L. Skinner (Ed.), The topaz story book. Yesterday’s Classics.