museum box

Hi everyone
I've made a 'museum box' for my next debate piece, however, I'm waiting for the site to moderate and accept it! I guess this extra safety is reasuring for teachers and parents but I have to say it's strange for me to have to wait for something more than a day! In case it doesn't happen, I have attached my written piece here! Thanks for your patience :)

The Attraction of Digital Storytelling

Digital Storytelling is not a distraction but an attraction for many students. As Robin (2008) notes, a digital story can be "an anticipatory set or hook to capture the attention of students". The loose use of the term 'story' means there are many examples of digital explanations, descriptions and instructions appearing online labelled 'digital stories'. However, if the purpose of a digital 'story' is to engage and challenge student's in their learning, does it matter that the structure of the piece strays from the traditional understanding of a narrative (that of introduction, complication, resolution)?

Ellum (2005) comments "Digital stories can take many forms, be derived from different means and have different purposes." I would also argue that the purpose of all digital stories is to enhance and engage the students in their literacy learning. The challenge of these methods becoming a distraction is an ongoing one is classrooms, how do we as teachers maintain students' focus on the topic at hand? Farmer (2004) argues that technology and digital storytelling in particular can 'personalise the curriculum' for students and can lead to higher engagement. Of course the tools used are often fun, engaging and potentially distracting. Would we be using them if they weren't enjoyed?

As Jane mentioned in her previous post, the focus of an activity can be lost (as we often see with Powerpoint) when a child discovers the 'cool' factor of a piece of software. In the case of PowerPoint, the transitions, word art and clip art can often lead to a lack of focus on the content and learning at hand (and to a fractured, inconsistent and inaccurate product). However, Farmer (2004) also mentions this challenge and reinforces the idea that "the focus should be on the story itself, not on digital bells and whistles". She suggests focusing on each step of the storytelling process of brainstorming, scripting, storyboarding, digitising and editing in order to help students remain focused on the learning.

Following a trial of digital storytelling tools at higher education facilities, Lonsdale and Jenkins (2007) concluded that not only were the criteria set for students crucial to the outcome, but also that digital stories could be "a discipline resource to enable further reflection and storytelling to encourage deep learning"

The idea of using storytelling tools to encourage deeper cognition and metacognition, is an exciting and fascinating aspect that needs further exploration!


References:
Robin, Bernard R. (2008) "Digital Storytelling: A Powerful Technology Tool for the 21st Century", Theory into Practice, 47:3, 220-228
Farmer, Lesley (2004) "Using Technology For Storytelling: Tools for Children", New Review of Children's Literature and Librarianship, 10:2, 155-168
Ellum, Louisa ( 2005) "Digital Storytelling as Teaching Tool", Fine Print, Winter 2005, 28:2, 3-6
Jenkins, Martin & Lonsdale, Jo (2007) "Evaluating the Effectiveness of Digital Storytelling for Student Reflection" Ascilite Singapore, 2007 ICT Providing Choices for Learners and Learning.