Digital Storytelling: How is it used?

Photo by Karin Dalziel

     Before we can learn about how to use digital storytelling we must understand exactly what it is.  Digital storytelling is "the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories" ("The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling").  More specifically, it is "a short, first person video-narrative created by combining recorded voice, still and moving images, and music or other sounds" ("Center for Digital Storytelling").  According to "7 Things you should know about digital storytelling", a simple digital story can consist of "a set of slides with corresponding naration or music".  A more complex digital story would combine "narrative with digital content, including images, sound, and video, to create a short movie".
    
     Now, that we know that a digital story is a computer-based set of images or video combined with music or sounds to create a movie or slideshow, we can move on to the question: How can digital storytelling be used?  One way it can be used is to tell a story about personal tales of historical events.  If done correctly, these stories can be very emotional and effective in connecting with students.  Another way it could be used it to do a "show and tell".  This could introduce vocabulary by showing pictures and then orally or in writing present the vocabulary word that goes with the picture.  One more way it could be used is to have students create their own digital stories in a second language telling about either their own story or an imaginary story that they have created.  This is a great way to incorporate language and technology in the classroom to get the students more involved and having fun in school.

A Teacher is like a...

     A teacher is like a "Surrogate for knowledge", connection maker, database for learning, and social mediator.  Teachers can and should be all of the above according to Siemens.  In the article titled "Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age.  International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning", Siemens discusses the idea of connectivism.  This is basically that using new technology, all ideas, principles, and knowledge are linked through networks.  Siemens says that "nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning".  The teacher must help students to make the connections, be it online on social networks or other learning websites, so that the students can learn more knowledge.  There is so much knowledge and information out there in this new digital era and it "needs to be connected with the right people" (teachers) "in the right order to be classified as learning".  Teachers need to therefore give students the access they need to all of these great sources of information to connect them to so much useful knowledge.

    

     Siemens continues to explain his theory of connectivism through a video titled "The Impact of Social Software on Learning".  In the video he says we must "learn from each other".  Teachers have to give information to students, the Internet can give information to students and teachers, and students can even give back information to teachers.  Also, Siemens says that we are social beings, we enjoy conversation, and this helps us to grow in our knowledge.  This means that by using social software we can have conversations about learning with other people ("forming networks with each other") and this can increase our knowledge base. 

 

     Overall, I think Siemens gives some great ideas in his article and the video about connectivism.  It makes a lot of sense that we can gain knowledge from one another.  Just because you are the teacher does not mean that you have to have all the information, but you can use the Internet and other sources to share with each other and provide more important knowledge to your students.

Ways to Memorize Vocabulary (according to Kristen Winkler)

     The site that I commented on was Kristenwinkler.com and the name of the post was "How to memorize vocabulary?"  The author gives five methods for learning, memorizing, and practicing vocabulary in foreign languages.  The five ways are: internet vocabulary drills, social learning websites, language programs by broadcast companies, video lessons, and by singing.
 

     I think there are some great ideas here!  For me the best way of learning vocabulary was doing flash cards (the old way though, paper cards and a pen).  I think actually writing the flashcards is just as useful as studying the cards, so this might be more effective than some of the websites.  I haven't had the chance to use social learning websites but I imagine it would be very interesting and effective.  I have used video lessons and songs in my classrooms and these are great ways to practice vocabulary.  Lastly, lanugage programs by broadcast companies I do not know much about but I would love to learn more about and use in the future! 

Here are some links to websites that could be usefule for memorizing vocabulary (taken from Kristen Winkler's blog):

• http://wordchamp.com/

• http://leo.org/
• http://livemocha.com/

• http://babbel.com/
• http://dw-world.de/
• http://bbc.com/learningenglish

• http://deutschhappen.com/