Building Solid Foundations for "Guam's Next Rock-Star"

Storytelling has been a versatile tool used for centuries – from ancient civilizations recounting their history and transmitting their culture through oral tradition, to today’s teachers sharing anecdotes or allegories to inspire interest in a lesson. With the innovations of technology and the development of diverse methods of media and communication, the ways in which stories are told have also evolved through the years. I believe that the utilization of technology to tell stories through digital storytelling is one of the most significant contributions of technology to the classroom.

Upon embarking on this particular assignment, the concept of digital storytelling was quite familiar to me, as I had created several digital stories in the past, as well as attended a conference session on digital storytelling. Therefore, my challenges involved ensuring that I developed my skills in digital storytelling, progressed in my understanding of its uses, and explored different media tools that I had not used prior. I wanted to ensure that the digital story that I created for this course indicated improvement and progression - not simply convenience.

At the beginning of the process, I benefited greatly from dissecting Christine Borja Mallari’s digital story on S-Q-3-R, prior to creating my own story (Mallari, 2010). I was able to gain a better sense of organization, as well as explore the different ways in which voices can be portrayed. It also inspired me to see the various possibilities of using fictional characters to relay factual information. With a newfound sense of clarity, I decided to create my digital story on the three different types of rocks, entitled "Guam's Next Rock-Star" (Espina, 2011).

However, my biggest difficulty was that I also had to be acutely aware of my timing. Although timing may seem like a tedious detail, it proved to be one of the most difficult aspects in my digital storytelling process. Timing pervaded my thoughts at the beginning when formulating my storyline, and it remained a driving force at the end while I did the final editing. I had to consider the appropriate amount of information and detail for three minutes and decide if time was better spent in a transition or in teaching content. Needless to say, I obsessed over every second.

Once I was able to decide upon my topic, consider my timing, and formulate a storyline, the actual process of creating the digital story began. Quite honestly, although the video was only three minutes, the amount of thought required was exhausting. I had to first research my topic and ensure the accuracy of my information. I then had to creatively transform these facts into an entertaining story and simplify scientific concepts. Therefore, by working so closely with this information, I was able to learn more about my topic of rock composition and formation. Additionally, because I also had to ensure the appropriateness of my information and make certain that it would be understandable for young students, it was also necessary that I reviewed teaching pedagogy and exercise metacognition. I gained a better understanding of how to embed information into a story to make it more comprehensible and memorable for students.

When considering the various options of tools and resources, I knew that I wanted my digital story to resemble an actual television show as closely as possible. I needed a tool that could incorporate perspectives, transitions, and zooming, so that my digital story would not simply look like a slideshow. Moreover, the deciding factor in my use of iMovie was its extensive audio capabilities (Apple, Inc., 2011). Because music was such an integral part of my digital story, it was imperative that I maintained critical control of the audio.

If I were to adapt this digital storytelling assignment for my future classroom, I would need to further simplify the requirements for elementary students. Because the amount of available digital storytelling mediums can be overwhelming – even for an adult – I would probably only indicate one specific tool to use and would conduct an extensive class tutorial on how to use it. Although I would allow them creativity in choosing a topic for their story, I would guide my students through the process of writing their story. I would offer suggestions as they brainstorm ideas, assist them in creating a storyboard with detailed written descriptions, and help them review and revise their drafts. I would also greatly assist them in their timing and transitions. Such a project would require a considerable amount of time but would be an effective form of assessment, for instance at the culmination of a unit.

Thus, the use of digital storytelling in the classroom revolutionizes the ways in which educators describe information and broadens the ways in which students process information. Incorporating digital storytelling into teaching pedagogy can prove highly effective, as "people of all ages find it easier to remember information when it is encoded in a story" (Campbell, Campbell, & Dickinson, 2004, p.9). Overall, digital storytelling extends creativity and ingenuity by incorporating technology and enables students to create meaningful learning experiences.

References

Apple Inc. (2011). iLife - iMovie - Learn about movie trailers and more new features. Retrieved from

http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/

Campbell, L.,Campbell B., & Dickinson, D. (2004). Teaching and Learning Through Multiple Intelligences. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Espina, Tabitha. (2011, February 21). Guam's Next Rock-Star

[Video file]. Retrieved from http://http://vimeo.com/20199229

Mallari, Christine. (2010, December 17).

Easy as S-Q-3-R (with music)

[Video File].

Retrieved from http://prezi.com/wpfjieqju5zk/easy-as-s-q-3-r-with-music/

Images

All images used are original images taken by me, Tabitha Espina.