I watch teachers and schools select technologies and sometimes see “magpie” buying activity. New, “shiny” technologies make their way into the classroom and, if they don’t become an essential part of the teaching and learning enterprise they lose luster and get shelved. When I see interactive white boards gathering dust in classrooms I think, Wow the money for that could have bought a decent class library ten times over.

How do you choose tech tools? What’s your filter? I have a simple one. If a tool doesn’t help us do something important that we couldn’t do before, or let us accomplish a task in a decidedly more efficient or effective way it has no business in the classroom. Whiteboards for fill-in worksheets? NO. Whiteboards for manipulating data and showing how a graphical representation changes as the data do? YES.

Form Follows Function
As proponents of Problem Based Learning (PBL) my colleague Suzie Boss and I classified key learning functions in play during good projects and then organized tools by the functions they serve. For instance, good projects have kids learning about the world while in the world. Therefore, having tools that assist kids as they learn anywhere and any time is key. What technologies support ubiquitous learning? Here are just a few: Wi-fi internet access, cell phones (with text, voice, camera), flip cameras and mp3 recorders, Twitter, “cloud” computing for relaying data… Given the function –learning anywhere—What other forms of technology might support that learning?

Here’s what I recommend: Don’t get distracted by the latest and coolest gear. Don’t worry about keeping up with an ever-morphing assortment of tools. Focus instead on the functional aspects of PBL and –with your peers and with kids- select the tools that support the work.

Eight Essential Learning Functions and Tools that Support
In our book Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age we examine eight learning functions and describe loads of technologies by the functions they support. We knew the shelf-life on this resource would be short (Vimeo, Wallwisher, and Wordle anyone?) so we update it frequently and make it available on our blog This “hot swappable” document is found in the right channel at www.reinventing.blogspot.com. I hope you’ll find it a useful and would appreciate your feedback.

Digital Storytelling takes on so many forms.  For me, I first learned from the incredible program through the Center for Digital Storytelling.  I went to Denver, Colorado and met some wonderful people in that first class.  It was led by Daniel Weinshenker, an exceptional writer and storyteller.  Before I knew it, and with Daniel’s help and kind coaching, I had created my first digital story; and I had been moved deeply in the process and wanted to share this gift, which is what I felt I had just experienced, with anyone who would participate.

I have learned so much over the past two years, and have tried to engage the teachers in my district in this relevant and worthwhile writing and multi-media activity.  As District Technology and Instruction Specialist, I can see that this is the perfect marriage of standards-based teaching and learning with integrative technology. I did get several takers this year, and had the incredible experience of co-teaching in three grade levels in one of our middle schools in Cave Creek Unified School District.  Desert Arroyo Middle School is an excellent school with forward-thinking teachers who are willing to risk and reach in.

My first experience early in the year was with an exceptional master teacher, Ms. Marie Frantz, who teaches 8th Grade Language Arts.  She had already assigned the prompt when we started, which was for the students to describe a favorite memory.  We used PhotoStory 3 for this first try, as we were slightly pressed for time.  The students did a great job of matching the pictures to the stories, and the program is super easy to use. We were pleased with the outcomes for our first attempt.

The next project was with 7th Grade Social Studies class with Ms. Jill Kratzke.  She was teaching about immigration and wanted to make the students’ immigration stories relevant to them.  She wrote a great prompt that doubled as a dramatic question. The students’ reaction to this project was profound.  We partnered with a colleague of mine who was teaching pre-service teachers a class on Technology Integration at Arizona State University; when the projects were finished the pre-service students were assigned our class to buddy up and watch and write comments on the digital stories found on the website.  We felt this was a win-win situation, for our 7th graders and the college students.  The 7th graders truly did have a global audience, and the pre-service teachers could see some quality technology integration in action.  Everyone enjoyed this virtual experience.

Finally, our last project was with a 6th grade Special Education class, with an amazing teacher, Mrs. Kim Neff.  She worked with the students on the story first,  and I came in to co-teach with the technology. I was impressed by the intense focus with which these students worked.   These last two projects utilized the iLife Suite, and the final projects were created on iMovieHD.

Through these processes, I have learned so much.  Teaching digital storytelling with teachers is incridible to be sure.  Teaching it in the classroom with live K-12 students is absolutely amazing to watch.  Student engagement is at an all time high, and the depth at which students interact with their material takes my breath away.

Over the course of this year, I can say that I have learned some very valuable lessons.  I would like to share these with you now in the form of a top ten list.  Through this list my hope is that you’ll see the journey that we have been on, and learn from our pitfalls and successes along the way!  Here we go…..

Top ten things I’ve learned about teaching digital storytelling with students:

Number 10    Do another project soon after this first one, to solidify the skills.
One purpose for doing DST is to enhance your writing program.  With the “story” being the key focal point, practice makes perfect, as you ask your students to do another prompt, again personal in nature, that shows impact to them and their lives.  That was one reflection this year, that we need to continue the focus on the writing after this first project.  My feeling is that after they learn the technology once, then they can even more fully develop as digital storytellers, not worring about learning the technology too.  That will happen if you move right into another prompt and project they can use their new knowledge with.

Number 9    Collaboration with multiple team members in a secondary level would speed up the process and enhance the learning.
If you plan on working cross curricularly, this is a great way to divide up the work time.  If you have a district like ours that is not “1 to 1”, you will have to plan for time in using the technology.  This is one way to maximize the resources you have.  If you are doing a prompt on immigration, as we did in 7th grade, you might have the Language Arts teacher do the writing, the Social Studies teacher teach the content, and then the technology, the Math teacher teach Garage Band, etc.

Number 8    Utilize as many parent volunteers and other adult help as possible, only be sure to train them in story circle (a form of group writer’s workshop), and be sure they fit in the safe culture of your classroom.

If it were me, I might bring them after school one day and pre-train them as to what you need from them or the expectations necessary.  Do you want them to Lead the Story Circle (a form of Writer’s Workshop where students read their work and gain feedback from you and their peers)?  Do you want them to just facilitate the group while the students are “conducting” it?  Are they there for crowd control?

Number 7    Keeping a schedule chart up helps keeps students on track.
As students finish their work step by step, this chart helps them stay on track and pay attention to the process.  Let the students mark their own check marks off as they progress through the steps and keep the chart up through the entire process.

Number 6    Conduct any discussions within the context of the 7 elements of digital storytelling.
As you show samples of digital stories and critique them, the more you discuss each story through the lens of the 7 elements of storytelling, the better grasp the students will have as they begin to self reflect on their own projects.   The 7 elements of storytelling are located: (From the Center for Digital Storytelling: http://www.storycenter.org/memvoice/pages/tutorial_1.html )

Number 5    Don’t compromise the writing-get it right before ever starting the media.
The key point about any digital storytelling project is the writing.  The story.  Quality time spent on crafting and revising that story is very well spent.  To be honest, I learned that the revision/reflection time is the most critical.  Once that story is written and impactful, the rest of the process is amazing.  You don’t want to rush it.

Number 4    Recording the voice over is difficult-but should be right.
This can be the second most time-consuming piece of the process, if you’re not careful.  Depending on the age of the student you are working with, this may be a piece where you invest in parent helper time.  Either they are doing crowd control, while you assist students in the voice over, or vice versa.  If you have helpers assist, be sure to train them in what to listen for:  The 3 Ps- pacing, pops and pizzazz.  ☺

Number 3    Keep soundtrack until the end-the last thing.
If you are using GarageBand with the iLife Suite on a Mac, creating the soundtrack is so much fun.  Introduced too early will surely take student focus off the task at hand and place them smack dab in the middle of creating soundtracks, (which is important, don’t get me wrong).  But you will run the risk of the students spending more time there than you really have to give them.

Number 2    Showing samples is extremely valuable in setting the stage to understand the 7 elements of storytelling.
This is KEY to success.  For students to see their own writing and projects through the lens of the 7 elements of digital storytelling, they must see samples.  Not only do we view the sample movies, but we discuss strengths via the 7 elements.  Which elements are strong?  Why?  The students learn how to critically see that there is an audience “viewing” the movies at the end of the project, so during the making of their own stories, we can absolutely make connections between what we are doing and what impact we can have on an audience.  Certainly the personal story is not compromised for “show” but seeing emotional content, feeling emotional content, hearing pacing, seeing economy, these are things that are extremely valuable to the students’ process and understanding.

And the Number 1 thing that I learned this year teaching DST with students…    The prompt is the most important.
This, for me, has been the number one most important learning in teaching digital storytelling to students (and to adults).  As a teacher of writing, I can write any prompt, and ask my students to write to any prompt that fits the lesson.  However, with classic digital storytelling, which is the type we are talking about here, these digital stories are best when they convey global messages.  When they connect the storyteller to the viewer.  When they illustrate a transformation of some kind of the storyteller.  Through the 7 elements, the students learn how to be strategic with their words and phrases.   See the difference in these prompts:
1.  Write about your favorite memory.
2.  Write about a memory that you have that made the most impact on you.  What happened, and why was it important?  How did it change you?

1.  Write about your favorite place.
2.  Write about a place that has made the most impact on you.  Where is it, why is it important to you?

1. Tell your immigration story.
2.  How does your immigration story impact you today?

The well-crafted prompt is key.  Then with this prompt, the coaching focus is about the impact, and about the importance for the student of the place or memory, and the emotion tied to it.

With a quality prompt, and solid foundation of the 7 elements, students will understand how to create their own powerful personal digital story.  Transformational.

Student made samples:

Stories for Change
http://storiesforchange.net/topics/youth

Story samples by Middle Schoolers
http://www.davarts.org/art_storiesB.html

Story samples by 6th grade special education students on Favorite Places:
http://www.ccusd93.org/education/components/docmgr/default.php?sectiondetailid=22413

Story samples by 7th grade students on immigration (their own immigration stories and the impact on their lives today)
http://www.ccusd93.org/education/components/docmgr/default.php?sectiondetailid=21267

Here are some of the quotations from the students, transcribed from this short podcast.

My last name means something now. Because of this digital storytelling [project], everyone else will know my story as well. So I am learning and teaching them my story as a son, grandson, somebody who is going to make a difference in life.

I thought the immigration project was awesome. I learned all about my family, my heritage. Even doing the soundtrack, it was amazing. I loved everything about it. I learned so much about my history… I learned things I never knew. I never knew I had a farm in Kansas until they told me! It’s amazing. Everyone else enjoyed it, I enjoyed it. We’re having the time of our life doing it with all the laptops and everything.

I thought the digital storytelling was a great way to express yourself and to see how other people have lived, and to create it on a technology / technical piece of equipment that we are all so lucky to have, these great inventions that a long time ago people didn’t have.

Learn more about this project by visiting the Cave Creek Unified School District’s “Classroom of the Month” website featuring this project by Jill Kratzke, Nancy Pratt, and their students. All 89 student-created digital stories are available on Mrs. Kratzke’s classroom website.

It is worth noting these projects were created on Apple laptops using the iLife multimedia productivity suite. As we consider how American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) educational funds will be spent in upcoming months, it is vital we focus on students CREATING, COMMUNICATING, AND COLLABORATING. Educational technologies can and should empower students to discover and share their voices safely on the global stage of the Internet. That is a primary focus of the statewide Celebrate Oklahoma Voices project in my state, and it is fantastic to see these projects from Arizona students in which they are learning these vital skills as well. If your school district or state is considering a 1:1 learning initiative for students and teachers, or even “just” a ubiquitous laptop project (involving laptops for checkout / on carts) be the first person to ask your school board members, “How will these laptops be utilized for digital storytelling? What is the professional development plan for teachers in our district to learn digital storytelling skills and strategies? How many certified teachers is the district going to hire to serve as instructional technology facilitators to assist other teachers with technology integration projects?” These questions are essential. Fantastic, integrated technology lessons like this one by Jill Kratzke and Nancy Pratt do not materialize out of thin air, by accident. They take place when dedicated, knowledgeable, professional educators conspire to take student learning to another level by collaborating and focusing on content CREATION, as Anderson and Krathwahl’s 2001 revision to Bloom’s Taxonomy encourages. For more on this, I commend New Zealand educator Andrew Church’s wiki project, “Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy.”

You can contact Jill via her classroom website. You can contact Nancy via her blog as well as on Twitter. Kudos to Jill and Nancy for sharing these EXCELLENT examples of integrated studies using technology and digital storytelling!

For a recent digital storytelling professional development story, see Kevin H’s post from today, “Reflections on Digital Storytelling with Teachers.” In the case of Kevin’s school, teachers are using PhotoStory3 instead of iLife for digital storytelling.