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.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
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.
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.Saturday, April 7, 2012
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.
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.
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.
Friday, April 6, 2012
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.
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.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
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.
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."
"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."
"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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)