Joanna Zajac-Medor
ENG 833: Digital Storytelling
Professor Boots-Ebenfield
Professor Branscomb
15 August 2010
Digital Storytelling Lesson Plan
It is a little difficult for me to envision a lesson plan about digital storytelling simply because I do not yet teach a classroom. I also have had a miniscule amount of experience in preparing lesson plans. However, my goal is to teach high school English for the 2011-2012 school year. I have had experience in some freshmen English classes at Chelsea High School because of my time there as a paraprofessional. Therefore, I will center this project plan around teaching English to high school freshmen.
Since taking ENG 833: Digital Storytelling this summer, I feel I have become much more familiar with technology. I had never before used a wiki, MovieMaker, Photostory, Prezi, Flickr, Picnik, or Audacity. I truly didn’t realize how many tools were out there. In a week’s time, I was introduced to a plentitude of information. Even if I got to spend a few weeks on digital storytelling with my future students, I can only imagine how much they would benefit from this. The biggest incentive for them would be that they could incorporate what they learn to use in other classes. Digital Storytelling is certainly not just something that applies to English class.
That being said, I am a lover of tradition. I am not a user of Kindle or Nook. I love real books that I can touch and smell. I think students need to write papers. Many students cannot read and write well, which saddens me. Taking away many forms of writing simply because technology doesn’t require it anymore will not happen in any classroom of mine. However, I am all for incorporating technology to further advance my students’ learning. Instead of a narrative writing assignment, I think it would be worthwhile to have my students create a narrative digital story. More specifically, I’d do some brainstorming activities with them in order to get their minds thinking about this concept. I would ask them to think back to a time in their lives (childhood or adolescence) and choose a memorable event that attributed to him/her becoming the person he/she is today. My goal would be to have them turn those events into digital stories, and to have them learn a new aspect of technology to use in the future.
In order to tell their stories, I would require that students use methods of digital storytelling displayed in Jason Ohler’s book, Digital Storytelling in the Classroom. I’d teach them about story cores and story maps, as well as show them examples. I would require that they check in with me before beginning their digital stories to ensure that they have an evident problem, solution, and transformation. To further delve into the writing aspect of this assignment, students would have to complete a storyboard, which I’d teach to them with examples. If at all possible, I would use a short story they’ve already studied to break into a script with pictures to accompany it. Hopefully, this would be easier for them to relate to and would assist in conveying the idea of storyboarding to them.
To introduce the technology aspects of this assignment to them, I would show them my own digital story I created for this class about my beloved dog. I’d point out to them the technology I used in my story, as well as other modes that are available to them. I’d also show them more examples of digital stories that would pertain to the assignment. Hopefully, I’d have use of a computer lab in order to familiarize students with Photostory, since that is the program I used for my own digital story and what I feel most comfortable teaching to them. I would have a class tutoring them in the basics of Photostory, including going over voice recordings, how to incorporate music into their stories, and customizing motion of their pictures. Students with computers at home would be assigned to further practice on their own. Those without computer access would be informed of the school and public library hours, as well as given access to the computer in my classroom after school.
To incorporate media into this assignment, I would teach a class where I cover different websites in which they could acquire and alter pictures, such as Flickr and Picnik. I’d also encourage students to bring in their own photos and scan them into the computers. I would then go over with students how they could manipulate their photos by resizing them, changing the color/effect, and typing words onto them. As far as incorporating voice into their narratives, I’d acquire as many sets of headphones as I could and have students take turns using them. In addition, students would be encouraged to bring in their own music to use in their digital stories, but would also be shown how to import music that was already installed on the computer. I’d also show students how to cite pictures and music they used in their digital stories.
I would do my best to offer as much assistance as possible to my students. I’d definitely want to provide my students with as much supported work time as our schedule allowed. I would want to able to assist them throughout the process of digital storytelling. I’d also want to be available to help them since the process is new to me as well. If they came across an issue I am unfamiliar with, that would be something I could research, which I’d then know to incorporate into my teaching for the next time. If I were to observe and assist them along the way, it would also make it easier for me to grade their final projects.
In order to find out if this project was a success, I would ask my students to share what they learned from this assignment and if digital storytelling was something they could use in their other classes. I’d ask them to respectfully share their thoughts on what they liked about other students’ stories and what they could have done differently. Also, I think that once students shared their final projects and viewed them as a group, it would then be clearer to assess the impact this assignment had on my class. I’d also ask them if there was anything they would like me to do differently in the future with this assignment. Overall, most of my assessment would come from the Digital Storytelling Rubric (please see next page).
Students use technology every day of their lives. They use cell phones, text message friends, email, chat online, go on Facebook, etc. It seems only natural that educators incorporate more technology into classrooms as well. Hopefully, students will pick up on these new concepts easily since they are already so familiar with many different kinds of technology. Additionally, it may make them more interested in the subject at hand because of the technology piece related to the assignment. In order to teach digital storytelling, as well as technology in general, educators have to be aware of these concepts. I’m very glad I took this course for my own knowledge, and I look forward to passing on what I’ve learned to my future students.
Works Cited
Ohler, Jason. Digital Storytelling in the Classroom: New Media Pathways to Literacy, Learning,
and Creativity. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press, 2008. Print.
DIGITAL STORYTELLING RUBRIC* / Possible PointsStory Core
Story Map
Storyboard / All were completed on time and met my approval before the student began working on the digital story. / 5 4 3 2 1
Materials / The student collected useful visuals and music, whether from websites or his/her personal collection. / 5 4 3 2 1
Visual Portrait of a Story / VPS was evident throughout the digital story. There was a clear problem, solution, and transformation. / 5 4 3 2 1
Narration / The student’s story catches the viewer’s attention and holds it. The student’s voice and tone are at appropriate levels throughout the story. / 5 4 3 2 1
Media / Images have been used, altered, and incorporated successfully into the digital story. When necessary, proper citations have been used. / 5 4 3 2 1
Sound / Music and other sounds have been chosen to support the digital story. Proper citations have been used. / 5 4 3 2 1
Participation / When needed, the student actively sought help while creating his/her story. He/she was attentive during other students’ digital stories. He/she offered feedback about the digital storytelling process. / 5 4 3 2 1
*Adapted from Digital Story Traits - Narrative Stories Rubric by Professor Boots-Ebenfield and Professor Branscomb