EDTC 6433 DIGITAL STORYTELLING PROJECT

Autumn 2017

Digital storytelling “is the practice of combining narrative with digital content, including images, sound, and video, to create a short movie, typically with a strong emotional component” (Educause, 2007, p. 1). In the classroom, this can be a powerful educational tool, linking technology use with “the traditional processes of selecting a topic, conducting some research, writing a script, and developing an interesting story” (Robin, 2008 p. 222). From a pedagogical standpoint, assigning a digital storytelling project to students fulfills ISTE NETS Standard 1: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity, which states:

            Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to    

            facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-

            face and virtual environments. (International Society for Technological Education 2007)

Digital storytelling is versatile, applicable to any subject and any age, integrative, uniting the use of different technologies into a cohesive whole, and creative, allowing students the ability to create their own online content, something most students have not experienced despite their exposure to technology (Kumar & Vigil, 2011). Because the nature of digital storytelling requires imagery and audio, this is a great entry point into the discussion of copyright, fair use, and public domain, a component of ISTE Standard 4: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility: “Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices” (International Society for Technological Education 2007).

But digital storytelling is not a technique limited to students; teachers can also use this method for teaching, “as an anticipatory set or hook for a lesson; to enhance current lesson plans with the use of a digital story within a unit; to support student research on a topic from a particular point of view” (Robin, 2011). In order to familiarize myself with the process of digital storytelling and experiment with its use as an educational tool, I chose to create a digital storytelling project as an introduction to a high school Biology unit on DNA. DNA is a complex topic laden with vocabulary students most likely have never encountered before, so what I hoped to accomplish in creating this project is a light introduction to the associated vocabulary, a view into the real world application of science, and, because the discovery of the structure of DNA is not without controversy, as a hook to engage student “interest, attention and motivation for the "digital generation"” (Robin, 2011).

To begin my digital storytelling project, I first researched the chronology and the contributions from the scientists involved in the race to discover the structure of DNA. I used diigo, an online bookmarking site, to manage the articles and websites I found. The annotating feature was particularly helpful, as I could quickly locate references in my diigo library. I also used Creative Commons to search for images I thought would be relevant and available for use in the classroom, and chose the “modify, adapt, or build upon” feature in case I wanted to modify something to make it more relevant, either for content or for creativity. Flickr, Google Images, and Wikimedia Commons proved to be the most fruitful for the images I was searching for, but nevertheless, this was the most time-consuming portion of the project for several reasons. First of all, searching for images is addictive, and I found it difficult to select one instead of continuing to scroll through to find something better suited for what I was trying to convey. Secondly, it took a lot of time to create the lengthy reference list for the scrolling credits at the end of the project. And thirdly, there came the creative process of matching the script to the images. I found images first, then wrote the script, and finally realized in combining the two that either a) I did not have an image for a particular piece of narration; or b) I had an image, but it did not fit as exactly as I wanted with the narration. So I went back to Creative Commons for further image searching. If I did assign this project in a classroom setting, I would assign it as a small group project. Students could divide up the images they needed to search for, greatly reducing the workload and time commitment per student. I have also since learned about Photos for Class Photos for Class, a student-safe site for available images that are automatically watermarked with the appropriate attribution. If students used images from this site, then perhaps their credits list would be much more manageable, limited to a few isolated attributions for images not found on Photos for Class and music attributions.

I assembled the images in iMovie, an application I am familiar with, although using the narration feature was new to me. It was remarkably easy to use and I was able to re-record at various points as necessary without much trouble and fairly intuitively. I used ccMixter through Creative Commons to search for instrumental music according to various themes. There was a great selection and I found the site easy to use, but I had difficulty navigating the conversion of a downloaded mp3 file into iTunes in a format that iMovie would accept. I spent some time searching online forums for answers, but most of the answers weren’t applicable to my particular issue. I finally figured it out on my own through trial and error.

Creating this project was a great tool for highlighting my own strengths and weaknesses with various technology/software applications. I learned which areas I am comfortable with and which I am not, which kinds of software I find intuitive and which require more structured research to figure out its particulars, and where I am significantly deficient in basic digital language. For example, with the mp3 audio file, I needed to convert it into a file iTunes would allow iMovie to accept. But what kind of file is that? Lacking this kind of basic terminology made it extremely difficult to focus an online search on the information I was seeking. It basically became two searches: one to find out the terminology of what I needed, and one to seek the actual information.

I enjoyed the creative process quite a bit, and I imagine students would too. Storytelling is an ancient and timeless art, and the ability to add visual imagery and music to it is engaging, not only as the creator, but as the viewer. Even though I knew the story of Watson and Crick discovering the structure of DNA and the controversy concerning the lack of credit given to the female scientist Rosalind Franklin, after completing the digital storytelling project, I felt as though I had brought the characters to life. No longer were they abstract names on a page; they were living, feeling human beings all striving toward the same goal. If I felt that way, hopefully my students would too, and with this hook into the material, they might be more engaged and willing to dive into these complicated concepts.

The Race to Find the Structure of DNA

Educause Learning Initiative. (2007).  7 things you should know about digital storytelling. Educause Learning Initiative.

Retrieved from https://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7021.pdf

International Society for Technological Education. (2008). The ISTE
National Educational Technology Standards (NETS•T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers. Retrieved from https://www.kent.edu/sites/default/files/file/ISTEstandards.pdf

Kumar, S. & Vigil, K. (2011). The Net Generation as Preservice Teachers: Transferring Familiarity with New Technologies to Educational Environments. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 27(4), 144-153.

Robin, B.R. (2008). Digital Storytelling: A Powerful Technology Tool for the 21^st Century Classroom. Theory into Practice, 47, 220-228.

Robin, B.R. (2011). Digital Storytelling Hands-On Lab. TLA 2011 Annual Conference
April 12 - 15 Austin, TX. Retrieved from http://faculty.coe.uh.edu/brobin/TLA/index.htm