Have a seat on the magic carpet! We are listening to a story...digitally!

            As we practice our 21st Century Skills, Digital Storytelling pops up a lot in our classrooms. One of the best ways to use it in the classroom is to practice listening skills and speaking skills. Students are also able to practice their vocabulary skills as well. It is a great tool that not many teachers use. Fortunately, these storytelling programs "promote the notion that users with little technological background should be able to create digital stories."-Educase Learning
            Digital Storytelling is described as  "the practice of combining narrative with digital content, including images, sound, and video, to create a short movie, typically with a strong emotional component" in an article by Educause Learning. Teachers can create this story for their students, or the students can create the story for the teacher! This a great project for students at the end of a unit. Here is an example.
If my students were learning about family life they could create a story about a family in French or Spanish. They could add digital content, images etc. and then add their voice to narrate the story. In this case they are practicing reading, writing, and speaking skills. Then when all projects are finished, students could listen to one or two of their peers' stories and write what they hear. They would be practicing their listening, writing, and comprehension skills. What more could a foreign language teacher ask for?
          As I was reading "The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling", I stumbled across this quote:
" Digital storytelling provides an authentic personal learning experience- as such; student investment is greatly increased resulting in greatly improved motivation and end product. "- David Jakes I think that this is a fabulous quote that really sums up what digital storytelling is all about. I think that it is important for students to take control of their learning experience. They can also take ownership of their stories, or add their own photos to their story.
          One of the most important 21st Century Skills is collaboration. In the article from Educase Learning it says that students can collaborate on digital stories. It really does use the best parts of teaching. Give it a try!
Hasta luego,
Alissa