DIGITAL STORYTELLING ASSIGNMENT
The digital storytelling project was both fun as well as frustrating. But, I must admit, the fun out weighed the minor complications I experienced tweaking the piece. As someone in class had mentioned, hands on learning (at least for me) is the best way to learn how to use any software application. Going over digital stories before certainly helped drive home the many and diverse applications of editing tools like Movie Make.
There is a degree of truth in the power of images. In the context of education and instruction, the power of images has currency when shaping young minds. Likewise, the combination of images with a voice that is telling a story can evoke interest and, maybe, stir the soul. It is this convergence of stories/story telling and digital multimedia that can have a powerful application in education. The delivery of instructional content can certainly be enhanced through this medium if done well. Most importantly, I see an opportunity to make education more “interactive” for student personal development, in addition to its academic potential.
By including this digital stories/story telling into a curriculum, students can not only learn hard technical skills—how to use technology, as well as traditional academic subjects. But, students can learn other important “life” lessons (soft skills like interpersonal and communication skills) that can be built on as metaphors by the educator. For example, patience, prioritizing, meeting dead lines, and attention to detail are just some of the elements of movie making that I had to grapple with when finalizing my story. Also, the student can learn something about themselves, their peers, and home/community under a “supervised” and directed environment. It is this aspect of the learning process that I think is the most important learning experience of them all—when the individual learns something about themselves, or if they are lucky enough, learn something about who they want to become.
In the end, students may forget that ever escaping calculus formula or that chemistry theorem when they leave the halls of academia. The triumph, I would say, would be to prepare students for the responsibilities of the “real world” with both academic and technical skills, as well as interpersonal and social skills they learned throughout their school years. I think digital story telling is a positive and innovative step in that direction.
There is a degree of truth in the power of images. In the context of education and instruction, the power of images has currency when shaping young minds. Likewise, the combination of images with a voice that is telling a story can evoke interest and, maybe, stir the soul. It is this convergence of stories/story telling and digital multimedia that can have a powerful application in education. The delivery of instructional content can certainly be enhanced through this medium if done well. Most importantly, I see an opportunity to make education more “interactive” for student personal development, in addition to its academic potential.
By including this digital stories/story telling into a curriculum, students can not only learn hard technical skills—how to use technology, as well as traditional academic subjects. But, students can learn other important “life” lessons (soft skills like interpersonal and communication skills) that can be built on as metaphors by the educator. For example, patience, prioritizing, meeting dead lines, and attention to detail are just some of the elements of movie making that I had to grapple with when finalizing my story. Also, the student can learn something about themselves, their peers, and home/community under a “supervised” and directed environment. It is this aspect of the learning process that I think is the most important learning experience of them all—when the individual learns something about themselves, or if they are lucky enough, learn something about who they want to become.
In the end, students may forget that ever escaping calculus formula or that chemistry theorem when they leave the halls of academia. The triumph, I would say, would be to prepare students for the responsibilities of the “real world” with both academic and technical skills, as well as interpersonal and social skills they learned throughout their school years. I think digital story telling is a positive and innovative step in that direction.
posted by Raymond Kram at 9:52 AM
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