Success!

photo © 2010 J. Enokson | more info (via: Wylio)



Happy, happy! Joy, joy! My digital storytelling culminating project is FINALLY complete! It can all be found at my fully revised Wiki.

What an exciting way to end the semester.

Get Your Quick Rubric Fix!

When you think of a rubric, what comes to mind? Probably some type of chart with headings and empty boxes, right? I know that’s exactly what I imagined. But thanks to our nifty friend, technology, rubrics are now so much more. This week I used iRubric to create a project rubric for my digital storytelling project I have been working on. In the past I have used Rubistar, but it was so long ago I don’t remember much about it. The great advantage of using iRubric is that you can quickly create rubrics online that will automatically weight and grade assignments for you with just a few clicks of your mouse. Here is the rubric I created for my project. All I would need to do to grade is click on the cell in each row that the student satisfied, and the tool produces a grade for me!

Why am I creating a rubric in the first place, you ask? The digital storytelling project that I am working on is a way to perform what Shelly refers to as project-based assessment.  It is a type of authentic assessment associated with authentic learning. (2010) Students will be engaged in authentic learning while completing my project, because they will be dealing with real-life problems and solutions, critical thinking and creativity, and creating a product to show off what they have learned. Any time students produce a final product as a result of their learning, it is a good idea to use a grading rubric as a means of authentic assessment. 

In case you’re wondering just what, besides typing and clicking, goes into rubric creation here are the steps I took to prepare mine.

1.     Brainstorm the types of skills you want your students to practice by completing the assigned project. A great place to start is the lesson standards. You will want to grade performance of these, because you want to be sure your students are all demonstrating them proficiently.

2.     Consider any content that absolutely must be seen in each final product.

3.     Create categories of skills such as Lesson Standards, Content, and Presentation and Design. While not always necessary, these helped me cover all the bases in terms of what I wanted demonstrated.

4.     Decide if and how you want to weight different areas. For example, demonstrating a lesson standard is pretty much always more important than writing mechanics. Assign different points to each skill based on importance, and be sure they add up to 100.

5.     Finally, before entering your info into your rubric, consider how many levels of skill your students can demonstrate. For mine, I chose 4 levels ranging from Poor to Excellent. Each level should convey a certain level at which that the student could potentially demonstrate that skill.

6.     Enter in all the information for your rubric, and you’re good to go!

Have fun creating your own rubrics with iRubric, and remember that you can edit them any time to more appropriately fit a different grade level or assignment. 

Shelly, G. B., Gunter, G. A., & Gunter, R. E. (2010). Teachers discovering computers:   

            Integrating technology and digital media in the classroom (6^th ed).           Australia:

            Course Technology Cengage Learning.

A Work In Serious Progress...Seriously

As my digital storytelling project develops, so does my idea of digital storytelling. As a reminder, I am working on a project for fifth grade students integrating technology into the social studies curriculum. These imaginary students will create digital stories in groups based on the recent disaster in Japan. This week I was responsible for either storyboarding an example project or creating an actual example. I decided to storyboard for two reasons; the first reason was lack of time, and the second one was my desire to create the rubric before the example. I wanted to decide specifically what I would expect of students before I created a project that may end up not meeting those expectations. I have never storyboarded before, and I am not very good at pre-planning. That said, here is a VERY rough draft of my sample digital storytelling storyboard.

I am well aware of just how rough it is, and I’m sure my Prezi I plan to create will not look a whole lot like this. I just wanted to give myself a starting-off point . I’m sure my storyboard looks like something one of the fifth grade students actually doing the project might come up with, but it gave me a good sense of what I want the project to be. I decided through completing this exercise that each group would be assigned a type of person or group such as a student their age or a family that lives in Japan. They would base their story on what happened to these people over the course of the disaster, and their plan to assist with relief efforts would need to be based on what could specifically help their assigned “character.” This was a big change from my original plan which would have been more of a presentation than a digital story.

I think once I create the project rubric, I will be able to also create a project example that best displays everything I would expect of students. I already feel much more confident in this project and what it is becoming. Hopefully one day I will be able to adapt it for my real class.

I Can Wiki, You Can Too!

It wasn’t too long ago that I simply didn’t know what a “wiki” was and how it worked. I knew what Wikipedia was, but I did not realize that this huge website was just one example of many wikis found on one site. It never occurred to me that I might use wikis as a teaching tool. Nowadays it is becoming more and more common for teachers to replace the classic curriculum page with a class wiki. This is presumably due to the ease of wiki use as well as the versatility. You can essentially create your own free webpage, easily edit it whenever you want, and you can allow others to edit it as well. 

When creating my own wiki, I chose Wikispaces.com as it is very educator-friendly. There are many other wiki sites one can use depending upon preference. I wanted to keep it very simple at first, and I ended up with this. It was incredibly easy; all I had to do was create my account click edit, and start typing! The page is an example of what my real class wiki could look like if I had my own class. I am currently working on creating a digital storytelling project for fifth grade students, and this page serves as a resource page for these hypothetical students. In time I will be adding sections including an area for student groups to collaborate on their projects together as well as project specifics and examples. 

As with all online class tools, safety is very important. Assuming I used this wiki with a real class I would want to take precautions to make sure their safety and privacy was ensured. There are ways to set privacy controls on Wikispaces and other wiki sites.

Digitizing, Integrating, and Authenticating

After learning this past week about digital storytelling and technology integration in the classroom, I got to thinking about what sort of project I could assign future students that would include both of these concepts. Although I am not currently teaching, the disaster in Japan inspired a fifth grade social studies project that could be used for any natural disaster around the world. If I were currently teaching, I would use Japan to teach students about how geography impacts countries when struck by disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis and the staggering effects these phenomenon can have. Students would then be grouped and responsible for creating a digital story that reflects the devastation in Japan and what they can do to help the recovery efforts. Although the Next Generation State Standards for fifth grade focus on the United States, when something as catastrophic as the recent earthquake and tsunami occurs in our world I believe it is our responsibility as teachers not to ignore it because it does not exactly over a benchmark or standard. Many of the benchmarks, specifically from the geography strand, can be directly related to this project. You could also adapt it for a natural disaster in the US should one occur.

I think this project would illustrate perfectly technology integration, “the combination of all technology parts…together with each subject-related area of curriculum to enhance learning.” This project would help teach the standards as well as incorporating social studies with reading and writing, and of course, technology. (Shelly, 2010) Shelly also discusses authentic learning, and I certainly think this project could not be any more authentic unless we took a field trip to Japan or the site of a US disaster.

In this hypothetical project, students would use Powerpoint, Slideshare, or Prezi to create their digital story. A major focus of the project would be how the group could help recovery efforts whether it is a fundraiser, an awareness raising effort, or any other creative way they choose. They would be responsible for including graphics, text, and either audio or video in their presentation given to the whole class. Hopefully, if circumstances allowed, the class could select a recovery idea to actually do together. Maybe the entire school could even get involved. 

Students would definitely need some past experience or tutorials in using the programs necessary to complete the project. They would also need a variety of appropriate websites for research on Japan, the recent disaster, and perhaps even how-tos on starting a fundraiser or similar project. One excellent resource for finding current events related to the disaster is Scholastic News Online. The class might use this and similar sites to create timelines of the disaster and recovery in preparation for the assigned project. They also might use National Geographic Kids to research information about Japan. 

This is definitely the kind of project where students could benefit from a teacher-created rubric as there are many components they will be responsible for. Also, students will probably need to research and work on their projects partially from home. Having a curriculum page with all the appropriate resources or possibly a class wiki they could use as they compile their research might be very helpful.

So there you have it – an authentic digital storytelling learning extravaganza! Obviously there are many ways it can be improved upon or changed to fit a specific group of students or time. Could you use it with your class?

Shelly, G. B., Gunter, G. A., & Gunter, R. E. (2010). Teachers discovering computers:   

            Integrating technology and digital media in the classroom (6^th ed). Australia:

            Course Technology Cengage Learning.

Digital Storytelling: The What, Why, and How

I have to admit, this week when I began practicing the art of digital storytelling, I was a little intimidated. When I first read the term “digital storytelling” I understandably assumed it was a reference to creating illustrated stories on the computer. Well, as it turns out, that’s not really what it is. At least, not exclusively. This video really helped me to better grasp the concept. 

Now we both understand just what this digital storytelling is all about, let’s get back to discussing my first attempt at creating my own digital story. I’ve been hearing a lot of good stuff about a program called Prezi. This innovative and free online digital media authoring tool allows you to create presentations in a unique way. I created a very short and simple presentation on digital storytelling and how it is useful in the classroom. Without further ado, here it is!

Digital Storytelling: The What, Why, and How on Prezi

The process took about an hour. Since it was my first time using Prezi, it took a little while to figure out all the tools even after watching an interactive tutorial. I was a little frustrated that I couldn’t think of a clever way to include graphics, but I think overall it was a good initial effort. I didn’t want to make it too complicated for fear it would end up looking like a jumbled mess. I would really enjoy using this in the classroom. I think my future students will be very engaged and excited about viewing and using the program. It wasn’t until planning out my presentation that I realized all the fantastic benefits of using digital storytelling and programs such as Prezi and Powerpoint with students. 

What will you use Prezi and other digital media authoring tools for?

The Future of Educational Technology

photo © 2009 David Goehring | more info (via: Wylio)

As promised, for those of you who just like to read, I'm once again going outside the realm of assigned blog posts to talk in more detail about something that has caught my interest. For those of you looking to comment on my latest Reading Reaction, please see the previous blog entry.Of course, I'm always interested to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment on this as well. :)

I've talked at length already regarding using familiar technology like cell phones and mp3 players in the classroom, but I haven't much discussed a couple of relatively new devices that are gaining popularity. Interactive whiteboards have been on the education scene for a few years now, yet they are hardly commonplace. I have yet to even see one in person, let alone see all their nifty capabilities. I do know, however, that they've become quite trendy, and any tech savvy teacher I've spoken with wants one in their classroom. One of the major brands currently being used in schools in the SMART board. This video from SMARTClassrooms posted to YouTube gives a general idea of a few of the capabilities of this particular tool. An interesting article linked to my class by my professor compares the SMART board with the Promethean whiteboard. According to author Christopher Dawson, the two products are quite similar. He essentially says the preference of the user dictates the choice between the two. Costing several thousand dollars each, regardless of brand, it will definitely be a long wait until this incredible tool is as common as the original whiteboard. Hopefully that will give teachers enough time to become used to them and make the best use of them possible.

Another article Dr. K supplied us with this week involved new hardware that is giving teachers ideas. That reminds me to ask if interactive whiteboards actually are hardware... Back to the topic at hand - e-readers! Although initially hesitant and even against these devices, I'm starting to come around. Although I still love real books, I'm beginning to see the potential for the e-book. Recently I discovered that a book I needed for class was available through my local library. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was only available as an e-book. If the book has been available in print, I probably would have made the extra trip to check it out from the library, but I didn't have that option available to me. Instead I used the e-book, didn't have to leave home, and I got to save myself some money. A couple of weeks later I read this article from the New York Times which explains how children are becoming an increasingly larger demographic in e-book sales. I suppose I can understand the appeal of the e-reader to a child who has grown uo solely in the digital age. The potential in the classroom intrigues me as a teacher. Imagine the precious classroom space that could be saved by having just one of these compact tools per teacher. As author Julie Bosman mentions, books in the public domain can be downloaded for free. Major bonus! And let's not forget perhaps the most exciting benefit of all; kids are reading! Nothing has been so revolutionary in the way we read books as these devices, so why not take hold of the revolution that is inspiring a love of books in our students?

My point, and I have been getting to one, is that hardware has taken over. Hand-held devices and all things interactive are the future of education. I, for one, have been so inspired by the potential for technology in the classroom in only half a semester. I hope in reading this post, others like it, and the articles that I make reference to, you will also be inspired if you haven't been already.