Keeping Up With the Gates

My background in the design-art world very much reflects what Ohler writes about in Chapter 13 The digital Storytelling Toolbox.  Once I graduated from college I spent my entire savings on a camera, design software, and other accessories.  Looking back I should have been a little bit more reserve with my purchases and not so "obsessed" with getting the latest and greatest gear (that gear is obviously outdated ten years later).  Ohler made an overarching point that digital storytellers should not get so caught up in the high end-technical gadgets that are out there and just work with what you have.  Since some storytellers will be new at using some of the related technologies they should learn the basics on equipment that is free and possibly more user friendly.  "When it comes to creating effective stories with technology, less is often more" (loc. 2209).  Once a storyteller becomes more familiar with software and digital equipment then can they explore options of upgrading their tools.

For these reasons, I agree with Ohler, however I think it is important to note that many technological devices can be a one stop-shop for digital storytelling development.  Many newer laptops offer video, audio, and free software for video editing capabilities.  Another way to cut costs is also go in as partners with other educators on software and share licensing agreements.  Often times some software can be licensed to be put on multiple computers or can be shared for an entire school facility.  There are many ways educators can find easy ways to keep up with the latest digital technologies related to digital storytelling.

Utopian Paradise Zoo

I created this story for my elementary aged students.  They love animals, bright colors, and a hero's journey. I tried to make a good story using all those elements.

The Final Cut

In the media production process the next phases take a digital storyteller from preproduction stage all the way to the actual performance.  Preproduction phase allows students to begin a formal production process so that they are fully prepared to begin developing their project.  Next phase is the production phase or assembling the story. This is where the students take control and actually put their story together.  In my opinion the most important tip Ohler (2009) gave teachers in this phase, "Find out who the software and hardware experts are in your classroom or workshop and feel free to call on them.  You may be sheriff in your classroom, but you can use all the deputies you can get.  Kids make GREAT technology deputies" (loc. 1962).  Teachers need to relinquish control (because most of us have been  labeled control-freaks) and allow for students to develop, learn, and explore technologies used for the the production.  After this phase postproduction of finalizing the students' story includes adding titles, credits, music, transitions, and  effects. Lastly, the final phase is actual performance and distribution of their stories.  This is where Ohler suggests find venues, marketing the perormance, actually demonstrate the video or post to an online format.  The only disagreement I have with this phase is that I would think that considering who your audience is in the final performance should be evaluated in the first phase of media production.  I find that my students write better stories when they know who they are writing for.

The section that focused on time management for digital storytelling had useful information that I thought needed to be addressed.  I think it is important to make it clear to your students that creating  a project from scratch or using found media will effect how much time is needed to produce their project.  After considering this idea, if I were to implement digital storytelling in my classroom I would be very specific on what type of media they can use and give them enough time for either scratch media or found media. 

My Cup Runeth Over

Here is a short video about myself.  It has been a long time since I have produced a video, but I did enjoy the process. 

Phases of Production

Maybe some of the best advice a teacher can get is when Ohler (2009) writes "Be the guide on the side, not the technician magician" (loc. 1753). Often teachers think we are the only gatekeepers of knowledge and therefore, have to have all of the information needed in order to be able to teach a subject. Although, good idea for mastery of a subject however it is nearly impossible to know everything there is on a subject before it is taught. We can't forget that our students are just as curious as we are (otherwise you wouldn't be a teacher with out some curiosity in your nature) when it comes to figuring out new ideas or processes. Teachers should not be afraid to approach technology because they are not a computer science whiz. It is good to remember that our students can help us along because after all this is the digital generation. Once this hindrance is overcome teachers can focus more on the actual storytelling process. Ohler points out four main ideas that help teacher foster a student's skills and stay away from being intimidated by technology:

• "Tell a story that is strengthened rather than weakened by the media they use"
• "Form a learning community so they can share their ideas and talents"
• "Meet the educational goals of the project"
• "Leverage their imagination and creativity"

As a last main point of this chapter, Ohler goes on to map out the media production process. I find that each phase is clearly explained and makes this process seem a lot less overwhelming than when I began reading this book. The phases begin with story planning and pre-production, which is the brainstorming process. Then actual production and post-production is the actual showcase of information. Last, the ending phase is performance, distribution, which allows the student to present their project. I could see students becoming extremely excited if this developmental phase was introduced as a unit of instruction.

Using the Past to get to the Future

Often overlooked is the use of native stories, by indigenous people, as a worthy topic of study in classrooms. It seems that it is only examined when it is related to social studies subject areas and not to creative writing. Obviously we live in a western world so "western" influenced writing will dominate our classrooms. However many of us are descendants of native cultures and should be encourage to not only be knowledgeable of our culture, but also how to demonstrate our knowledge in a way that reflects any particular culture. Ohler recommends incorporating this idea into digital storytelling. First, a teacher should take advantage of local resources in their community that could come to their class to demonstrate examples of traditional storytelling. Also, invite those storytellers to pass on their culture by teaching students respect and the differences between stereotypes and authenticity when creating stories about a particular culture. Finally, Ohler recommends that teachers explicitly teach students to acknowledge where they get their information from by giving credit to specific people or groups of people. All recommendations given by Ohler not only teaches a different method to storytelling, but also encourages students to go beyond the boundaries of a limited world we all live in. I believe this approach could encourage students to explore more ideas and increase their drive to write dynamic stories.

Additionally, Ohler also made a good point in this chapter about music videos as a place for insipiration. I have heard from parents and other teachers that students have moved away from the encyclopedia and Google; and on to YouTube as a way to attain information. Students may be lazy in not trying to read information, but it is very creative to use visual information as a way to reinforce learning. Since good storytellers discover ways to make deep connections to their audience, students may find understand connections better from music videos. Ohler states, "music video artists masterfully repackage songs that already make deep emotional connections with young people byadding powerful visual imagery that intensifies the connection" (loc. 1733). I believe having students create a video that may use visual imagery that coincides with their written stories, could help students to understand the potential emotional impact of story telling.

Who's Winning the Story Mapping Match?

As I read the chapters of Jason Ohler's book on DST I can't help but think of how I can apply his ideas to my classroom. I work in lower elementary levels and find that as much as I believe my students can do anything I set out for them, there are times when I have to stop a lesson completely and work from the lesson's most basic foundation because I have over estimated the previous understanding my students may have on a topic. In teacher terms we call this "scaffolding." As a result, many of the ideas I take away from Ohler's book I am already devising in my mind a plan for making it accessible to early education learners.

An example of a concept that I could conceive scaffolding for younger minds was when Ohler referred to story maps as a way to play Ping Pong with an audience's emotions (loc. 1598). Younger minds often see getting from point A to point B as a one way direction with no obstacles in their way. However, describing a journey between these two points as a game of Ping Pong may help students create a more dynamic plot line to their stories. The ball could be their character and each time the ball hits the paddle a new element or conflict is introduced. Only when the ball is hit hard enough to get past its adversary is the journey concluded. Even the net could be included as another obstacle to overcome with a "do-over" theme to the character's actions. In this way, an elementary student can create a story map that has a basic element of understanding in it through a game that most children are familiar with. Additionally, students will see that stories are more than just describing an event that could take place in real-life, but more similar to a game where a story can show a character that overcomes more than just one obstacle to become a winner.

Watching Children Bloom Through Their Writing

Bloom's Taxonomy is the foundation for every educator when approaching their classroom lessons and development. Most of the time teachers use Bloom's theory as a way to approach a child's cognitive process and not necessarily their emotional development. However, Ohler described in Chapter 8 using Bloom's affective taxonomy to evaluate levels of transformation not only to write more effective stories, but to also help a student in their personal development.

What stood out the most was Ohler presenting the idea of "using this approach to develop an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) with each student" (loc 1548). For most teachers when the acronym IEP comes up in conversation we want to either run for the nearest door or understand that we have a lot of work ahead of us for what ever stage a student might be at in their plan. On the other hand, approaching an IEP from the stand point of Bloom's affective taxonomy kind of presents itself as "the light at the end of the tunnel." Especially since there are new levels to reach for as one progresses through them and not be stuck at just the singular, short-term goal we set out for students who have an IEP. In essence, assisting students through a personal transformation.

Ohler, proposes using DST as a way to create this transformation for a student in their personal development, alongside with story development and a character's transformation. It is somewhat of a reverse psychology tactic that may help students not only academically, but in a way that is very profound and works toward long-term personal fulfillment goals. This idea appeals to me a lot because teachers carry a double load of burden by trying to make sure that students are academically prepared, as well as preparing students to become unique and thoughtful citizens of our future. Ohler states that we can use transformation taxonomies in DST as a way "to help students tell more effective stories," "to understand students through their stories," and "to help students grow through their stories" (loc. 1534-1541). All in all, I think this works towards the benefit of all, teachers and students included.

Just as a recommendation of further reading on the subject of transforming students personally through their academics is Howard Gardner's Five Minds for the Future. Similar to Bloom, Gardner has had a profound affect on modern education with his previous works on multiple intelligences. However, Five Minds for the Future gives educators the framework for transforming children into useful "tools" or minds for a sustainable future. I believe Ohler's use of DST would fit in well with Gardener's new view on developing the cognitive capabilities of our students through writing and technology.

Seeing the Storytelling "Light"

The section titled "Special Tips for Working with Younger Kids" was exactly what I was looking for when reading chapter 5. Chapter 5 seemed a little overwhelming with information and I feel that this section gave really great advice when working with a younger group of students. The ideas that Ohler presented originally seemed like levels of thinking that may be too heavy of ideas for elementary students. To resolve this, Ohler suggests changing concepts in a way that is appropriate for a student's skill level. For instance, younger students can better relate to the idea of getting in and out of trouble rather than introducing the concepts of problem and solution and tension and resolution. Similarly, this can also be done with the idea of character transformation. Asking questions about how a character will change or what will a character learn, can introduce the concept of transformation (loc. 1409). As a final point, Ohler refers to a "fellow story teller Brett Dillingham," who suggested that students start with a picture that will represent what their story will be about. This goes back to story boarding which is a way for a younger student to begin the process of storytelling. I am starting to see a method to Ohler's story telling madness/passion that I can apply to my elementary classroom.

Pratical Use of Story Maps

I found this chapter to be the most practical for applying the storytelling element of story mapping to an elementary classroom. Elementary students are storytellers naturally when speaking to friends or family, but struggle when it comes to a classroom environment. When students are put on the spot I have often heard "I do not know what to write about." However, they are filled with stories that just need to be encouraged to be told. I believe story mapping provides a way for the teacher to assist the student in developing, processing, and producing a well-written detailed story. Ohler's story mapping diagram is extremely helpful in the creation of these types of stories. This diagram is much more dynamic than the (somewhat boring) beginning, middle, end mapping traditionally used in the elementary classroom.

retrieved from: http://www.maggiehosmcgrane.com/2010_09_01_archive.html

In addition to demonstrating how to apply story mapping, Ohler also made a really good point about using technology to teach in general. "Teachers who don't mine the talent of their students, particularly when it comes to using digital technology, are going to be less effective and have less fun than those who do. Besides, if teachers let the kids remember the tricks and clicks that come and go in the technology world, then they get to concentrate on what is truly gratifying as a teacher: managing learning and helping kids develop the interpersonal skills they need to become better teachers themselves" (loc. 1334). As a first year teacher, it is true that I am waiting for the day to come where I can concentrate more on developing unique and thoughtful students who appreciate learning. Unfortunately, there is so much time spent lecturing students with direction that we forget to ask if they even need direction. I value the knowledge my students already have and I hope I can embrace it and accept that they are also capable information delivery just as a teacher.

Mapping, Core, and Boards... Oh My!

Though a story can be filled with many events, those events are created by a story teller who goes through numerous "events" themselves to imagine the twists and turns of their story. Jason Ohler introduces, in chapter five, ways to begin creating a story. He goes into detail about components of story creation, such as the story core, story mapping, and story types. Story core is described as a hero's journey where a writer will show "how people change, learn, and grow because of the challenges and opportunities in their lives" (loc. 1064). Carrying on, Ohler goes into depth and emhasizes how the planning process of the story core is a way for teachers to transition away from a unit of instruction and allow for actual learner development of understanding the story form (loc. 1100-1106). Story types are concerened with actual elements in a story and story mapping would use those elements to plan out a writer's story.

It is easy to tell that Ohler is motivated and passionate about storytelling with the depth he went into in chapter five. However, the complexity of his method of story planning does not seem realistic for classroom implementation. The intensity of his pedagogical approach eludes that a lot of time needs to be spent on teaching students how to create meaningful stories. As most of us teachers are glued to our TE's and have principals breathing down our necks, it would be hard to instruct students to be as passionate as Ohler is when writing. Furthermore, the creative process needed for this type of writing is not encouraged in public education. Public education tends to focus more on non-fiction reading and interpreting (summarizing), at the elementary level, before allowing for creative writing. Sorry to say, it is the world we "teach" in and I wish there was more promotion of this thought process at an earlier level. My suggestion for Ohler would be to break this process down by age appropriate levels so that by the time they reach a point in education where the creative process is encouraged, students will have a greater understanding and appreciation for planning and writing stories.

Evaluation & Rubrics

Digital story telling has so many valuable traits that it is hard to imagine that teachers would not want to provide opportunities for their students to use it. Unfortunately, teachers do not use digital story telling because they have not been introduced to a proper way assess student work. I agree with Ohler when we writes, "First, each teacher has his or her own way of doing things, most of which work fine. If I employ a scale or assessment approach that they don't like, than the rubric can be dismissed in its entirety" (loc. 979). Personally, I have my own way of thinking when it comes to creating a rubric or other for of evaluation of students' work. Ohler suggest specific "traits" to consider that can be adapted to create some form of assessment. Those traits are set clear goals, assess the story, assess artifacts (pictures, video, and written work), planning and process, grammar, student understanding and presentation, teamwork, and use of resources. Most importantly, Ohler suggests students should self-assess their own projects and performance. I believe using these traits teachers can create a rubric that can be used for any type of digital storytelling activity.


This is an example of a well-constructed rubric for digital storytelling.

New Transistion from High School to a Digital World

In our society today it takes more than just three R's for students to be prepared to transition into higher education or a work environment. Children need a foundation of digital skills in order to be prepared for the digital world that we live in. College demands so many technological skills in order to even complete a program. Even more so, many basic positions in small businesses or corporations require knowledge of computer programs that are not easily accessed or attained with out training. Additionally, with all the social outlets that are available for a person to market oneself or a business, many 18 year-olds have no idea how to use them properly.

"Being able to read new media is not just a matter of literacy, it's also a matter of survival, for two primary reasons. First, reading new text is the basis of the kind of critical thinking needed for workplace success in an information economy. It is also common place for them to be asked to participate in online communities for the purposes of collaborative problem solving and data mining."

Jason B. Ohler. Digital Storytelling in the Classroom: New Media Pathways to Literacy, Learning and Creativity. Kindle Edition

Ohler makes a valid point by proving that new media (blogs, wikis, LinkedIn etc.) is valuable for students not only in school, but once they leave school and have to be on their own. For this reason, I believe that integrating digital story telling opportunities through new media is important because it can create a foundation of digital knowledge in every student. Even at the youngest age, students can be introduced to mouse-use, keyboard skills, program knowledge, among others that can help prepare them not only for a technology based classroom, but a technology based world.

"Second, while we want students to read new media for personal fulfillment, we also want them to read it in order to understand how it can be used to persuade its readership in powerful and often subtle ways. In an age in which media companies see young people largely in terms of market share, having the ability to read print and non-print text critically is a matter of survival."

Jason B. Ohler. Digital Storytelling in the Classroom: New Media Pathways to Literacy, Learning and Creativity. Kindle Edition

This second reason is also important to note because there is a lot of information on the internet and students should know how to navigate and filter information for the right purposes. In fact, I agree that this is a very important "matter of survival" so that students learn how to write and interpret information for academic needs. If the foundation is laid at an early age then as students progress through the education system and transition into the work world they will be better prepared and more marketable for our digital society.