Digital storytelling is an ideal practice to incorporate into the teaching practice. Storytelling is a valuable skill for students to develop, whether it be recounting their own personal stories or appropriating the stories of others. Storytelling concepts are seen throughout all strands of the Language Curriculum across all grade levels. Teachers have a wide range of methods for which they can evaluate storytelling elements which could include point of view, purpose, or content. Typically storytelling is evaluated by assigning journals, dramatic storytelling, or oral communication, however I feel that with the use of technology, teachers and students will have a better opportunity to for expression and choice within their work. There are many tools appropriate for use in elementary school classrooms, that are accessible and easy to use for students. These might include sites such as Storybird, or Bitstrips, or techniques like green screen, photography, movie creation, blogging, or social media.
In my placement there was very little media use, yet students still had a great deal of experience with storytelling. I was in a Grade 1/2 split class, and each day students would participate in literacy centres, one of which was a journal centre. Students had the opportunity to journal about their lives and tell their own stories. I feel that students would have benefitted from more exposure to technological aspects. While students have access to these tools and platforms at home, I think it is necessary for schools to spend more time focusing on digital skills so that when students are using these tools outside of the classroom, they will have the knowledge and skills necessary to explore digital spaces. I feel that by introducing students to digital tools from a young age, we are able to strengthen their digital citizenship and encourage appropriate and responsible use of technology (Ribble, 2016). By encouraging this use of technology we can facilitate students' learning as they explore cyber safety and their own digital citizenship.
I also think it is interesting for teachers to think about the ways in which they tell their own digital stories. As a teacher candidate I have been contributing to both a blog and a twitter account to document my experiences. In doing so, I have found many other teachers who choose to document their classroom experiences with the use of technology. I feel that it is a very valuable form of digital storytelling that also allows teachers to reflect and receive feedback from other educators.
Ribble, M. (2016). Digital citizenship: Using technology appropriately. Retrieved from http://www.digitalcitizenship.net
In my placement there was very little media use, yet students still had a great deal of experience with storytelling. I was in a Grade 1/2 split class, and each day students would participate in literacy centres, one of which was a journal centre. Students had the opportunity to journal about their lives and tell their own stories. I feel that students would have benefitted from more exposure to technological aspects. While students have access to these tools and platforms at home, I think it is necessary for schools to spend more time focusing on digital skills so that when students are using these tools outside of the classroom, they will have the knowledge and skills necessary to explore digital spaces. I feel that by introducing students to digital tools from a young age, we are able to strengthen their digital citizenship and encourage appropriate and responsible use of technology (Ribble, 2016). By encouraging this use of technology we can facilitate students' learning as they explore cyber safety and their own digital citizenship.
I also think it is interesting for teachers to think about the ways in which they tell their own digital stories. As a teacher candidate I have been contributing to both a blog and a twitter account to document my experiences. In doing so, I have found many other teachers who choose to document their classroom experiences with the use of technology. I feel that it is a very valuable form of digital storytelling that also allows teachers to reflect and receive feedback from other educators.
Ribble, M. (2016). Digital citizenship: Using technology appropriately. Retrieved from http://www.digitalcitizenship.net