DEJ # 9 The Pedagogy of Digital Storytelling

Quote:   "Raimist and Jacobs expanded the CDS model of digital storytelling into a critical process where students were taught not only the technical skills necessary for creating and sharing their own digital stories, but also were provided with a framework they could use to interrogate themselves and engage with other contexts for purposes of responsive content creation."
Response:   I found this part of the article interesting due to the fact that as educators we often get caught up in the technical part of the technology and lose focus on guiding our students to create the content.  It can be very frustrating when trying to get the right equipment, the right program, etc... before implementing a project.  I believe that this deters educators from trying new ideas in their classrooms.  This is why it is so important that technology tools and skills begins in kindergarten and continues each year, according to a technology framework. When students and teachers feel competent with technical skills, then content creation may flourish.
Reference:  Raimist, R., Doerr-Stevens, C., & Jacobs, W. (2011). The Pedagogy of Digital Storytelling in the College Classroom.International Journal of Media,Technology and Lifelong Learning, 7(1). Retrieved October 20, 2011, from seminar.net


Additional Resource:  I've chose this article because it describes where digital storytelling comes from, how digital storytelling can be used to support instruction, and  how students use digital storytelling to improve multiple literacy skills.
Digital Literacy in the Classroom
Robin, B. R. (n.d.). The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling. In Digital Literacy . Retrieved October 20, 2011, from http://digitalliteracyintheclassroom.pbworks.com/f/Educ-Uses-DS.pdf

Digital Stories from an Oral History

Person to interview:  Judith Pearl White, my mother
Why?  My mother is 72 years old, a mother of six, 5 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren.  My mother has shared numerous stories of her childhood, but no one has ever captured her life in a digital format.
Possible questions to ask:

• Where were you born?  Who were your parents? grandparents?  siblings? 
• What types of jobs did your parents have during your childhood? teens? adult?
• How many different places and where have you lived from birth to now?
• Where did you attend school?  Elementary, Middle, High, College, 
• What types of jobs have you had during your life? Salaries?
• When and where were you married?
• What are the significant differences in the economy over the past 50 -60  years?
• What were your parents'/grandparents' expectations of you?
• What president made the greatest impact on you?  Why?
• What kinds of entertainment were made available during your teens?
• Was religion important in your family?
• What is the ethnic or cultural background of your parents?
• What family celebrations were important in your life?

Please describe a positive scene from childhood in detail.  What led up to this event? When and where did it happen?  Who was involved?  What were you thinking and feeling?  Why is it an important event?  What impact did it have on you?
Please describe a negative scene from childhood in detail.  What led up to this event? When and where did it happen?  Who was involved?   What were you thinking and feeling?  Why is it an important event?  What impact did it have on you?
Describe a particular event from your teen-aged years that stands out in your memory today.  This can be positive or negative. What led up to the event?  What happened?  Where and when?  Who was involved?   What were you thinking and feeling?  Why is it an important event?  What impact did the event have on you.
Describe a vivid or important memory from any time in your adult years.  Again, this can be positive or negative.  It can be about anything – family, work, whatever.  The scene stands out in your mind today as being especially vivid or important.  Please describe what led up to the event.  Then describe the scene in detail.  What happened?  Where and when?  Who was involved?  What were you thinking and feeling?  Why is it an important event?  What impact has the event had on you?


Plan to interview my mother at her home, during the week of October 23.

DEJ # 8 Teaching Media Literacy: Yo! Are you hip to this?

Quote:  "Now that the culture is almost totally transformed by the compelling electronic and visual experiences that enter our living rooms each day, the ostrich stance seems more and more ridiculous. It's time to face up to the media culture we have created and the media culture we have consumed. It's time to help ourselves and our children to embrace and celebrate the messages worth treasuring, to analyze and understand the economic and political forces which sustain it, and to develop the skills and new habits we need to think carefully and wisely about the messages we create ourselves and the abundant messages we receive ."

Response:  Is it possible to put the above quote on a t-shirt?  :)  This particular article has made the largest impact on my thinking in terms of critical media literacy skills in the classroom.  The article managed to cover many concepts that I've been pondering during this course.  

• How do we do this as teachers?  
• What has to happen to make us feel comfortable discussing issues with our students that are of importance to them?  
• Why hasn't critical medial literacy been pervasive across the U.S.? 
• If we ignore it, our children will ignore it?
• Why do we use newspapers in our classrooms to teach vocabulary, etc..and not analyze messages?
• Why have students create videos that have been scripted and produced by the teacher?   
• How do teachers become trained to incorporate media literacy skills in their classrooms?                     

I'm ready to travel to the few places in the U.S. to understand how critical media literacy skills are being implemented in school districts k-12.   

Hobbs, R. (n.d.). Teaching Media Literacy: Yo! Are you hip to this?. In www.medialit.org. Retrieved October 14, 2011, from http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/teaching-media-literacy-yo-are-you-hip

 Related Resource:    Renee Hobbs

I've provided a link to the Media Education Lab site founded by Renee Hobbs.  Since this article impacted my thoughts, I felt it was important to find and read other articles by this author.

(n.d.). In Media Education Lab. Retrieved October 14, 2011, from http://mediaeducationlab.com/about/renee-hobbs

Forever Young: Favorite Reel Works Video - Week 8

Click on the link below to watch the video:   Forever Young
Favorite Reel Works Video


1.  What do you like about the digital story? 
This story immediately grabbed my attention due to the fact that it was based on a topic that is relevant to most people.  Whether good or bad memories, our childhood plays an important role of who we are and childhood stories/memories are often referred to in conversation.    Using the format of actually writing to "your childhood" was an interesting way to approach writing.  In the future, I will use this format with my students.    Specific moments in the digital story that caught my attention were; whimsical music, childhood photographs, a box of memories, references to easy decisions, being carefree, easy solutions to problems, maturation takes away our childhood, and the child clinging to the adult's leg.

Actually, it probably grabbed my attention because my 16 year old is moving away from childhood, and I'm not ready. :)

2.  What did you learn from the digital story?

•   The theme and point of view were articulated through the use of images, video, music and narration.
•   The story was simply put, and the message was easily understood without an overload of information.
•   The narrator's voice set the tone and mood of the message.  
•   A short media message is able to convey a main idea to an audience and it's not always necessary to    require lengthy essays.

3.  How can digital storytelling promote critical media literacy?     To begin with, this particular digital story is a personal narrative. Using this type of storytelling in the classroom allows students to view experiences of other students to gain a better understanding of their personal point of view. Also, our "digital generation" students are creating media that allows for discussion and expression of emotions.Motivation, engagement and interest would be present due to the fact that students are creating an authentic project to be viewed, critiqued and judged by their peers.  In addition, communication skills are developed through students creating narratives, and expressing their opinions.  Finally, students are creating and presenting a digital story using the following literacy skills; research, writing, organization, technology, problem solving and assessment.

DEJ # 7 Measuring the Acquisition of Media Literacy Skills

Why did the authors do this study?  The researchers examined " the impact of media literacy instruction in  a secondary language arts curriculum, which was developed in one district, to determine its effects on students’ reading, listening and viewing comprehension, writing, and skills of message analysis" (Hobbs and Frost 335).
How did the authors do this study?  The authors used nonequivalent groups research design;  a quasi-experiment, which consists of using a test group and a control group from a different community, instructors using similar instructional practices, with similarities in school size and demographics. The grade level, length of instructional time, pre and post tests, and shared materials were consistent.
What did the authors conclude from the data analysis?   The results were indicative that media literacy instruction improved the students' ability to comprehend, analyze and evaluate information.  In reference to writing, there wasn't a significant difference between the treatment and control group  "These results indicate that the infusion of media literacy into the grade 11 English class did not detract from the teachers’ ability to support and strengthen the growth of students’ writing development"(Hobbs and Frost 344).

What is the significance of the study?   This study allowed the authors to voice their findings that media literacy integrated into a curriculum can be just as rigorous and valid as traditional literacy.  

How do these findings influence your position on media literacy and school curriculum?  This research was conducted with seven, grade 11 teachers with the same objectives, activities and texts in real-world contexts.   However, we need to do further research into instructional strategies, teacher attitudes and other existing variables to further promote media literacy integration in the curriculum.  

After reading and analyzing the data from this article, an instructor that correlates media literacy skills with  critical thinking skills, will be able to design authentic instruction for students without the burden of worry that he/she is not meeting the necessary requirements of literacy.

Hobbs, Renee, and Richard Frost. "Measuring the Acquisition of Media Literacy Skills." Reading Research Quarterly 39.3 July (2003): 330-55. Web. 7 Oct. 2011.

Week 7: Create a Product- Super Hero Trading Card

In this lesson, students analyze and discuss familiar superheroes and super-villains to expand their understanding of character types and conventions.Then students consider social issues that confront their everyday reality and respond by incorporating those issues into the creation of their own superheroes or super-villains as well as the settings the superheroes or super-villains operate in.