A few weeks ago we were introduced to digital storytelling. I thought this topic was perfect because I had just read a research article about using blogs as a source to tell and share stories. After class, I really started thinking about storytelling in the classroom. How often are our students allowed to tell stories? It seems like most of the time when a student starts to tell a story the teacher stops him/her and says that it's not the time to tell stories. I will admit I'm guilty of doing this. After my experience with children, it's apparent that they love to tell stories, and after I read that article, I realized how beneficial storytelling can be.
With all the avaiable technology, there is so much a teacher can do with storytelling. I really like the idea of using blogs to share a story. I think this is a great idea because students can read and respond to other students stories, and it doesn't even have to be students within the same classroom. It could be students from another state! I think in one class we talked about the idea of an on-going story. The teacher would start a story and the students would comment to keep the story going. This would be so easy to do using a blog. I also really like the idea of digital storytelling like the ones we talked about in class. I think this is such a great idea because students not only work on writing a story, but they have to work on their voicing. This is something that is typically not stressed until later grades. I say it's never too early to start learning this skill!
Does anyone else have ideas of other programs or internet sites that could be used to tell/share stories? I thought about using Skype to share stories. This way students could tell their stories to students across the town, state, or country. They could even Skype with parents or grandparents to share stories. Just a few thoughts on storytelling. Now if only I could decide on what story I want to tell for my project. Hope everyone is having a great week!
I think Skype would be a good way to use storytelling skills, but can a Skype video be saved? I know that iBooks & iMovies can be saved after finished and be viewed for years to come. I'm not sure if the same would be true with Skype-I've never tried to save from it.
ReplyDeleteI can also relate to students ALWAYS wanting to tell stories! It seems like everytime I mention something "fun", a holiday, vacation, etc., someone has something to say! As a teacher, you're thinking, "No, it's not time to tell stories-it's time to focus on the objective of the lesson". Which I think is a good thing, but I also understand that children need opportunities to tell others about things that have happened in their lives that they think are interesting. I don't feel like there's enough time in my day for activities like this because of everything we have to teach everyday & all of the standards we have to cover. Maybe on Fridays students could have some opportunities to tell stories or some type of show and tell would also be fun. After the digital storytelling project, I can hopefully incorporate it into my class.
Eek, is it bad if I still don't know what story I should tell for the project? So Krystina, you are not alone in the search for a 'perfect' or even almost perfect story.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I agree that students have to be given an opportunity to tell their stories. Other applications and programs that might be worth investigating for verbal storytelling could include Wimba voice, Audacity, voice recordings on cellphones and ipods and podcasts, and for written storytelling, Skype saves the transcripts, Google docs, what about Google wave? These are only a few examples, I am sure many more programs and applications exist.
Good question. Thank you, it really made me look at storytelling a bit differently, especially for the higher grades. Good luck with deciding on your story for the project. Have a good week.
Storytelling is something that I think we have just taken for granted in the classroom -- and you have picked up on that! We don't always have to make them digital, but it adds an interesting dimension! Leandi offers some great tools for capturing stories - another you might look at is VoiceThread. Even recording on an iPod is a great idea --- send the iPod home with the child and have them tell a story and bring it back! Nothing too formal, but at least students are telling their stories!
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