Simply put, constructionsim provides opportunities for people to learn by making personally meaningful artifacts and sharing them with others (
This feels so true-- I see my own students more engaged when they are creating their own stories and work rather than living in the things created for them. I also feel this in my own studies!
Transmedia digital storytelling involves distributing narrative across different media platforms to provide multiple, different, yet connected, narrative experiences focused on the same subject. This is different from multimedia where one uses multiple media to tell a story. And, it is different from cross media where one tells the same story across different media. For example, the story of The Lord of the Rings is told with books and movies, but it is always the same story.
I've been diving into some of the works of Alan Watts lately, and am realizing this applies here. His talks are available in so many formats-- text, podcasts, audiobooks, youtube videos, etc. You can find the same messages by him broadcast in a wide variety of formats.
Prototypes for this form of digital storytelling, as well as models for its potential use, can be found in the Choose Your Own Adventure book series and interactive fiction (IF). The Choose Your Own Adventure series was published by Bantam Books during the 1980s and 1990s. Readers assumed the role of protagonist and made choices to read through the texts. These choices helped determine actions and plot outcomes.
This idea is very cool-- I could see Rick Steves, the travel guru, latching onto something like the museum example they listed above, but for city walks. And this idea about using it for storytelling is compelling. I have a lot of students who are fans of the You Choose IF books, and I could see it evolving to something as simple as an app that students could use to create and tell stories on in spaces like their school or neighborhoods!
DH teachers may want to incorporate podcasts into teaching activities. For example, a DH class may undertake producing podcasts to share learning experiences, as a culminating project to dem-onstrate learning, or as a vehicle for self-reflection regarding one’s connection with learning. Outcomes might include a greater engagement with the knowledge topic, and developing a body of knowledge using collaboration and social construction skills, and interactivity with the course topic.
A thought for anyone interested in trying this-- NPR hosts a national podcast competition each spring for 5th-12th graders. I did it last year with my 5th grade classes and it was such an engaging project. Like the article says, it's a very accessible medium and is easy to share with the world.
But, many others, like Robert Clarke and Andrea Adam note that digital storytelling began with “arts practitioners committed to the democratization of culture: to empowering and giving voice to indi-viduals and groups traditionally silenced, marginalized, or ignored by mainstream culture” (Clarke & Adam, 2010, p. 159)
This is so interesting to me, and something I never thought about. Digital storytelling increases accessibility for people wanting to get ideas out into the world, whereas traditional publishing created limitations for people whose strengths may not have related to more formal forms of storytelling like publishing written work or creating films, etc.
Make school more interesting, engaging, or exciting for stu-dents simply by having wireless access or digital screens de-livering curriculum
I know that I fall prey to this at times. I use the tools because they make what I do exciting. As a result, I notice a definite drop in engagement when we do other activities where the students are expected to be face-to-face.
When school administra-tors take away students’ phones or tell them to put them away during class time, they are teaching implicit lessons about the kind of work environments these students are expected to en-ter. In this light, digital literacies are a matter of social justice
I can see it from this perspective, but reading this also made me wonder... adolescents generally have rules and structures around them because while they look mature, their brains aren't yet fully formed. While I'm all for young people making their own mistakes and learning their own lessons, I also believe it's important to guide them with their decision making. Perhaps guidelines rather than rules would be more appropriate here. When I think of a classroom where phones are allowed to be used out in the open as much as students like, I fear that many students may lack the self-discipline or possibly even the value for education or respect for a teacher enough to know they should temper their usage of devices in the classroom.
For example, rules that restrict student use of personal me-dia devices during lunches and passing periods reinforce power structures that mimic cell phone policies primarily found in working-class jobs. Middle-class employers, by contrast, often turn a blind eye to employees using their phones during work, and adults in higher paying jobs expect to be able to respond to email and text messages as needed
I've NEVER thought of this, but it is so true. It also feels like we are saying students can't be trusted to use their devices responsibly.
Outside of schools, youth are often engaged in rich learning and production-oriented activities that employ digital resources to make, play, design, hack, and innovate.
This is so true. Even when I was young, I had my own little video camera and made videos all the time with my best friend, and I used HTML code to create a website-- all before high school. I can't even imagine how much my work would have been enhanced or how it could have affected my life's trajectory had I received instruction in school that supported the use fo the types of media I used at home.
e dust-gathering smartboards
Hah! I just got mine taken down. This is so true.
In both cases, the digital tools are secondary to the teacher’s literacy and learning goals
From a librarian's perspective: Over the last 3 years our district has put a lot of money into putting Makerspaces into our elementary libraries. We bought pricey robots, tech tools, and iPads on top of bulk building materials like LEGOs, K'Nex and so on. Yet, despite all the money we put into the space, it has become clear to me that it's less about the tools and more about the rigorous activities we do with them. To be honest, many of the tools' greatest strengths is simply the "wow" factor and could be interchangeable with cardboard tubes, construction paper, and tape.
To add to this-- I think the most important part of this phrase is that trust must be given to the teachers. I feel it is fairly common for parents, administrators, and legislators to doubt and put policies in place for teachers based around the belief that if teachers are left to themselves they will not do the right thing. For the most part, I believe this is false. For teachers to thrive and feel comfortable exploring new methods, we need to feel trusted and be treated as the experts we are.
In as early as third grade, when writers draft in Google Docs, teachers can provide feedback electronically and more quickly.
I had to highlight this too... this is something I use with 2nd-5th graders during my library lessons ALL THE TIME. I haven't yet ventured out to letting students do shared projects on there, yet, though. Perhaps it's time!
writers in sixth grade published their books independently, and each writer took a published version of his or her novel home. Students were thrilled at having become published authors.
I've self-published a few things before on Lulu and CreateSpace... it's shockingly easy AND cheap. I could totally see doing it with upper-grade students--what a powerful thing for them to learn!
incorporate technology into writing workshop, in order to differentiate approaches to writing, to add depth to informational and argumentative writing, and to support conferring with writers.
I appreciate the quick specifics on how incorporating technology into writing is beneficial for teachers and writers!