Digital Storytelling as an Educational Tool

I recently stumbled upon some very, very interesting websites which featured some amazing digital stories, which got me thinking; how can I use this as a learning tool, if at all? This led to me stumbling upon an intriguing article written by Bernard Robin, which outlined the benefits of digital storytelling in the classroom. Robin describes digitally storytelling as creating a story utilising the technologies and capabilities a computer (or other technological device) has to offer, such as the incorporation of video, audio and even interactivity. Benefits of digital storytelling include their cheap production cost (once created, they can be distributed for free online rather than having to pay for printing) and the ability to create a very powerful story in a relatively small amount of time. Because of the ability to create these stories with software either standard on computers or with free downloadable software, anyone with access to a computer can easily create a simple digital story with just a few photos and some text. 

Robin also points out that the incorporation of audio and visual stimulation (through video/images) allows students to retain the information better, due to a reduced “cognitive overload” on the brain (Rudnicki et al, page 3). Robin includes images detailing the construction of a digital story, which can be found at the end of this post. Robin goes on to say that digital stories are effective at engaging students and promoting student discussion, and that the creation of digital stories can provide digital, global, technological, visual and information literacy skills, all of which are vital to living and working in the 21^st century (Howell, 2012; Scardamalia et al, 2010). Creating digital stories may even give students experience in criticising the work of themselves and others, and may provide students with an environment rich in social learning and emotional intelligence (Robin, 2008). Robin paints digital stories as being quite versatile methods of teaching, and having found some very cool, interactive digital stories myself, I can see their potential uses in the classroom. Why have kids read Shakespeare when they can also hear, see and even interact with Shakespeare? Digital stories take the learning out of the boring, pen and paper learning space and place the learning environment in a digital setting, where students are much more comfortable (63% of the teenage population use the internet every day, and 73% use social media (1)). Digital stories could even be viewed on mobile devices, allowing students to access them anywhere, anytime, like at breakfast or before bed. 

References:

(1)- http://www.webwisekids.org/programs-facts-statistics-beseen.html

Digital Storytelling: A Powerful Technology Tool for the 21st Century Classroom – Bernard. R. Robin, 2008

New Assessment and Environments for Knowledge Building  - Scardamalia et al, 2010

Teaching With ICT, Jennifer Howell , Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, Victoria, 2012

 The Buzz Continues...The Diffusion of Digital Storytelling across disciplines and colleges at the University of Houston – A.Rudnicki, A.Cozart, A.Ganesh, C.Markello, S.Marsh, S.McNeil, H.Mullins, D.Smith, B.Robin

Educational Assessment Using Information and Communication Technologies

The increasing digitalisation of the world is causing technology to seep into new areas of society every day; one such area being education. A lot of talk goes on about providing students with the latest and greatest technology in order to enhance their learning, but what about teachers? How much technology is available to them? Is technology going to make the assessment and marking of student performance easier? Can different assessment methods help engage students? These are the questions I want to answer. Recent articles indicate that while it is great that the curriculum and the technologies employed in education may be changing, said changes may be mute if methods of assessment do not change as well (Redecker & Johannessen, 2013). In the same article, Redecker & Johannessen provide the SAM-R learning assessment model, which outlines the various stages of technology based assessment strategies ranging from very basic marking systems (like the current systems used to mark National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numercay(NAPLAN) tests, where answer sheets are passed through a machine which identifies correct answers) to intricate, complicated systems which provide the student with individually tailored feedback and advice to both student and teacher. Embedded assessment is also brought up as a viable option for assessing students, as it is constantly evaluating and directing student activity in the selected digital environment students use to learn. Unfortunately, the article fails to mention specific software and programs which could perform such evaluation of student material. The article also notes that students are more motivated and perform better when computer based testing is used, but it fails to mention the parameters of such tests (if access to the internet is available during testing, students could simply search for the answers online, in which case only basic computer knowledge is needed, not the knowledge being examined) and whether such parameters might affect student performance or motivation. While I agree with programs that can effectively assess student work, Redecker & Johannessen do mention that the accuracy of these tests is not guaranteed, which makes them more of a liability than a better way of doing things (paying for assessment software when I may also have to review the results myself? No thanks!). 

                               Hopefully this timeline will prove to be accurate in years to come.

Another article provides some much simpler, much more guaranteed ways of assessing students. In Assessment for Teaching Today, Kent &Campbell outline interesting ways current, widely available technology might be utilised to assess students. It describes getting students to create blogs, where they can provide their thoughts and ideas on a topic, share research or answer a series of set questions, all of which can then be reviewed and assessed by the teacher (or perhaps by the student cohort in a collaborative learning environment as mentioned in a previous post). It also outlines the potential uses social networking sites as tools of student assessment. Twitter, for example, can be used to ask students questions or provide hints for research topics – even when students are not at school (why not tweet a question to be answered while students eat breakfast, or travel to and from school?). The beautiful thing with digital assessment is that it can take learning out of the classroom and into the pockets of students (Wylie) and it is a familiar thing to them – students will to it better and enjoy it because it isn't foreign to them (I think the number of students who solve math equations or analyse 19^th century poetry in their spare time is far fewer than the number who actively social network and use the internet in their spare time). Learner response systems are also brought up – teachers can ask questions and have the whole class answer instantly, without having to ask a handful of students what they believe the answer to be. The use of learner response systems such as Top Hat Monocle also lets teachers know how various students are handling the course content, so any additional help can be provided if necessary. Overall, I find the use of assessment using information and communication technologies and exciting concept, as it has the ability to take learning to students wherever they are, and lets teachers browse the net while they mark student blogs or wiki’s (and who doesn't love browsing the internet?).

References:

Changing Assessment —Towards a New Assessment Paradigm Using ICT - Christine Redecker & Øystein Johannessen (2013)

Mobile learning technologies for 21^st century classrooms – Jonathan Wylie

Assessment for Teaching Today- Peter Kent and Chris Campbell, Macmillan Education Australia, 2013

Image; Changing Assessment —Towards a New Assessment Paradigm Using ICT - Christine Redecker & Øystein Johannessen (2013)