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.

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.

The Costs of Digital StoryTelling

The saying goes, "Time is Money," which refers to those in the working world. However, for those of us in the education field time and money are major factors that predict how a classroom can conduct itself. Time, being the most valued and difficult issue for a teacher and money, being the factor we have no control over. Consequently, teachers use time as if it is money. We conserve it, plan what we can do with it, sometimes use it foolishly, and most importantly we invest it into some project that is personally valuable and beneficial for our students (at least once in a school year hopefully). Unfortunately, time is a form of educational currency that is mismanaged or underused because of administration demands, curriculum constraints, etc... Because of these reasons it makes it very difficult for teachers to provide the time needed for students to have an opportunity to participate in a digital story telling event.

"The subtext here is that teachers are already slammed for time, and anything that is going to make that situation worse is unwelcome. Ultimately, the conversation turns to considerations of time spent versus benefits derived, which is something teachers deal with all the time as they address ever-expanding content areas and demands for student testing."

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

In my opinion, time is the greatest challenge for teachers who want to implement new technologies and digital storytelling into their classrooms. Ohler addresses ways to overcome this obstacle by providing solutions. For example, Ohler wants teachers to realize that length of time for a student who is required to produce a digital story will take twice as long to create. Teachers should keep video times down to a maximum of two minutes, so that more time can be afforded for production purposes. Personally, in my classroom I sometimes forget that set up or time needed for explanation was overreaching into the time I expected students to begin and complete a project. Although this solution seems obvious, teachers sometimes overlook it. Ohler refers to this type of time management as economy, which can also apply to students as well. In fact, teachers need to make requirements specific and clear so that students do not waste their time either. Often students get too wrapped up in amount of pictures included, or music used, and will forget to make sure that their core content is well-written and delivered. If students are directed to use their time wisely to meet specific requirements, than everyone involved with the digital storytelling event will have better quality of work.

Audience Awareness and Blogs: Helping you understand the American alligator.

As connected as we are to the entire world through the Internet and other technologies, I think there has been a lack of awareness of who is reading or listening when we speak or write. Speech has loss formality over the generations, which has spilled over into the way we write. The lack of proper dictation has created a generation of children that do not care about the quality of their writing, but rather that it is completed, turned in, and can go on to whatever perks their interest at the moment. Jason Ohler noted this phenomenon in his book, Digital Storytelling in the Classroom, by stating "as the technology became stronger, many of my students' stories became weaker (location 208 of 2900, Kindle Edition)." In order for students to become better writers, teachers need to help children become aware of the audience they are telling their stories to.

Recently, my personal experience in elementary schools has shown me the value of using digital classrooms as a way to expose students to the idea that there is a large audience out there that is interested in and wants to understand what they know, learn, and experience. Often times I role play with my students when we are in our writing workshops by pretending that I am a newscaster and whatever they write will be my news report. I read it out loud to the student and see if they understand exactly what they meant to write. More often than not they giggle, or make that oops face, as I read "American alligators is fussy eater won't eat unless it is region temperature." After my role play-feedback is delivered students can identify how they did not make much sense, but they "know what they meant to say." Hopefully, the rest of their story goes smoothly for the most part using this type of feedback. Although the role play technique works, I think that a good digital classroom set up can also do the same.

To give my students the proper opportunities to realize they are writing to a large audience, I would set up a digital classroom in a few dynamic ways. For instance, my first step would be to set up a classroom blog. Writing in a blog format shows students that they "have an international stage for the stories [they] tell (Ohler, Location 200 of 2900, Kindle Edition)." As a result of posting first and second drafts on the blog, immediate feedback from parents, peers, and myself could guide students in revisions of their writing. Then, as a final draft, students would read their writing piece in the form of a video blog, to not only enhance their speech skills, but make them aware that an audience will be listening for what the student wants an audience to gain from their learning and experiences. I believe that an opportunity in a digital classroom, to become aware of a larger audience will give students the know-how and confidence to become great writers and storytellers. Similar to what Ohler stated, "Students need to become heroes of their own learning stories as well as of the stories they tell with their own lives (Location 273 of 2900, Kindle Edition)." This sense of hero is what students will get through a digital classroom.