This semester I'm teaching a section of Instructional Technology for the College of Education and Human Services at Murray State University. In one class period, we discussed digital storytelling and as an assignment, I asked my students to pick an iPad app and create a story. Here are a couple examples of their stories:
How Big is the Universe? Let's Put it Into Perspective by Joshua Hawkins. He used Shadow Puppet EDU to create his story. If he had chosen to, he could have added audio, but I really like the fact that he used the text and pictures to convey his story.
In this example, Bailey Porter wrote her story called Lenny and the Big Red Ball using Little Bird Tales, which is an iPad app as well as a website. Here's a link to her story.
Another story written by Jaycee Cribbs tells about a mission trip to Honduras and used ThingLink to add hotspots with additional information about the trip and the country. Click here to see JayCee's story.
In my last post, Once Upon a Time in the Land of Technology, Part I, I talked about engaging students by having them videotape and edit movies using a variety of tools to create a story project for any subject area. In Part II, I am going to look at several screencasting apps and ideas for using them as a teacher and a student.
Screencasting is one of the most exciting tools I've used recently. It is a way to record what you are doing on your screen while you talk and explain your actions. This is a great way to create videos to flip your classroom or show your student's how to do something on the computer. Student's can do this too to show what they've learned or talk through a problem while working it out on an on-screen whiteboard. There are a number of free screencasting programs, including the following:
Screencast-O-Matic is a free screencasting tool available at Screencast-O-Matic.com. It is web-based and will record up to 15 minutes with the free version. The paid version gives you some other bells and whistles, along with unlimited record time. The annual fee is minimal - $15 a year! The program is easy to use and understand.
You can also use Office Mix with PowerPoint 2013 or newer to record your presentation with your voice.
Ideas for classroom use include:
Narrate your "old" PowerPoint, Google Slides, or other presentations from former years to create a video for your students.
Record your lesson live while you are teaching your class which will give your student's who were absent the video to watch and students who just didn't get it the first time, can watch it again!
Create content videos for your flipped classroom.
Training videos for staff and students.
Feedback for students!
Students can create content by screencasting what they've learned.
They can screencast a math problem and talk through the process as they solve the problem.
Illustrate concepts or show understanding.
They can screencast a presentation that they have created on a topic.
They can create stories based on what they've learned in history or science.
Comment below and tell us how you use screencasting in your classroom!
As summer comes to an end and classes start again, it is time to think of ways to engage students. Telling all kind of stories is one way to do that. When I say "all kinds", I'm referring to reports, writing poetry, researching a topic, and many other student assignments. Think back to Bloom's Taxonomy and you'll remember that the top levels bring greater learning and engagement to your students. There are many ways that technology can help. In this post, I am going to review two iPad Apps that are easy to use and bring out the creativity in your students to keep them engaged. Remember that storytelling allows students to show what they know!
Adobe Voice is one of my favorite free iPad apps. This app is not just for young kids; it is for people of all ages. With Voice, students use pictures, icons, music, words, themes and their voice to create exciting videos that bring ideas and content to life. When you sign in to Voice with your free Adobe account, you can explore stories created by other users or create your own. After adding your title or topic, you can go use premade story structures or build your own to create your story. Structures like "Tell What Happened" or "Explain Something" are great for reports. Add your own icons and photos (or search for Creative Commons licensed images), text, music, and your voice. It is suggested that you record one sentence per visual. Adding more pages will make your final movie more interesting. Students should begin their project with an outline or storyboard. Terms of Use specify ages 13 and up, and for this reason, it is recommended for grades 8-12.
Shadow Puppet is a free app for creating video slideshows (and another one of my favorites). I think this app is often overlooked, and I'm not sure why. Students can make video slideshows to tell their story, explain ideas, or document their understanding of content by creating a video that includes recorded audio and typed text. They can either take pictures with the iPad or download images from the Internet. (Note: Be careful in all projects to use pictures that have been licensed through Creative Commons for re-use, especially if their projects are going to be shared outside of the school.) Lots of ideas for videos are included in the apps, with more available on the website. This app is only limited by the students' imaginations. Teachers can also use it to create video slideshows for their students to watch in class, in a flipped classroom situation, or to differentiate lessons. This app is recommended for grades 1-6, but older students might also enjoy its ease of use. There is an education version and it is free.
Stories have been a means of communication throughout history, starting with oral stories that passed down traditions, histories, and information to the next generation or the next travellers. Stories are still important today and not all of them begin with "once upon a time." Today's stories include the news on TV, movies, both informational and for entertainment, social media, blogs, screencasts, and more. In the classroom, they tell the story of what our students are learning or can be creative, fun stories for others to read. While creating stories, students practice doing research, evaluating resources, writing, reading, collaborating, presenting, and using technology. When our students create stories, they are practicing researching, identifying the best resources, writing, reading, using technology, collaborating with others, and presenting.
In this series of blogs, a variety of platforms for storytelling with technology will be introduced. With the amazing amount of apps, websites, and software out there, this list will not be complete, but hopefully will give you some ideas to get you started. In part I, we will look at ways to have your students create videos, which is a great project for collaboration. As for doing the research, analyzing sources, writing the script, and the other components that go with creating the video, there are plenty of resources out there for you to use and maybe we will blog on those at a later date.
iMovie is available for the Mac and iPad. It is easy and intuitive enough for beginners, yet has several advanced features that will lure in a competent producer. Students can choose templates for their videos (there are several for videos and movie trailers), then shoot the video to place into the template they have chosen. It almost seems like magic as you place the videos and iMovie creates your masterpiece. The movie trailers are great for creating book reviews, advertisements to promote a school event, making political advertisements, and more. Below is an example of using the trailer feature of iMovie in the classroom.
Microsoft's MovieMaker has been around for a while and is still easy to use and works on Windows based technology. It allows you to add and edit video clips, add music or narration (including changing the volume of the music so it doesn't overpower the narration), and you can add still pictures, animations and transitions to create a profession looking video. Videos can be used to create debates, interview a character from history, or as a research topic instead of the traditional written report.
WeVideo is web based and free for up to 5 minutes of video a month. Other plans are available. You can drag and drop your video clips and still pictures into a template as a beginner and move on to doing it all on your own once you know the ropes. Transitions, special effects, and audio can easily be added. The best thing is that it can be used on all devices since it is web based, making it an easy choice for the BYOD classroom. Advanced features include picture-in-picture and green screen. Students can create a weekly news show, create a video on a historical figure, present the biography of an author, or tell how the author used tone, setting, and characters to get a specific message across to her readers.
Wideo is a web based animated movie maker. Wideo is free, but limits each of your videos to just 45 seconds, which is great for a short report. There is education pricing for other plans. Students can start with their built-in templates, then advance to creating on their own. Add images, backgrounds, and music to tell your story. There is also an extensive image library to choose from. Wideo does the rest. Since Wideo is an animated short video, students have to tell their story with animations, movement, sound and music, which is a challenge, but a fun one! Have them create advertisements for a product or a book, show a scene from history, or get across a point of view.
For those of you using Chromebooks in the classroom, WeVideo and Wideo are excellent resources that will have your students creating in no time. Both can be added to Chrome from the Chrome Store or accessed via their website.
Digital storytelling is a multifaceted practice that is hands-on and interactive, combining art, technology, and education into one stimulating piece of work. It may help teachers integrate material and reach their study group, or allow students to develop multiliteracy skills. It’s possible to combine tradition with creativity by means of text, images, sound, voice, and why not animation? (http://wideo.co/blog/boost-classroom-enthusiasm-with-storytelling-videos/)
By engaging in creating, students are using a multitude of skills that they will need for the rest of their lives. If we go back to Bloom's Revised Taxonomy, storytelling moves students up to the top levels of creating, analyzing, evaluating, and applying in a way that has been difficult to do in the past without technology. Storytelling is more than just videos in today's world. Next time I'll look at screencasting in the classroom, which is a great way for students and teachers alike to create stories by capturing their screen and their voice.
