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. 

Twitter Use in the Classroom

Twitter is a rapidly growing social media platform where ideas and thoughts are exchanged between people all over the world.  In the classroom twitter has a lot of potential and usefulness for student and teacher interaction.  In the web article A Must Have Guide on Using Twitter in your Classroom it lists several excellent ways in which one can use twitter in their classroom.  The article is broken down into 5 main subjects: communication, organization, resources, writing skills and twitter exercises.  As a teacher I could see myself using twitter as a means of communicating with students.  For example if a student misses class they could check twitter for a link to the days lesson and assignment that I could post.  Also keeping track of important deadlines for students is another great way to use twitter.  Also there is potential to allow students to tweet either with each other or with the teacher if they have questions about certain topics such as vocabulary or a quick grammar explanation.

Getting connected and sharing ideas with other professionals is another great way to use twitter.  Getting started in twitter is a little tricky and it is important to connect with the right people and topics.  Using hash tags correctly is a great way to connect to the right people and relevant topics.  The online article The Teachers Guide to Twitter  is a great resource for teachers new to twitter who want to get a better understanding of how to properly use twitter.  It offers a lot of useful information with regards to creativity, networking, and resource sharing.  Resourcing is perhaps the greatest benefit to professionalism for teachers using twitter.  As a future teacher I anticipate using twitter to communicate with other professionals and share ESL teaching resources and ideas.