EDUC 5333 - Digital Story Progress & More

This past week was productive. I managed to complete my story map and story table & script and added content to a Google Site I made for Braden's story. Much of the feedback I received about the initial story idea tried to address my concern about keeping the story within a 5-8 minute timeframe. After contacting my instructor I felt much relief. Evidently, the story itself doesn't have to be 5-8 minutes in length. Our summary and reflection that we present needs to be 5-8 minutes in length. Our peers are to view/hear our story before our presentation.

Gathering photos for this project and converting them from HEIC to JPG or PNG took much longer than I expected. Recording and adjusting the audio to have consistent quality across the whole site also took some time. Initially, I considered not adding audio, but I think it adds more feeling than what someone would experience by reading text only. The audio is an optional component but is available for anyone that would like to hear the story instead of, or along with, reading it. I considered using the Choose Your Own Adventure-style of storytelling, but I was feeling pretty overwhelmed with all of this to start. Maybe I'll try something like that later.

For the presentation during week 7, I plan to briefly walk-through the website I created for this assignment. I would like to demonstrate each of the components - audio, text, pictures, surveys, and resource links. I won't have time to go through all aspects of the site, but I hope to provide a sampling of each type of component.

Potential Resources to Use in the Classroom

There are several resources I could see my middle school students use. They're all so app-savvy, but they don't necessarily know how to use their Chromebooks - it's a work-in-progress. Here's a list of what I'd try first on Chromebooks with my group of 7th-graders:

Screencastify - I absolutely could see students using this to record an explanation of an assignment, to make a tutorial for other students, or to create a presentation for later viewing.

Soundtrap - I love this tool, all the options it has, and the ease of use for creating vocal recordings and music!

Comic Life or Motion Comics or Storyboard That - These could be fun for personal storytelling or for our succession comic assignment in the spring. (I've had students use Storyboard That before, so the other comic sites will be interesting to add in.)

Above resources were found here: 

Kapular, D. (September 7, 2018). Top 30 tools and apps for digital storytelling.  Tech & Learning.  Retrieved from:  https://www.techlearning.com/tl-advisor-blog/30-sites-and-apps-for-digital-storytelling

Community Assignment Precursor

As a precursor to an upcoming assignment, we are now asked to consider our audience, skills, and the impact this story may have.

Who is the authentic audience for this story? Who will be impacted by it? In what ways might this story resonate with this audience?

I suppose the target audience is anyone trying to better understand what a journey through ADHD diagnosis and treatment may look like. I hope my family better understands what led us to make some of our decisions about treatment and identification in school. I hope parents, educators, siblings, and other children will try the simulations available on Understood.org so they may better understand ADHD and other learning challenges. It's hard to accept what you don't understand, and Understood.org certainly takes some of the mystery away. I hope everyone that experiences Braden's story leaves with a bit more compassion and empathy for those with learning challenges - especially those challenges that are not visible.

What skills and knowledge have you developed as you created your story?

I have further developed many skills with this assignment. I've worked on photo editing, audio editing, website design, scripting/storyboarding, and research. I certainly have a greater appreciation for storytellers now. In addition to this course, I've also listened to an audio course about storytelling during my commute the past month. While the audio course is about live storytelling, not digital, I still feel I learned some tips and tricks that I hope to put to use in my classroom.

How might your community/students be impacted by engaging in digital storytelling? What role can I play?

I think my students would benefit greatly from learning to tell their stories digitally. Digital storytelling takes some of the discomforts of public speaking away. While the whole world can see the story, the pressure of dozens or hundreds of eyes on you during a recitation is absent. There is an opportunity to fine-tune and edit before publishing, and even after publishing, as needed. As students share their stories they may find they have more in common than not. So often, especially in middle school, students can feel alone and like there's no help or solution available. If they hear others with similar stories, maybe they won't feel so alone. Maybe they'll see a resolution to a story like their own and feel hope. Maybe they'll be the ones that provide hope to someone else.

EDUC 5333 - Project Plan

This week, we are asked to post a preliminary project plan for our digital story so we may receive feedback on it.

Since my plan is still fluid at this point, I will post a link to the current version. Subsequent posts will have more updated versions.

Preliminary Project Plan - Week 3 - revised 2019/11/06

EDUC 5333 - Considering a Digital Story

This week, we are asked to view one or more digital stories and to respond to a few prompts about it. I viewed several but decided to consider two in more detail.

#MetKids - Our Words, Our Stories: Digital Storytelling Lab

What are your overall impressions of what you saw?

In #MetKids, I felt good watching it. The kids looked to be enjoying themselves and the music was upbeat. It felt very professionally done but was still playful.

How could it be used in education?

#MetKids could be used to show how inspiration can come from many places and how collaborative writing might look.

What content area is addressed?

#MetKids seems to address art and history through the focus materials, and language arts through the product.

How would you assess what you saw?

I would want to #MetKids based on these criteria: research, project planning, story, and originality/voice/creativity. 

Did they perform research and document it? Yes - their research and documentation was completed as they viewed exhibits, drew sketches, and took notes. They even got to use Minecraft to redesign parts of the MET digitally. 

Did they actually plan their story, or did they wing it?  Yes - they did extensive planning - both individual and collaborative and on paper and with technology. One student mentioned the use of a site called Twine that I feel I now need to really check out! (Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books are some of my favorites.) 

How well did their story work? WOW! I feel their story worked wonderfully! They pieced together many options for storylines and endings and made it interactive. 

How creative was the production? WOW again! This project was hugely creative, collaborative, and put a fresh twist on how history could have gone. This project connects these kids to history, helps them better understand what was happening and why, and lets them put it all into terms they understand. What an amazing job they all did!

"Turn" - by Dana Atchley

What are your overall impressions of what you saw?

"Turn" reminds me of when we would get out the slide projector and look at photos of my mom's generation and my grandparents' generation growing up. It took me back to when I was a kid at the holidays - doing the same thing each year, looking at old photos and somehow reminiscing about a time I wasn't actually there.

How could it be used in education?

"Turn could be used as an example of how students could tell a story of themselves or their families. They could tell a story using clips or photos from their own past, or the past of others.

What content area is addressed?

The content addressed is personal history. You could also potentially delve into fashion, but that's a bit of a stretch.

How would you assess what you saw?

I would assess this digital story based on story, economy, flow, and presentation.

How well did the story work? I feel it worked well since it took me back to my own memories of looking at my mother's and grandparents' past.

Was the information presented without gaps or detours? I thought the story was rather concise and ended with a light bit that made me smile - showing the progression of his own father's growth and ending with what he became in his 30's.

Was the story well organized? I feel the sequential timeline from his father as a child, through his own childhood, and then with a still as an adult captured the motion of growing and the stillness of a moment in time of who we are at a single moment - implying if we were to unfreeze that moment we would continue on a journey of growth and change.

How effective was the presentation? I thought the narration of his own story was perfect. It allowed me to feel present in his family and let me connect to his personal story better than having an outsider narrate.

*For the assessment criteria, I selected from the "List of Digital Story Evaluation Traits" created by Ohler (2013, p.90). 

Reference

Ohler, J. B. (2013). Digital storytelling in the Classroom: New media pathways to literacy, learning, and creativity (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

EDUC 5333 - Digital Storytelling - Introduction

Introduction 

New course = another introduction: Haylee here! I'm starting courses 6 & 7 of 10 for my Master's in Curriculum & Instruction w/ an emphasis in Educational Technology. My original intro is available at this link, but here's a summary: I've been an educator since 2005 and have mainly taught middle school science and math, but I have also taught 5th grade and high school science, and have also taught PE, Health (online & F2F), and Introductory ASL. I LOVE integrating technology whenever possible because I know our students/children will need it more and more as they grow.

I presently work at DeWitt Perry Middle School in Carrollton, TX. This is my third year here - teaching 7th-grade science each year so far. I've worked diligently over the past three years, as we have become a one-to-one school district, to digitize our 7th-grade science curriculum. Students and teachers now have access to all assignments digitally, many hyperdoc activities, and many warmup activities that are self-checking Google Forms. The kids LOVE getting instant feedback and quick comments as they work on assignments! I love when they bring their Chromebook up to me, grinning so big, to show me they scored a 90 or 100 on a warmup or quiz. I love that they're proud of their work!

My current goal is to complete my Master's by May 2020. My future goals include obtaining additional Master's/Certificates in Math and/or Science C&I and Information Technology/Librarianship. I would love to be able to develop a technology learning program housed that would allow students and adults to advance their technology skills through a shared knowledge program. I know I want to add technology education to whatever I may do, and the age of the student doesn't really matter - I just need willing learners.

Storytelling Ideas

I've been thinking about ideas for the past several days, and I'm definitely having trouble deciding on a topic. I could focus on content-based material with a story to tie into the Catastrophic Events project we have coming up in December. I could also base my story on the Genius Hour/Coding week we will have right before winter break. I could go in a future direction with an idea I have for a "Real Skills" course - similar to Home Economics, but with a tech twist. I could also focus more on personal stories and share about my family. I could share my educational journey. I could share the story of my children. 

Trying to decide which story to tell is difficult. I know I need to select a story that will hold the viewers' interest and be informative. I suppose identifying my audience first would be helpful. Personal stories would certainly be better for non-academic viewers, but I think they would be nice for my children to view later in life. I still have time to decide. ;)

J. Ohler

Jason Ohler (2013) identifies 20 "Revelations" in his book, Digital Storytelling in the Classroom. The "Revelations" I find most pertinent to my storytelling adventure are numbers 3, 4, 9, 18, and 19. 

• Revelation No. 3: "Digital technology is assistive technology for the artistically challenged" (Ohler, 2013, p.4). Many students and adults are afraid to try artistic endeavors because they lack skills in specific media. Digital tools allow us to experiment and try new things, knowing we can undo, edit, or start over if needed. We can also usually find video tutorials that will help show us how to use the tools, which makes them less intimidating. 
• Revelation No. 4: "The digital revolution in a sentence: Finally, we all get to tell our own story in our own way" (Ohler, 2013, p.4). We can choose to tell our story in a variety of formats, like audio files, still photos, video files, or combinations of all of these. We can also choose whether or not to share our story, and even with whom it is shared.
• Revelation No. 9: "The attitude is the aptitude" (Ohler, 2013, p.7). I LOVE this one - probably my favorite. Since I'm going back to school for a Master's degree 20 years after graduating with my Bachelor's, I am definitely embracing the idea of lifelong learning. With rapid advances in technology, we have to be willing to constantly learn more or we will soon be unable to work with devices as they advance and we don't.
• Revelation No. 18: "Digital story creation offers an effective means to teach media literacy" (Ohler, 2013, p.12). Having the skills that enable us to use media in a meaningful way and understanding that the stories we tell can impact others are important. This is important not only for digital interactions but for face-to-face interactions as well.
• Revelation No. 19: "Digital storytelling helps students develop creatical thinking skills, merging creativity and critical thinking, to solve important problems in imaginative, thoughtful ways" (Ohler, 2013, p.13). Creativity and critical thinking are being called upon more and more as technology provides automation of everyday tasks. With the mundane taken care of, we need the creative minds to develop new ideas and we need the critical thinkers to pick apart those new ideas so we have fully refined products created in a more timely fashion.

A. Middleton

Andrew Middleton (2013) discusses the use of podcasting in its various forms - audio, video, audio and still images, and combinations of all of these. I like that there are many free resources available for podcasting. I tried my hand at podcasting in a class last term. My partner and I used Soundtrap to work asynchronously on our podcast. There were synchronous tools available, but we found that working asynchronously worked best for us. We did not use any video or other visuals in our podcast. In a later assignment though, I did use Screencastify to create a tutorial with audible directions to go with the video of the actual steps that needed to be followed as students started to create portfolios on Google Sites. 

Students should definitely be able to use these tools. The tools are very straightforward with how they work. The Soundtrap tools are rather extensive, but basic use is easy and there are many video tutorials available on YouTube. The Screencastify tools are very self-explanatory and make multiple takes unnecessary; if a portion of the video is not needed it can be cut and deleted instead of having to start over. The only problem I see in using these tools in class is finding a quiet time and place to record. When students are working on tasks that would require the use of these tools, they would definitely not provide a quiet recording studio feel.

References

EDUC 5313 - Assessment of Student Work

Over the past few weeks, we have developed a lesson plan that integrates technology by using the Triple E Planning Tool created by Liz Kolb (2017b). We also assessed the quality of integration with the Triple E Simple Rubric (Kolb, 2017b). This week, we are asked to discuss the assessment of student work.

Rubrics & Assessment

I like to give my students all the criteria they'll be assessed on up-front. For assignments that require students to create their own products, I like to share rubrics as a guide for students to follow so they know exactly what is required and how they'll be assessed. They can also self-assess or have peers use the same rubric to provide feedback about their work too. For longer assignments, I also provide checklists and pacing documents that show what they're expected to complete by the end of each class.  To go with the checklists and pacing documents, I also have students complete checkpoint forms so they have an additional record of the required material and so I can check to be sure their information is correct. If they submit any information that is not accurate, I still have time to provide actionable feedback so they may locate correct information for their project before it is due. Being able to provide feedback during the creation process lets them make corrections and better learn the material before they're expected to share their knowledge. This leads to higher confidence and better overall presentations.

For this particular assignment, I've asked students to complete five checkpoints during the seven-day project. Day 1 is the introduction and Day 7 is the final presentation. If students don't complete checkpoints on time, that helps me know who to start with during the next class. If students have responses that don't quite fit the prompt I can step in and correct the issue before it becomes too big of a problem. At the end of the project, students will present their research and proposal for helping the population of an endangered species recover. The initial presentation will be to peers and to me. The final presentation will be uploaded to their digital portfolio so it is visible to anyone with access to their website! All of this will allow them to demonstrate content knowledge and to demonstrate the use of technology for research, presentation creation and sharing, and proper communication etiquette online and in the classroom.

Feedback

Once the assignment is complete, I ask students to submit feedback to their peers and to me. Students submit feedback to peers by completing a form on paper while their peers present their projects. Students give me this feedback and I check for appropriateness and then cluster the feedback by presentation groups so it can be redistributed during the following class. Students are also encouraged to give immediate feedback to the presenting group, but it's not required. Students submit feedback to me about their experience with the project by responding to a feedback prompt in Google Classroom or by providing feedback on paper. I appreciate that most students are comfortable providing both positive and negative feedback about their experiences with my assignments. The most helpful feedback is usually about what they didn't like or what they had difficulty with. Receiving that information helps me know what to focus on for improvement.

On this particular assignment, my students enjoyed getting to choose if they worked with other students or if they worked by themselves. They also appreciated getting to select the specific organism their research focused on. Some students indicated they felt they could have done a better job if they had more time. But some students also indicated they felt they were finished early. Students enjoyed getting to select what digital tools they would use for their presentation, but some felt they needed more instruction on how to use some tools - especially Screencastify and how to embed videos and sound files. Most students were excited about getting to post their work online so anyone could view it. They said it made them work harder since they knew others would see their work.

References

EDUC5313 - Week 3 - Triple E Framework

This week, we are asked to evaluate one "E" from Liz Kolb's Triple E Framework. I've chosen the second "E" - enhancement. Kolb shares that "Many content-area experts agree that technology should move beyond engaging students in learning and actually change the learning experience so that it is improved over traditional methods" (2017, p.56). Price and Kirkwood defined three types of improvements: operational, quantitative, and qualitative (Kolb, 2017). Operational improvements provide better access or more flexibility. Quantitative improvements provide measurable changes to things like test scores or time on task. Qualitative improvements may help students dive deeper into the content or may promote more reflection.

"The Triple E Framework defines enhancement as technology adding value to students' traditional understanding of learning goals through scaffolds or other supports" (Kolb, 2017, p.57). This means students will make more connections with the content, will understand the concepts better/easier, and will be able to show their learning in ways not possible without technology. Technology that supports these factors would support student evaluation of the content and tool, would allow for differentiation and individualization, would allow feedback to be easily and quickly shared.

Students interacting with peers and their teacher while completing a task would support this "E". While collaborating, peers could be discussing the assignment while the teacher provides feedback for modifications. Having feedback available in multiple formats would further support this "E". Much feedback is written or typed, but technology can allow audio/video feedback from a teacher or peer and teachers can even screencast feedback for more direct help or could share a link to a tutorial for a boilerplate approach to feedback. Students could receive instruction customized for their reading level or language even. (I help newcomer students become familiar with how to translate whole pages/documents into their native language so they understand the content while they're acquiring a new language.) There are also many types of software available that make it easy for anyone to make music or art with limited skill.

An example of a lesson that would qualify as "Enhanced" would be like the example Kolb gives in Scenario 9:

A fourth-grade teacher is using Google Hangouts to virtually host author Judy Blume conducting a book club discussion of her book Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. The students ask Judy questions and listen to her share ideas about writing the novel (2017, p.81).

An example of a lesson that would not qualify as "Enhanced" would be like the example Kolb gives in Scenario 10: "An 11th-grade science teacher is taking pictures of a class field trip to the chemistry museum and cutting them into a movie to show parents and students" (2017, p.82).

Integrating "Enhancement"

I love the idea of having a Skype session with an expert. However, while I would love to have a scientist Skype in to chat with my students, I would need them to be available for at least five different classes throughout the day - and that's asking a lot. I may see about having an expert answer questions that the students develop, and record their answers so I can show all of my classes their responses though. We could have follow-up questions answered via email or in a backchannel forum that we could access asynchronously and be able to refer back to later.

Students would perform their research - either solo or with a small team - based on the organism they select. They will be given ample time to research (2-3 days), compile evidence (1-2 days), develop a plan (2-3 days), and compose a presentation (1-2 days) - for a total of about 2 weeks, including presentation time. Their presentation will need to be digital so they can add it to their online portfolio and can share it with their classmates, and the world, for feedback.

This project meets content standards for Texas Science in grades 7 and 8, for organisms and the environment - 7.13 & 8.11 (TEKS, 2017). This project meets TEKS 7.13 by having students look at responses of organisms to internal and external stimuli. TEKS 7.14 could also be considered if the reason for endangerment pertains to genetic factors. This project meets TEKS 8.11 by having students consider the interdependence of organisms and how humans impact the environment and organisms living within it, in both short-term and long-term scenarios.

Connecting to How People Learn II

Enhancing learning requires connecting with others around us. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) share that humans are designed to be interdependent upon one another (2018). Without other human interaction, our development is stunted/delayed/abnormal. This effect can be lessened with social interactions later in life and has a greater recovery with earlier social interactions (NASEM, 2018). The Enhancement aspect of the Triple E Framework allows for more connections and interaction to take place, even if remotely. Making connections is critical because humans don't retain information for which they don't hold an emotional connection (NASEM, 2018). This makes me wonder what emotional connections I have to certain memories that I don't really feel "connected" to.

Working with others can yield solutions that one person may have never developed if comparison and collaboration weren't available. There are many crowd-sourced platforms out there that allow the everyday person to contribute to various endeavors. One mentioned by NASEM (2018) is "Foldit" - a protein folding game that allows users/contributors to try and fold a protein model as tightly as possible. This collaboration has allow some very unique solutions to be found for problems that have long been attempted. Another I used to participate in was one where you could look at images of outer space and work on identifying stars, planets, and other orbiting bodies - trying to find and categorize new objects captured on camera. (I tried to find this again, but I guess it was shut down. It was over a decade ago that I contributed to this and I can't even remember what it was actually called.)

Social interactions can also directly contribute to learning because humans are capable of learning through observation (NASEM, 2018). We can watch others and determine what is appropriate behavior or if we should attempt an action. We learn injunctive norms, what we should do, from our "elders" and we learn descriptive norms, how we should act with our peers, from our peers (NASEM, 2018). Interacting with others enhances our learning capabilities by broadening our field of focus to include "soft-skills" that let us better relate to and communicate with those around us.

Ultimately, our learning is enhanced by interactions with others - whether direct or with the help of technology. With the help of technology, we can connect with more people and organizations and can find more information directly related to what our goal is. Being able to do more because of technology we have access to is certainly an enhancement to our learning and sharing of knowledge.

References

EDUC 5313 - Week 2 - Authentic Intellectual Work

This week, our Learning Technologies course asks us to describe and discuss Authentic Intellectual Work:

Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) is purposeful. It's not busy-work that only teaches a concept, but instead is work that can put to use to actually complete a task or solve a problem. To me, this is what project-based-learning (PBL) should be. Traditional instruction has students learning concepts and practicing finding answers to problems that we already know the answers to. AIW and PBL are what students get to experience when they find, or are presented with a problem that they must develop a solution for - that we don't know the "correct" answer to yet. Students get to use their prior knowledge and research they perform to guide their solutions. They get to collaborate with others on the same problem so they can see multiple viewpoints and potential solution ideas to consider. Not only do they get to solve a REAL problem, but they get to socialize and collaborate on the solution with other students and professionals as they work.

Newman, King, & Charmichael (2007) describe Authentic Intellectual Work as having three major characteristics: Construction of Knowledge, Disciplined Inquiry, and Value Beyond School. Disciplined Inquiry resonates with me because I feel it contributes to the Construction of Knowledge and Value Beyond School. Disciplined Inquiry includes using what you already know and information you find to develop and communicate a solution to a problem. As more information is found and incorporated into the solution, the knowledge base is improved. If the problem truly is a real-world problem, the solution that is communicated has value beyond school.

In a study conducted by the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools (CORS) from 1990 to 1995, Newman et al, (2007) note that the use of Authentic Pedagogy increased math and social studies performance by 30 percentile points. In another study conducted in 1997 demonstrated a 30 to 56 percentile increase in test scores when Authentic Pedagogy was employed (Newman et al, 2007). Newman et al, (2007) noted gains regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or socio-economic status. They also note the achievement gap between high and low socio-economic status students was decreased when authentic instruction was employed. Their major takeaway that really resonated with me was "the more teachers expect from students, the better the students' performance" (Newman, et al, 2007, p. 26).

I've always tried to have high expectations from all students - likely the result of teaching at Cornerstone Academy (CSA) for ten years. Jill Wright, our principal during my time at CSA, believed strongly that all children can achieve at high levels. We taught an all Pre-AP curriculum to ALL students - Special Education, 504, "regular", and Gifted & Talented (GT) students. Most of our GT students were on an accelerated track, but all students received instruction through projects that had very high expectations. After being away from CSA for four years, I feel I may have forgotten to maintain that higher level of expectation. This week's readings were a good reminder for me as we enter a new school year.

Authentic Intellectual Work in my Classroom

I hope to implement my CSA-level expectations more regularly in my classes, but especially in an upcoming project this year. This fall, my students will research various endangered species to determine what has caused them to have a decline in population. Students will select a specific species to focus their research on and they will attempt to find/develop solutions that may help increase the population of their selected species. After they develop their potential solution, they will share their ideas with their class and will post their solution to their digital portfolio. With their solutions posted digitally, their ideas will be available for others to view and potentially implement.

I hope to convince them to focus on local species so they may be able to implement their solutions. Rule notes that "science instruction should involve authentic tasks that address real-world problems encountered by scientists, allowing students to investigate problems in their own lives and communities (2006, p. 3)." However, with any project of this nature, having a choice is important. If it is their choice, they will be more likely to remain engaged and really put their heart into the research for a solution.

Throughout this project, students will use their district-provided Chromebooks to perform their research and will collaborate with other students on campus to develop solutions. The National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) wants all learners to "have engaging and empowering learning experiences in both formal and informal settings that prepare them to be active, creative, knowledgeable, and ethical participants in our globally connected society" (NETP, 2017). I feel that AIW and the expectations of the NETP merge nicely in this project. This project allows peer interaction, encourages persistence to develop a workable solution to a difficult challenge, includes sharing solutions on a digital platform so others may see and contribute to the solution, is a real-world challenge, has value beyond the classroom, and provides digital accommodations for students with learning challenges. Our campus has one of the highest populations of English Language Learners and also has one of the highest percentages of students that qualify for free and reduced-price meals. We are very fortunate in our district to have these resources available for all of our students!

References