After reading the case study "Digital Storytelling: A Shareable Media in Education," I think that digital storytelling is a great way to encourage students to write and express themselves. For me, when it came to writing I was much more like Laura than Glenna. I never enjoyed any form of writing because it always became such an arduous task. I never liked to just throw my thoughts down on paper and revise later; I would agonize over every word and sentence until it was perfect then move on to the next thought. This created an extremely stressful atmosphere which undoubtedly contributed to my dislike of writing. Another of my problems with writing assignments for school was finding the purpose in the task. Whether it was a book report for middle school English class or a paper on symbolism in a certain text for my college writing class, I struggled to see the point of dissecting all of the subtleties of another person's work. I believed (and still do to this day) that I am wired as a more logical and mathematical thinker and the ambiguity of interpreting another's thoughts seemed unnecessary.
However, with digital storytelling this process can be simplified and more engaging. Just the idea of combining visuals with the text promotes a greater connection to the story for both the author and the reader. With the ease and accessibilty of technology for students, digital storytelling provides the perfect canvas for exploring new ways to share experiences. I really like how Mr. Smith asked the students to post their digital stories to YouTube and comment on fellow classmates'. This provides a safe atmosphere for students to express themselves without feeling like they are bing put on the spot to read or present in front of the class. I would think that this would generate more open and honest results from the students, which would make a better overall product in the end. In addition, putting the digital stories on YouTube gives them a global audience. I'm sure that students around the world could relate to some of the stories shared by the students in Mr. Smith's class. I think that digital storytelling is an excellent way to connect the traditional elements of storytelling to the technology-savvy students of today. There are a multitude of possibilities out there; it is up to us as teachers to put them to good use.
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I agree with your assessment of the article. Digital storytelling is an excellent way for a student to express themselves. An great way to communicate with others so a student could be better understood. I wish digital storytelling existed when I was in school. In high school, I was more like Glenna, never wanting to do an oral presentation. Awesome writing skills Dan.
ReplyDeleteFor someone who doesn't (or didn't) like to write, you did a very good job describing how you felt during the writing process!
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