![]() ![]() There has to be some breathing room during the development of the stories.” “Give yourself and your students the gift of time to create and play with the words, images, and music. The students will figure out the technology. She advises colleagues new to digital storytelling not to let concern about how the technology works stop you from trying DS. They also learn how visuals can add to the story-sometimes replacing many words.” A Growing Practice “A digital story needs to be kept to about 400 words, so students learn how to weed out unnecessary information and just keep the most vital pieces to their story. “It’s another way to showcase student work,” Kane comments. Students discover the art of writing and come to see themselves as writers.” Revision is given true purpose and feels authentic. The sense of collaboration enhances the writing community. “Students quickly become invested in their classmates’ stories. It is authentic writing that redefines what writing looks like in the classroom by honoring students’ words, voice, music, and images.”ĭigital storytelling has changed Butterfield’s classroom. The digital storytelling medium requires students to choose their words well, create a purpose for the given story and develop a focus for it. The technology is secondary,” says Kane.īutterfield concurs: “Students show ownership in their stories and appreciate the wider audience for their writing. Members of the Maine Writing Project digital storytelling team tell their colleagues, however, that DS produces authentic, engaged writing. Too many times since the technology revolution hit schools, it seems, a new gadget or piece of software has been touted as the answer to improving student learning. “For the seventh- and eighth-graders in Maine, the new laptops make the digital storytelling process very easy.” In 2002, a state initiative called the Maine Learning Technology Initiative was funded, providing every seventh and eighth grade student with a laptop computer to use in school. they work hard on their stories so they can get to what they consider is the ‘fun part,’” she explains. “All students at all levels can make a digital story. “Everyone has a story to tell,” says Terri Kane. Students show ownership in their stories and appreciate the wider audience for their writing. Butterfield, Terri Kane of Warsaw Middle School, Jamie Heans of Brewer High, Seth Mitchell of Lisbon High, and Dave Boardman of Messalonskee High piloted digital storytelling with their students in the first year of the program. ![]() Projects can include memoir, description, or informative prose, among many possibilities.įunded by the National Writing Project’s Technology Initiative grant program, the Literacy Through Technology Initiative was started by members of the University of Maine Writing Project in 2005 to investigate the effectiveness of digital storytelling as an instructional practice for improving writing in Maine schools. ![]() Digital storytelling (DS) combines words, images, music, and other media to artfully present a message. She should know Butterfield is a pioneer in the state of Maine in this promising blend of technology and writing. Words, voice, music, and images: these are the essential components of a digital story, according to Debra Butterfield, a language arts teacher at Gardiner Regional Middle School and a teacher-consultant at Maine Writing Project.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |