This blog you have stumbled upon IS dynamic media. In the olden days of the internet (Do you remember those days? I do!) we could only read the information presented. We could not change it let alone interact with it in any way. Times have changed, my friend, and so has the internet. Today, many websites are interactive. You can find specific weather for your town, chat with friends on Facebook, post an article on a friend's page, even comment or pose questions to this post below. The internet has become an avenue for creating not just referencing! Today, according to Vicki Davis "average, everyday people can not only read information but write." (Davis, 2009) You no longer have to be tech savvy to create on the internet.
Because the internet is now a door to creating, we can use it to tell and share our stories with one another. These stories are digital storytelling. Digital stories integrate the written and spoken word with visual and auditory elements to create a rich sample of who we are. Creating and storing these digital stories can be done by anyone using websites. Best of all, creating these digital stories uses the highest levels of thinking and, therefore, a wonderful tool for teaching our kids. Using digital stories in our classrooms allows students to work in a variety of learning styles, they learn to use technology in a real way, and "discover the power of their own voice." (Boss, 2008)
Learn more about digital stories by checking out The Center for Digital Storytelling.
Check out these two examples of digital stories that can be used to teach in the classroom:
"Light Change" (https://tle.wisc.edu/digitalstorytelling/light-change)
It is the reflection of a photographer on her journey through the medium and how a trip to Africa changed her view of color photography verses black and white.
"The Stone of the Future" (http://vimeo.com/53984714)
This is a fictional digital story written and illustrated by a student. I like it because it features student drawings to tell the story as well as sound effects!
Dynamic media and digital stories address the highest levels of thinking when teachers design projects around them that ask and explore essential questions in their curriculum. What is an essential question? An essential question poses a question that the student must answer using their own research or experience. It addresses information in the curriculum and allows students to discover it for themselves (Cushman, 1989). An essential question in science may ask, "Where do plants get their food?" By asking this question, students can discover the answer through research, such as exploring information on photosynthesis, and experimentation, growing plants in light and dark places and comparing the differences. Students can present their findings using dynamic media or discuss the question with others online.
Some other examples of essential questions may be:
- How did European countries respond differently to Hitler's "Final Solution"? How did these responses impact the Jews, Romas, and other people groups targeted by the SS?
- What characteristics make numbers either odd or even?
- What impacts did World War II have on art and artists?
So...
What I have presented to you above begs the following essential questions about dynamic media and digital stories:
- How can the use of digital storytelling and dynamic media promote the development of understanding in the classroom?
- How can digital storytelling and dynamic media be integrated into the classroom in order to promote understanding?
Through this blog presentation, I am also seeking to answer the following essential questions for my own curriculum:
- How can digital storytelling and dynamic media be integrated
into the art curriculum to promote greater understanding and self-expression?
- How can digital storytelling and dynamic media be used to
help students enjoy exploring art
history and self-evaluation?
history and self-evaluation?
Are you convinced yet? Check out these articles for more information on digital storytelling and
dynamic media.
Dynamic Media by Bull and Garofalo
The World of Digital Storytelling by Jason Ohler
David Jakes Digital Storytelling Collection
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Davis, Vicki (2009, January 9). Basics for Beginners: What is Web 2.0?. Retrieved from http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2009/01/basics-for-beginners-what-is-web-20.html
Boss, Suzie (March 4, 2008). Digital Storytelling: Helping Students Find Their Voice. Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-storytelling-helping-students-find-their-voice
Cushman, Kathleen (1989). Asking the Essential Questions: Curriculum Development. Retrieved from http://www.essentialschools.org/resources/122
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