Category Archive

It’s back to school time!  That means shopping for school supplies for many.  I just read an article about what’s “new” on school supply lists this year to insure student success.  Here are some of the items listed: laptop computer, iPod, USB drives, external hard drives, digital pens and scanners, multi-function printers with Wi-Fi, and webcams.  We’ve come a long ways since the days of Manila paper, Elmer’s glue, crayons, scissors, protractors, rulers, etc.  

With the new supplies that most students already have or are quickly gaining access to, as educators we must be ready to embrace these tools and use them and productive and engaging ways.  Technology standards for teachers have been updated and provide the framework by which teachers can plan and implement highly engaging instruction in an increasingly digital world. 

Technology Standards for Teachers, revised June 2008

1.      Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity

a.      Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking

b.      Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources

c.       Promote student reflection using collaborative tools

d.      Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students

2.      Design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments

3.      Model digital-age work and learning

4.      Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility

5.      Engage in professional growth and leadership

“Transformative proficiency of skills means really transforming education through the use of technology, not just laying technology over traditional educational practices.”  What this means for teachers and classrooms is that students need to have opportunity to create and produce podcast, digital stories, blogs, wikis, and participate in collaborative learning experiences.  These practices are not intended to be in addition to what is already part of the instruction but to take the place of some traditional learning experiences.  Teachers can begin to transform their teaching practices by dreaming big, showcasing student work in innovative ways, and using all of the resources available to them, including their BISD ITS!

For as long as I can remember media of some type has been used in the educational setting to impact instruction and help students visualize and create meaning for ideas and concepts being taught. Not too long ago this media was filmstrips and vinyl albums. As the technology advanced we included audio and video cassettes. Today it is very common to see DVD’s, CD’s, and streaming media pouring into our classrooms. No one would argue that these types of media make a difference in helping student gain understanding.

With today’s generation of learners, I would like to suggest that bringing media into the classrooms is not enough.

Students need the opportunity to create and interact with media.

The tools to make this happen are already sitting in many schools today and with the continuous evolution of the web more tools become available daily, with a cost that no one can argue with – FREE!

Learning environments that utilize media are beginning to take shape in many schools today. Students are learning to download and subscribe to podcasts for example, and some are learning to create their own podcasts. By definition, a podcast is a collection of digital media files which is distributed over the Internet. Tools to create this type of media are easily accessible with little learning curve to implement into instruction. Online tools such as http://www.gcast.com take less than five minutes to register and create an account, and then with a simple phone call you can record an audio podcast that is published world-wide via the web. Free software applications such as http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ can be downloaded and with the simple addition of a $5 microphone you can be well on your way to recording all sorts of podcasts with a variety of curricular connections. More importantly, students at all ages can take an integral role in creating these podcasts thus demonstrating their knowledge and understanding of curricular concepts.

Combining audio with visual elements takes the original idea of podcasting to the next level, video-casting, or vodcasting, as some are calling it. Again, there are both online tools and free software available to create this media. Websites such as http://voicethread.com/allow users to create an account and then upload images, record audio, and publish their stories. Free software applications such as PhotoStory and Movie Maker are available on the PC side, with comparable applications available for Mac users. These wizard driven applications make creating media possible for all levels of technology users. Hardware needed for these types of projects can be a digital camera with movie capabilities, or even an inexpensive video camera such as the RCA Small Wonder. The completed media projects can be published via websites and blogsites to world-wide audiences. These digital stories created by students again demonstrate knowledge and understanding of concepts and allow students to creatively tell their personal stories.

Learning theory has long suggested that if an individual can teach or demonstrate a concept that true learning has occurred. Involving students in creating podcasts, vodcasts, and digital stories does exactly that – it requires students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding, and often in a way that helps other young learners create meaning in their world.

Making Media does Matter!

Bernajean Porter defines digital storytelling as “a very special genre…organized around the author’s  own voice as the centerpiece of content …mixed with multisensory elements like movie, stills, and sound…about personal understandings of self or family maybe knowledge, ideas, or experiences…merged through the power of technical tools.”

Bernajean Porter has become synonymous with Digital Storytelling.  She is described as “ a digital storytelling guide” on the DigiTales website at http://www.digitales.us/about/about_bernajean.php.

In Bernajean Porter’s interview with Tim Wilson, she talks about the skills attained through the implementation of Digital Storytelling.  An excerpt from this podcast can be found at http://www.birdville.k12.tx.us/instech/podcast/mcknight/ , titled Digital Storytelling Skills, The Baker’s Dozen.  The baker’s dozen skills include:

1.       Cognitive Apprenticeship

2.       Creative / Inventive Thinking

3.       Higher Order Thinking

4.       Enduring Understanding

5.       Visual Literacy

6.       Technology Skills

7.       Information Literacy

8.       Communication

9.       Multiple Intelligence

10.   Team Work / Collaboration

11.   Project Management

12.   Exploiting Infinity

 The entire interview with Tim Wilson, The Savvy Technologist, can be accessed at http://technosavvy.org/2006/04/18/bernajean-porter-digital-storytelling-part-2/.

Digital Storytelling, one of the top three in what many deem technologies that will impact student achievement.  I see the potential, and am confident that this is one strategy that will engage students in writing.  However, it is hard to find hard, cold data to support the implementation of D.S. and administrators who are driven by TAKS scores aren’t “buying in”.  So, what do you do cause change, change in thinking?  I’m looking for the data to support what I know and believe so that I can share with others.