The Art of Digital Storytelling

Storytelling is an ancient human tradition, it has been around for as long as humans have had speech and language.  As the generations passed storytelling, like all things became modernized. Starting with the introduction of written language then paper and ink and the printing press and now we meet the 21st century's incarnation of the art of storytelling: Digital storytelling.  Digital storytelling is exactly what it sounds like, telling a story through use of digital media.  It gives the author the chance to pass down a story about their  family history, friendships, adventures, whatever they would like and share it with the world. 

There are many ways that digital storytelling can used for education, according to the article 7 Things You Should know About Digital Storytelling "Digital stories let students express themselves not only with their own words but also in their own voices, fostering a sense of individuality and of “owning” their creations" In an ESL classroom few things are more important than a student's voice and confidence in expressing his or her self in English.  Digital Storytelling gives students the chance to express themselves in English in a low stress environment in a way that is interesting and fun as well.   Digital Storytelling has some good implications for teachers as well.  On the website Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling it says "Teacher-created digital stories may also be used to enhance current lessons within a larger unit, as a way to facilitate discussion about the topics presented a story and as a way of making abstract or conceptual content more understandable."  Digital Storytelling is very versatile for use by both students and teachers .

As a teacher I can see the uses of Digital Storytelling in the classrooms.  In my future classroom I think I would use Digital Storytelling as an out of class assignment where students could create a short story fact or fictional and telling using this medium and share it with the class.  This is just one potential way I could see myself using this internet tool in a future ESL classroom.  There are of course several more ways that we as modern educators can use this technology in our classrooms.  The possibilities are only limited only by our own creativity and work. 

Effects of 21st Communications in the Classrooms

Technology continues to change the way we approach education as a society.  The world is changing more rapidly now than ever, there is more information readily available than ever before.  But does that mean people are smarter? Or that education is better? Not necessarily.

After observing the video Educational Change Challenge it is apparent that not all aspects of society are keeping up with the modern technological social changes that are taking place.  It appears that while there have been many technological advancements in the age of computers, the overall approach to education has remained relatively stagnate.  As advances in medicine, energy, and information sharing have stormed through the 21st century education remains locked in its "one size fits all" mentality.  iPods and pads, computer rooms and tech savvy teenagers are a plenty in this modern age, however, the way we teach our students remains the same.  After viewing this video it is apparent what is needed is a technological advancement in the overall approach to education in America.  Educators need to have more freedom and creativity when creating lessons that are appropriate to all types of learners, rather than forcing old world mentality into new world minds.  Until educational approaches are attempted with the same gusto and innovation as the technologies used in classrooms, America's education system will remain stuck in the 20th century.

                                                                                         The future is now!

The other videos which caught my eye were Social Media Revolution and Did You Know?.  The videos were filled with interesting statistics about the state of the world and education.  It is quite remarkable how quickly technology has taken over our lives, particularly social media.  Social media-twitter, Facebook, google+ etc- is one of the most fascinating technological advancements to come out of the early 21st century.  The role that it can hold in the classroom is still being determined.  For the first time in the history of the world anyone can share any type of information instantaneously with anyone around the world.  This type of information sharing is world changing and can have an important impact in the modern classroom.  However social media is also a vice in the sense that it can provide a major distraction for young people in the classrooms.  So although it makes it simple to share information it also makes it easy to distract from learning.  What role social media will play in the future classrooms is yet to be determined.

Overall technology is changing the world rapidly in nearly every aspect.  And until we as a society can incorporate these advantages and changes into the approach to education it will remain in the shadows of the technology it's unable to incorporate.