Techszewski

A Wrinkle in Times

You that know part of the book where Meg hears her muffled father's voice speaking to her from behind the grip of IT? That's kind of like blogging in China. I haven't been able to post to this blog for months now. Not even sure this will get thru. It is almost 2010, right? And China did send a man to the moon recently. Why can't I get to my blog? The two issues are thinly connected, but still I complain.

I have been blogging on my local school-based blogs. Teach Me This focuses on my edu-gaming work, while my Middle School Tech Tips shares what I do as a technology integration specialist.

Until I relocate or find a way around IT, I'll have to post there.

Coaching the Story Out of the Student

Yesterday, out at the high school, working with my emerging group of young digital storytellers, was a day that could sum up what I love about teaching and what I find most challenging. As a teacher, I see my primary role as a bridge builder between something a student does not know and the obvious other side of the bridge. In this particular case, the other side of the bridge was creating a coherent, engaging story, actually I would have settled for just a coherent story at this point.

Two students at two very different stages of the story process. Student A had been working on a transformation story about how he'd changed in his four years of high school. He had the basic frame of a story. Last week, we had gone over some basic story mapping. The shark metaphor seemed to really sink in for him. He mapped the story a bit more, but still didn't have a strong story. I suggested he make a timeline of all the important events in since his freshman year. I think story coaching is a trial and error kind of process. You're never really sure what's going to click with a person. The timeline was the ticket for this student. It was not only instrumental as an aid to giving a practice telling to the group, but helped him find his main message for the whole story.

These story coaching techniques involve no technology whatsoever, but could easily be recreated in a Flash environment. It won't be the same as having a human story coach, but students need the widest range of resources available to them when working on personal narratives. They won't always be so trusting to listen to the adult's advice. They may need to work up to that point of comfort of sharing their story ideas with the teacher.

I want to talk more with Doug Lipman, Jay O'Callahan and other story coaches. I want to know what they think of digital stories and how that coaching process changes, if at all, when you create stories with digital media. I remember thinking last year that the solution would be to find a way to write a program that emulates what Jay and Doug do in their workshops. I'd rather provide tools and models and resources all in one online environment where the digital storyteller has a place to turn when they're stuck or lost in their story development.

Ali Mazalek presented some really interesting work today on campus. Her work on tangible interactive storytelling systems provided yet another option for students to practice their story skils. It's hard to understand exactly how a system works from a PowerPoint presentation, but she seemed to have a strong focus on assisting the actual story creation process. It was unclear what exactly her definition of "story" is, but that seems to be the case with most interactive story systems.

A Reason to Like Bill Gates

I visited a charter school the other day, as part of my research on teachers using digital storytelling. For privacy reasons related to my thesis I can't use the school's actual name. I never knew anything about the International Review Board, but now can you tell that if you plan do any kind of research you need to follow their strict guidelines.

This school is part of the Gates Small High School Plan where each school caps its enrollment at 400. This particular school had a partnership with the local community technical college that allowed students as early as sophmore year to take college courses in the neighboring buildings. Most of the students graduated with at least 16 credits of college course work. I was very impressed with the school's commitment to the students. From my brief conversation with the principal and guidance counselor, I got the sense that this is a very caring school with a sound educational philosophy.

I've kept a close eye on charter schools. It always seemed like those in the ranks of the public schools were just waiting for them to fail. What I didn't like was how the politicians used them as a way to threaten the public schools, introducing competitive business practices into the already messed up public school system. The message was sent that if your school didn't perform well on the standarized tests then you're students will transfer to a charter school and you'll receive less funds. A very odd idea: if you're succeeding academically we'll take more money away from you.

But as I start to think about where I'd like to return to teaching, a charter school with a technology and art focus may be the right fit for me.

As for the interview with the teachers from the school on their recent experience with digital storytelling, it was so helpful. I really like talking with teachers about their work, the challenges and successes. Nearly everything they shared with me, rang true with my research so far: kids love to express themselves with digital media, they need help structuring the story part of the project, literacy and technology can no longer be thought of as separate areas of preparing students for the future, and the impact of digital storytelling on group and individual identity within a learning environment is a huge part of why this is so important to schools. I can't thank the teachers enough for their time and willingness to reflect on their teaching practice.

Hopefully, I'll be able to make some progress soon on Where In the US is Digital Storytelling? so interested teachers can see who's doing what in their area and find a way to connect. Maybe it'll turn into a virtual community once I add in the interactive story practice for students and other resources for teachers using digital media in the classroom.
 

Me, My Research, and Digital Storytelling

For the last year and a half I've been collecting information related to digital storytelling. I left the classroom to find out how to use technology to help students improve their storytelling skills. My time at Georgia Tech has not taught me much about technology and narrative, as I had hoped it would, but instead about the properties of interactive digital spaces, video games, and the benefits of working on group projects. 

I search the web often for anything related to digital storytelling. There are many threads that will hopefully hold my thesis together. My links are organized by my particular interests in improving digital storytelling practices in education. I Google using variations of 'digital storytelling:' multimedia storytelling, interactive storytelling, digital literacy, online stories. There are a handful of sites where people have gathered online resources that cover everything related to story and digital, but there isn't one that focuses on helping teachers implement digital storytelling in a comprehensive way. That will be Where In the US is Digital Storytelling? arriving soon, I hope.

I thought of breaking down the Digital Storytelling Is...TypeList into a few categories:

• software/digital media tools
• resources for teachers
• stories online

But they're all so related, that it I think it's more useful to post a bunch of them and then sort them later in the Where In the US is Digital Storytelling? site.

Flash in the Pan?

I've had a revived interest in mastering Flash this week. Ever since my great idea of creating interactive CDs for ........ (can't give that away) I've wanted to get back on track with my three Flash projects started last year that I really want to work on. I thought that if I posted where I'm at with each my goals for the next month that that would either set me up for embarrassment at how little I accomplish or actually help keep me focused.  Most of this stuff isn't online or part of my portfolio. I guess I need to clean it all up if it's headed in that direction.

1. A Place at the Table

Part A
Interactive Timeline

• Get flv video to work, look at Love and Diane from last semester
• Import, edit, convert interview footage from last semester
• Make all images clickable or at least enlarge in separate movie clips

Part B
Introduction scenes

 

• Combine swf from Part A or load it into this one
• Delete temp timeline
• Adjust timing of Scene 3

2. A Map of My Life

• Complete image slideshow mc
• Check all links on Family theme
• Improve img quality
• Check all journal entries

3. Where in the US is Digital Storytelling?

• Make short list of people to highlight
• Make link clickable in mc
• Collect data for each person/organization

Thesis Committee Questions Round #1

Amy - In thinking of students experience with Moose Crossing and the Palaver
Tree project, do you agree with my premise that students could greatly
benefit from an interactive space(online or CD) where they can practice digital story
skills (eg. img sequencing, wtg scripts for provided storyboards, etc)?

Michael - I'd like to use my A Place at the Table project from last year to
contrast the past digital storytelling approaches and make a case for a
context-specific/collective narrative building approach. In thinking of
Terminal Time, what are the keys to engaging people in a collective story?
How do you set the stage for a story shaped my multiple authors?

Hi Tom,

In the case of Terminal Time, the mass audience mechanic really becomes a
spectacle. Because of the applause meter voting, the whole audience is
immediately aware of how everyone else is voting. Some choices meet with
virtual silence, which causes everyone to giggle and laugh. Sometimes
different groups of audience members will scream and shout, trying to outdo
each other, fighting for control of the machine. Sometimes, particularly in
the third section, the machine asks extremely provocative questions (e.g.
Should recreational drugs be legalized? Is it OK for two men to kiss in
public? etc.) - these are questions that people aren't used to making a
public declaration about. Depending on the audience, there may be laughter
and a huge, loud, triumphant response (typical response to "should
recreational drugs be legalized" when we show Terminal Time at performance
art venues or universities) or an uncomfortable, tepid response. In all
cases, part of the goal of TT is to make audiences self-conscious of their
own choices and of the mass dynamics of voting. For your project, I'm not
sure if this mass audience effect will be appropriate.

-Michael

Kevin - Given your oral storytelling bg and your interactive cinema work,
what you think of the established 7 Elements of an Effective Digital Story?
Accurate? Relevant?

Joe - Do you see the scripting process as the area of DS that in need of the
most support for students and teachers?

Yes.

Project Funding

Project Production Class: Funding Sources

Recap: I'm writing a thesis that analyzes the past and present strategies for implementing digital storytelling projects in Grades 4-12 with a specific focus on the scripting/story process.

GRANTS:

Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination Grants Program
http://www.ed.gov/programs/artsedmodel/index.html

The program supports the development, documentation, evaluation, and dissemination of innovative, cohesive models that demonstrate effectiveness in:

*Integrating and strengthening arts into the core elementary and middle school curricula.
*Strengthening arts instruction in those grades.
*Improving students' academic performance, including their skills in creating, performing, and responding to the arts.

The non-profit Streetside Stories was awarded one of these grants to implement digital storytelling in four Title 1 San Francisco public middle schools(I almost took a job with them to lead the project). This model supports the outside agency coming into the schools and planting a seed that will hopefully grow.

FOUNDATIONS and ORGANIZATIONS:

George Lucas Educational Foundation(GLEF) - more leads to other funders than a source of money
Bill and Malinda Gates Foundation - highly scrutinized, not a chance for a small fry like me
W.K. Kellog Foundation- very active in supporting DS in rural communities,
Southern Poverty Law Center - small teacher grants
Internation Center for Storytelling - just starting to become involved with DS
Kodak - long history of funding photo story/writing projects

SOFTWARE ANGLE:

Bill Gates loves digital storytelling and Apple NEEDS digital storytelling to succeed in schools if they are to hold onto their foothold in the educational multimedia market. It's possible that they would be interested in funding continued research into my project.

Microsoft Windows MovieMaker and PhotoStory
Apple's iMovie and Final Cut Express

RECENT STORY FUNDED PROJECTS:

StoryBooth(David Isay, MacArthur Fellowship)

Digital Storytelling Competition

Week 3 - Project Production

My thesis will lay out an effective curriculum for using digital storytelling in a school setting, ages 10 and older. The central issues I'm addressing are:

•providing 'story practice' in digital and non-digital ways(eg. teacher directed vs. computer-based)
•improving the scripting process
•demonstrating a clear, coherent model for teachers to follow that meets literacy and technology standards set by most school districts

The Competition

This can be split into two parts: organizations and software. I'm attempting to refine the approach that organizations use while also looking to prototype ways of improving the software most used for digital storytelling(iMovie, Windows Movie-Maker, Photo Story, Adobe Premiere).

Organizations:

Center for Digital Storytelling - This is where I learned how to create my first digital story. Joe Lambert and company have pioneered the digital storytelling movement and assisted a number of school districts in implementing DS. Joe and I have talked about this need for something to assist the storyteller in the scripting process. He has some great ideas about 'writing into the image.' Need to talk with him more about that. CDS uses a workshop model, usually lasting 3 days. Not really applicable to a classroom setting.

Joe and company developed "The Cookbook" a few years ago - This is a fantastic resource because it's the first to detail the seven elements that are reflected in an effective digital story. What it does not do is take the classroom and the unique needs of students as a specific setting and audience, and work through how the digital storytelling process can be implemented there. That's where my thesis comes in.

Digital Storytelling Inc. - I'm next to certain that the people who started this company took the CDS workshop and spun their own start-up version. It's not clear what their approach is, but based on the sample projects the emphasis is more on creating something cool with the technology that resembles a story, but when you view the sample stories you see where the students are at in terms of their 'story practice.' This organization's mission is good for schools, but they're really just helping students create shoddy digital artifacts. Even though they talk about using assessment standards, it's clear that those can be twisted to support any project. Also, I don't like the design of their website. And, you can't incorporate something like digital storytelling.

Creative Narrations - There's a big difference in the quality of the stories produced from Digital Storytelling Inc. and the ones from Creative Narrations. CN is also a spin-off of CDS. They work mostly with students in after-school settings and have a community-empowerment focus. Not sure how they approach the scripting process, but, again, they work outside the regular school day which has a special set of demands when implementing a technology-based project. I'll need to follow-up with Natasha, who runs CN, and ask her about how she approaches the actual story writing part of a DS project.

Where do organizations like ISTE stand on digital storytelling?

For a new idea to take off in a school it should only need to be a good idea, but teachers and administrators are reluctant to risk precious class time and money on ideas that are not officially endorsed by the National Council of Teachers of English or the International Society of Technology Education, to name a few relevant to my work. Administrators feel safe when they can point to national standards that support a new idea.

*Grades 3-5 NETS Performance Indicator 5: Use technology tools (for example, multimedia authoring, presentation, Web tools, digital cameras, and scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. *Grades 6-8 NETS Performance Indicator 6: Design, develop, publish, and present products using technology resources that demonstrate and communicate curriculum concepts to audiences inside and outside the classroom. *Grades 9-12 Performance Indicator 5: Use technology tools and resources for managing and communicating personal or professional information.

Bill Gates Loves Digital Storytelling

It's obviously in the best interests of companies who produce the digital storytelling tools like iMovie or Movie-Maker to want to see schools embrace DS whole-heartedly. Windows Movie-Maker is the only one I've seen take a step towards assisting the user in the scripting process. They include templates for generic stories like a birthday party or a vacation trip. Why not go one step further and add a few prompts that help in the creation of THEMED stories, which most digital stories have, such as Challenge, Family, Memory.

Microsoft and Apple have online showcases of their products "revolutionizing today's classrooms." Apple has the most extensive library of iMovie related projects for digital storytelling. Microsoft is just catching on. The George Lucas Educational Foundation has also been in the business of multimedia storytelling within education.

iMovie, Powerpoint, Photo Story, Movie-Maker, Final Cut Express, Adobe Premiere all allow the user to import images, sync them with a voice over and export them as short digital movies for easy distribution. BUT, the students need an in between step of practicing their 'story skills' before getting to the computer. Software will never replace the human story coach but it can play a role in providing story practice for the student.

Tom Invents the Wheel

Digital storytelling in schools may not be that common, but dozens of teachers have created very successful projects that demonstrate how students can use digital media and tools to tell an effective multimedia story. I'm not looking to reinvent the wheel, but rather find a way to get digital storytelling rolling in more classrooms so that more students' voices are heard.

Here are few DS projects:

Microsoft Education -
Teacher Project
Place, Vision and Voice
iMovies in Teacher Education
DS in Australia
Carnegie Mellon
Visible Knowledge Project
Powerpoint digital stories

Digital Storytelling Web Wonders

The web has provided a large audience for digital storytellers, but has not done much in the area of aiding the story creation process. For the most part, sites only include a text box where by typing you can "Tell Your Story." This model relies on the user viewing a few of the stories from the site(if provided) and feeling compelled to add their two cents(eg. off the of the Sept. 11th Digital Archive site you can submit your relevant story). Just like when we put students in front of a computer or give them a blank piece of paper and prompt them with "Tell Your Story" we don't provide much guidance.

The following sites all provide a database of stories, not all digital in the sense I've been referring to. The web is a source of inspiration for stories and provides the built-in audience for a digital story. Sites that encourage collaboration, critique, and coaching, such as www.storylink.org, will spread as Internet 2 enters the scene.

Stories 1st
Capture Wales
StoryLink

The web offers an excellent environment for students to practice creating stories. Interactive Flash games are already allowing site visitors to practice a number of skills.

Thesis Prep

Week #2 of LCC 6315: Project Production

This week, we had to research the demographic and ethnographic backgrounds our potential thesis projects. As of September 1st, 1:52p I am planning to write the definitive guide to successfully implementing a digital storytelling program in a school environment. My focus is on strengthening the 'story skills' of the students and the school as 'story community.' I am interested in the potential of a school that uses technology to effectively represent all the voices of the school population. I see the thesis being a 70-30% split on written documentation and technology-based exercises that provide 'story practice' for students.

Demographics:

A tough sell - storytelling AND technology

Implementing educational technology has a long, checkered history

Best Practices depends on perspective - computing, multimedia, spec. curricular enhancement, integration

A Flickering Mind - know the arguements

Tom Snyder

Ethnographic

"Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate
integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system
and bring about conformity OR it becomes the practice of freedom, the means
by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and
discover how to participate in the transformation of their world," - Paulo Freire

School Settings:

Public vs. Alternative

Montessori

Art and Technology Magnet

Next Week

Analysis of Competition

What's out there for providing digital storytelling instruction in schools?

eg. Digital Storytelling Inc., CDS, Creative Narrations, who else?

Consider:

Ease of use
Installation
Price
Risk, intell. prop, privacy issue, copyright
Demographic reached

Writing a digital story script?

For teachers who have attempted a digital story project in the classroom, you have undoubtedly faced the snarly challenge of explaining how a script for a digital story is different from any other type of written story. The most widely used approach seems to be to focus on the classic elements of effective composition: description, character, setting, and dialogue. BUT is this the best approach for creating a digital story that seems to rely more on the synthesis of images and voice?

When I used the composition approach, I would get a few students who wrote extensively detailed stories, four pages in length, complete with analogies. Fortunately, there were only a few 500 word stories that I had to help students revise. It didn't seem to make sense to push the students for two weeks to write, revise, add more detail and dialogue and then tell them they could only use a fraction of what they had written. I had a hunch I would run into this problem and when it came time to cross that bridge, I sped on to the production parts of the project.

I still believe that strong composition skills are an important part of the digital story process for young students, not so much for adults. I started using DS in the classroom because I wanted to prove that multimedia production enhanced student's literacy development. In general, I have plenty of data to support that claim, but when you take a closer look at the specific writing skills that can be evaluated that's when you see how writing a script for a digital story differs from writing a detailed piece that will meet your English teacher's standards.

I had a brief conversation with storyteller Jay O'Callahan, who recently embarked on writing his first book, about how writing a story differs from creating a story to be performed. I can only remember that he said that the two processes are very different. I think the same is true of writing a digital story script.

What's the most effective approach for teaching the most important part of the digital story process?
How does the approach differ for teaching students or those with little to no 'story' background?
What can we learn from video production classes and photography writing classes?