Notes from Millie D

Now that a bulk of the work on my final project has been completed I’m starting to feel like I’m able to see the end.  My thoughts that I posted yesterday haven’t changed.  I was a little distraught watching Alice’s frustration trying to use bubbleshare (that was going to be one of my tools).  I willing to give it the good old college try tomorrow but if I’m not successful right away I not going to stress about it (yeah right).

I’ve learned a lot about digital storytelling and how easy it is to implement.  I’m thinking that I can easily integrate this from Kindergarten through Fifth Grade (the grades I’m working with).  Each grade level would have a little more than the previous class in order to keep it fresh. I’m sure this will be like most things with technology the students will grasp it early on and the whole unit shifts down.

I’m hoping that my work might inspire others to try using the technology to duplicate my goals within their classroom.  I’m thinking elementary teachers can grab the concept easily, foreign language teachers can latch on under that foreign tongue, and langauge arts teachers can incorporate literary elements very easily.  I’m more than willing to share some of the tricks I learned (both in a PC or Mac environment).

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At first I wanted to do a final project that could be a resource set of sites/pages for teachers at the different grade levels. After hearing what Alice was looking for I felt that project might not meet her needs. I’ve been thinking a lot of implementing digital storyteling into the curriculum. There are many different tools that I can use to make it.

• Need for change addressed by this project (Why are
  you undertaking this project? For example, is it an old project that
  you want to do in a new way?)

This would be a new unit for me but I know teachers have been doing storytelling for a number of years. There are so many tools out there to archive and showcase the stories beyond the paper and pencil that we owe it to the students and their subjects not to take advantage of it.

• Expected outcomes (What will it look like if your project is successful?)

My expected outcomes beyond meeting classroom curriculum outcomes within Language Arts and Social Studies include the usage of technology, digitalizing the stories, engaging students in multiple forms, and exciting students about school.

• Activities correlated with objectives (How will you undertake this project?)

Here are some of the activites (technology-wise) I was thinking about doing with them:

• Storymapping with Kidspiration
• Story Board
• Script Building
• Picture Taking/Collecting
• Using online tools like flickr and bubbleshare
• Using tools like Audacity and Garageband to record audio
• Showcasing iPhoto
• Using iMovie for the visual piece

• Timeline for implementation (When will you accomplish each piece of your project?)

The timeline for this project will throughout the year.

• Measures of accomplishment (If your project is successful, how will you know?)

I will know that the project is successful if we’re able to archive some great stories. We also have an Author’s night and anohter successful component would be the showcasing stories there for the community to see.

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