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Digital Storytelling
What is Digital Storytelling?
by Alfonso Varona
Simply put, Digital Storytelling is the old need for human beings to tell a story, (as well as to be fascinated by it) but also includes integrating the new tools of the 21st century. It can be as simple as a series of images along with a narrative voice or with a text (such as Bubblr), or as complex as a movie created with any digital camera (with special effects, acting, sound effects, etc.). Educause (the "nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology") describes Digital Storytelling in the article "7 Things You Should Know About Digital Storytelling," stating that this form of narration "is the practice of combining narrative with digital content, including images, sound, and video to create a short movie, typically with a strong emotional component" (2).
Following the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages' (ACTFL) five "C's" for language instruction (Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities), Digital Storytelling is naturally suited to Communication, and, as I will argue at the end, Communities. The five "C's" are explained in detail in a PDF named Standards for Foreign Language Learning. I will refer to this article simply as "PDF."
How does digital storytelling work and how can it be used in the classroom?
If you want to start with something simple and non-threatening, I recommend using Voicethread. It offers a simple way to download a series of photos, and with a microphone or by typing text (voicethread gives you both options), you can provide your own narrative. In a course setting, the mere act of creating a narrative forces the students to use the vocabulary they are learning in a coherent story. There is also the motivation from the part of the students to show their peers an aspect of their lives not seen in the classroom. This actually corresponds to ACTFL sample progress indicator for Communication 1.1 student in Grade 8:
Students exchange information about personal events, memorable experiences, and other school subjects with peers and/or members of the target cultures. (PDF 5)
This can of course be applied to any foreign language beginner, including university students. For example, in a language class, learning vocabulary about family, students can gather several photos of their families, starting from their immediate family and progressing to their extended family. The student can also comment on additional information, such as the event taking place and the place the photo was taken, making the narrative more compelling and giving the student an interesting and well-integrated setting for using and reinforcing the already learned vocabulary.
The same rationale can be applied to the use of podcasts. A podcast is a short audio or video program, usually conceived as a regular series. As already discussed in the Web 2.O definition, its advantage is that it is available wherever there is an Internet connection, and downloadable to any mobile device. It can be used to tell a story (original or adapted), or to create a program series around a specific topic. In this paragraph I focus on the first option. Podcasting creation is well suited for collaborative work, giving students a clear goal, in a format that calls for conciseness and creativity. A good example is provided by Duke University professor, Daniel Foster. In 2005, Foster introduced podcasting in his class "Radio and the Theater of the Mind,"which was centered on the exploration of old time radio production. By the end of this course, the students were enthusiastic about producing radio programs like in the old days. Foster emphasizes the fact that his experience shows that podcasting proves to be an alternative for written work, in an openly collaborative, and at the same time fun, way. I would use podcasting in a creative writing class, asking students to adapt a short story of their own, into a podcast. They can gather in groups, that way in collaboration they would pick the best story created by the group and work together in the adaptation. Students would receive a grade for their original written story, and another one for their collaborative adaptation.
I want to finish with two more tools, which call for a much more ambitious narrative, and are more professionally oriented, since they involve the format of a real program. With Livestream (formerly known as Mogulus), it is now possible to create your own news channel, either by yourself or with a team of collaborators. Watch any of the official demo videos from Mogulus/Livestream and think of the possibilities. This tool requires not only the integration of other digital material (photos, videos), and involves not just recording voice, but videotaping oneself reporting news as well. Fake news has always been a well-known activity for language classes. With this tool, a fake news channel gets an upgrade. It can actually look like a real professional TV news program. The ACTFL PDF document provides the following sample learning scenario:
In the Spanish II class in Wiliamston High School, a small, rural community in Michigan, students worked in groups to write, produce, and videotape a fifteen-to twenty minute Spanish language news show that included news events; a live, from-the-scene report; weather; sports; and commercials. The news events included items form the Spanish-speaking world, the United States, the state, and local areas. (PDF 7)
Livestream provides the easiest way ever to make this happen. An excellent idea would be to prepare a midterm or final project discussing important events taking place on campus, which can be real or created. A variation of the video news, podcasting can be used instead, in a way that resembles a daily news podcast. Students of Spanish, for example, can follow professional podcasts like the BBC's Spanish daily podcast (produced by Spaniards), Radio Formula podcast (Mexican), or others from other Spanish-speaking countries as to get used not just to different regional accents, but also to different styles of podcasting. As the mentioned sample indicates, by doing this, students also target the points 1.2, (Communication: viewing newscasts), and 4.1 (Cultures: comparing and comparing/contrasting language styles). With Talkshoe, you can host your own podcast. You can include up to fifteen people, either via phone or chat. The important thing is that you create it on whatever you are passionate about. This tool is obviously for advanced students, since it involves an actual interaction in real time, besides the fact that it can be recorded as a podcast. Communication is the essential "C" put into practice, taken to the most interactive way among the whole list of Web 2.O tools. The other "C's" will vary on the target topic being discussed. I would try Talkshoe as a final project, where groups of students work together on a specific topic during the semester. Once they present the program, the other students in the classroom become listeners and participants.
All the aforementioned Web 2.0 tools, because of their communicative nature, can make "Communities" happen. ACTFL divides this "C" into 5.1 and 5.2, where on 5.1 "Students use the language both within and beyond the school setting" (PDF 7). Since these tools can be opened to the whole world, there is no restriction to the target language being used only within the local community. Voicethreads or podcasts opened to the Internet community can provide feedback and motivation. Students learn that what they do actually does have an audience, and communication in the web community does not have to be unidirectional or a mere school activity. Hopefully, this can be turned into Communities 5.2, where "Students show evidence of becoming lifelong learners by using the language for personal enjoyment and enrichment" (PDF 7). This is the synthesis of all "C's", and hopefully we start to see more and more of our students going in this direction.
I have to admit that some of these tools are new to me, and I still have yet to hear about actual examples of their pedagogical use. What is clear is that Livestream calls for much more technical and creative expertise in order to be done successfully, while the challenge with Talkshoe is the real time interaction. There is a connecting line from simple to complex that runs like this, in my opinion: Voicethread, Podcasting, Livestream and Talkshoe. But don't be fooled with the idea of a progression. Wonderful things can be done integrating photos within a text, or commenting on a series of photos. What these tools have in common is that they offer students a way to focus on a challenging and yet compelling format to tell a story to a real audience. As on all content created using Web 2.0 tools, you can reach an audience anywhere in the world, and get feedback, an option not available just a few years back. The use of digital storytelling is still in its early days. I'll finish by recommending a look at Barbara Ganley's blog. Ganley is a former Lecturer in the Writing Program and English at Middlebury College and currently heads the nonprofit Digital Explorations. She is an enthusiastic advocate for digital storytelling.
An additional tool for Digital Storytelling that combines the "traditional" format of a book with Web 2.0 technology is Storybird. Users of this application can engage in collaborative storytelling by inserting the text into preset templates.
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| alfonsovarona | Digital storytelling | 0 | Nov 29 2008, 7:44 PM EST by alfonsovarona | ||
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Thread started: Nov 29 2008, 7:44 PM EST
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Hi, Jessica!
I am glad your class is improving what we did last year... that's the idea. Alfonso |
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