Digital Storytelling
VoiceThread & Microsoft Photostory 3
Want to help students acquire 21st century skills, helping them to be proficient in new literacies? Then giving them an opportunity to participate in digital storytelling is a must! This week, you’ll learn more about what this is, explore some great Web 2.0 resources that allow students to share their multimedia stories, and learn how to use your own tools to create a story from scratch.
Are you a person who learns best by listening and watching? Then go to Alan Levine’s tutorial, “50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story.” Here is the accompanying wiki. Follow the links to find more great resources.
While Alan features 50 different Web 2.0 applications that can assist with digital storytelling, we’ll focus on just a few. The first one is VoiceThread. This is a powerful tool that can be used for many different tasks, but for now, lets focus on storytelling. Perhaps the best way to gain an understanding of what this tool can do is to watch a couple of Voicethreads. Here is one on the topic of digital storytelling. Here is a sample of a student-created story using VoiceThread. Are you getting the idea?
Discovery Resources for Digital Storytelling:
Great sample about 21st century learning
Course by Annette Lamb with tons of links
Bernajean Porter’s Site – Great resources, examples, etc. Look at all examples in the StoryKeepers’ Gallery! Check out the digital media scoring guides, and the 7-step tutorial.
Digital Storytelling in a Nutshell, by JVB, NECC ‘05
Using primary sources in Digital Storytelling
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
IDEA #1: Collaborate with a class of students in another state or country. Students from one class begin a story using drawings and narration, and the students from the other class finish the story.
IDEA #2: Add a real-world element to your digital storytelling assignment to students. Ask professionals to review and give feedback to students.
Voicethread
VoiceThread offers a free account that allows any individual to post up to three VoiceThreads. In order for students to comment, they can either use the teacher’s account, or register for their own free account, but remember that students should not use their real or full names, and not their actual photograph for their avatar. It is fun to watch the VoiceThreads in which students have created a drawing that is converted into a JPEG file and uploaded as their avatar. Others have found copyright free photographs of animals or objects. Be creative! Students don’t have to have a microphone on the computer. They have the option of typing comments or using a telephone to place a comment. You have the option of setting a VoiceThread to public or private. If you set it to private, only those whose email addresses you register in your account will be able to view and place comments (if you invite them). You also have the option of making a VoiceThread public, but not allowing public comments.
If you are interested in the ability to post and share more than three VoiceThreads, you might want to consider a special version of the program that is designed for educators: Ed.VoiceThread.
Discovery Exercise:
Discovery Resources:
Connect people
http://voicethread.com/view.php?b=1191
In lieu of the traditional…Where did you go this summer project.
http://voicethread.com/view.php?b=4284
Students sharing their work
http://voicethread.com/view.php?b=1527
Showcase student learning
http://voicethread.com/view.php?b=1149
Colaborative student project
http://voicethread.com/view.php?b=2916
Explaining & reflecting on a student project: Teacher & Student voices—Comic Life
http://voicethread.com/view.php?b=2229
To create a “podcast” with which users can interact
http://voicethread.com/view.php?b=3088
This voice thread explains many other ways it could be used
http://voicethread.com/view.php?b=3352
Voicethread 4 Education - a wiki that collect examples of how educators are using Voicethread with their students or professional development
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
IDEA #1: Have students create VoiceThread booktalks – 1 minute commercials for their favorite book. Students can create drawings to illustrate what they are talking about – scan them or create them electronically using a program such as KidPix.
IDEA #2: Have students illustrate their own creative stories, post the drawings in VoiceThread, and read their stories outloud as the pictures are displayed. Classmates can make predictions, ask questions, or make comments about the story.
Microsoft Photo Story 3
Microsoft Photo Story - Click here for an example of using this in the classroom.
Discovery Exercise