Digital Storytelling and Meaning Making:
Critical Reflection, Creativity and Technology in
Pre-service Teacher Education
Bonnie Long, Education Technologist, NUIG School of Education
Galway Doctoral Research Fellow
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
Introductory Digital Story
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
Research Project
• Digital Storytelling and Meaning Making: Critical
Reflection, Creativity and Technology in Preservice Teacher Education
– Studying the use of digital storytelling to enhance
reflection in pre-service teacher education
• Research questions:
– How can DST be designed to enhance reflection in
teacher education?
– Does DST allow Pre-service teachers to better
evidence their reflection and growth?
– In what way does DST enhance student teachers’
ability to construct their professional identity as
teacher?
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
Methodology
• Design Based Research
– Ongoing cycles of research, design, implementation,
reflection/evaluation and redesign
– mixed methods approach
– both qualitative and quantitative research methods
• Methods of Data Collection:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Questionnaires
Analytic assessment rubrics
Online discussion boards
Researcher’s journal
Digital stories produced by the students
Students’ digital storytelling ‘working portfolios’,
including all planning and design documents
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
Why DST and pre-service teachers?
• Make Reflection on
practice engaging,
creative
• Develop ICT skills
• Develop students’
technology self efficacy
– Increase possibility of preservice teachers integrating
technology into their future
teaching
Digital
is
“To date,storytelling
I haven’t seen an
a highly
activity motivating
that allows
students
to blend
strategy
thatdesign,
can
creativity, thoughtful
make
reflection
expression,
and
concrete
andasvisible.
technology skills
well as
(Barrett,
2006, p. 1)
DST does.”
(Ohler, 2008, p. 13)
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
Our Definition of a DST:
• Center for Digital Storytelling model
• Short, 3-5 minute video
• Produced by someone who is not a media
professional
• Incorporates multimedia components such as still
images, music, voiceover, video
• Constructed as a thought piece on a personal
experience
• Narrated in the author’s own voice
• The story is the focus
(Matthews-DeNatale, 2008) (Dogan & Robin, 2006)
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
2009-2010: The Pilot Project
• Implemented Digital Storytelling (DST) unit
with PGDE students
– Whole cohort taken through the DST process in
Ed Tech class, semester 2
– Given a choice to write an essay or complete a
DST for the closing section of their professional
practice portfolio
– 18* students volunteered to complete a digital
story
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
The DST Unit:
• Five one hour lessons, over five weeks
• Covered the stages of digital storytelling
process:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Introduction to DST and Storytelling in Education
Story Circle and Script Creation
Image/Music Sourcing and creation
Windows MovieMaker or iMovie Tutorial
Work Session
• Students had six weeks additional time to
finish DST after the formal lessons
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
Hardware/Software Used:
• Wanted to use what was available in the
computing suites and/or free to use
– PC’s in the computer suites
– Windows Movie Maker
– Myna, Aviary.com’s audio editing website
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
The Assignment Brief:
• Closing Section of their Professional Practice Portfolio
Aim: To…demonstrate your capacity to draw connections
between different elements of the PGDE programme and to
offer a synthesis of your learning as a whole.
In your digital story, reflect on:
• your educational journey
• re-evaluate learning goals and learning philosophies, evaluate
achievement of these learning goals
• trace any transformations in your learning and teaching beliefs,
values, attitudes, and assumptions, how these changes have
come about
• relate what/why/how different elements of the PGDE
programme contributed to your learning and teaching
• highlight significant landmark achievements/improvements you
have made to your learning and teaching (can draw from your
journal, lesson plans and evaluations…)
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
What did they create?
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
How did it work out?
•
•
•
•
•
Students enjoyed creating their digital stories
All found it a rewarding experience
Found it to be a reflective, engaging process
All enjoyed the chance to be creative
Almost all showed high degrees of technology
efficacy at the end of the process
• Most felt it helped them to articulate what
they learned as pre-service teachers this year
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
How did it work out?
• All felt it improved their ICT skills
• All felt that using images, music and sound in
the DST made it easier to express themselves
• Voiceover recording was the hardest part for
most due to technical difficulties
• Time intensive
– average 30 hours on whole process
– much more time than an essay!
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
What do the students have to say?
• What did you like most about the digital
storytelling process?
“I“Iliked
andthe
getting
use some
likedchoosing
the way Iimages,
could see
story to
unfolding
as of
I
my ownon
personal
images.
I also
liked using
story
worked
it and that
I could
express
myselfthe
through
board
to organise
myself.
I felt that
it was
a very
pictures
and images
without
having
to say
visual
approach
to completing
be a
everything.
I sometimes
find aitproject
hard toand
say may
exactly
useful
toolI want
to help
who
areprovided
visual learners
what
to students
convey and
this
an
organise
themselves
of project.”
alternative
methodfor
forany
me kind
to work
with.”
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
What do the students have to say?
• Were you pleased with the outcome of your
digital story?
– All said “yes”
– Some of their comments were:
“It was great to see all my hard work come together
“I felt that I had completed something meaningful for
in a movie and I feel really confident in using the
myself while at the same time learning a new skill.”
software for other school work now.”
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
Levels of Reflection Achieved:
• Deep reflection not as apparent as we’d
hoped it would be in the final product
• Using a rubric based on Moon’s (2004) generic
framework for reflective writing, results were:
• Interesting to note that those who scored
highest on levels of reflection strayed furthest
from the brief given to them
10
9
8
7
10
6
5
4
5
3
2
3
1
– Caused me to question the task set for them in
the
first place
Descriptive
Descriptive Reflective Reflective
0
0
with some
reflection
(1)
(2)
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
Lessons Learned with Pilot:
• Task set for students needs to match desired
outcomes
• More time needed for story creation
• Place more emphasis on ‘story circle’ step of
process
• More time needed for lesson on voice
recording
• Refine voiceover process to make it easier
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
Lessons Learned with Pilot:
• Quality of voiceover was a big problem
• Need to include reflection engendered by
multimedia aspects of the process
• Need time to share stories at the end of the
project
• Researcher needs to experience creation of a
digital story
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
Changes to Design of Unit for Year 2:
• Digital Story will be based on the Critical
Incident Analysis part of the portfolio
• Brief is to:
– Create a digital story about a ‘critical incident’
• An incident that occurred which made you
subsequently think and/or act differently
• Much more time given to story development
– Incorporated into tutorial on Critical Incident
– Feedback from tutors and peers
– More emphasis on story circle step
• Based on McDrury & Alterio (2002)
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
Changes to Design of Unit for Year 2:
• All students completing a digital story
• More time devoted to the unit overall
• Refinement of voiceover recording process
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
Questions Raised:
• Is process more important than product?
• What does the use of images and sound add
to reflection?
– How do I measure this?
• Evidence of identity creation?
• The research continues…
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
References
•
Barrett, H. (2006). Digital Stories in ePortfolios: Multiple Purposes and Tools Retrieved 17/4/09, 2009, from
http://electronicportfolios.org/digistory/purposes.html
•
Jakes, D. (2007). Digital Storytelling and 21st Century Skills. Paper presented at the TechForum Orlando. Retrieved 29/1/10, from
http://archive.techlearning.com/techlearning/events/techforum07/dst_orlando_jakes.pdf
•
Li, L., & Morehead, P. (2006). Digital Storytelling: Self-Efficacy and Digital Literacy. Paper presented at the World Conference on ELearning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2006, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
•
Matthews-DeNatale, G. (2008). Digital Storytelling - Tips and Resources. Retrieved on 16/4/09 from
http://www.educause.edu/Resources/DigitalStoryMakingUnderstandin/162538
•
McDrury, J., & Alterio, M. (2002). Learning through storytelling in higher education. London: Dunmore Press.
•
Mello, (2001) The power of storytelling: How oral narrative influences children’s relationships in classrooms. International Journal
of Education and the Arts. 2(1)
•
Moon, J. (1999). Reflection in Learning and Professional Development. London: Kogan Page.
•
Moon, J. (2004). A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential learning: Theory and Practice. London: Routledge Falmer.
•
Ohler, J. (2008). Digital Storytelling in the Classroom: New media pathways to literacy, learning and creativity. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Corwin Press.
•
Jason Ohler’s Website: http://www.jasonohler.com/storytelling/storyeducation.cfm
•
Partnership for 21st Century Skills
•
Porter, B., (2004) Digitales: The art of Digital Storytelling, Sedalia, CO, BJP Consulting
•
Sandars, J., Murray, C., & Pellow, A. (2008). Twelve tips for using digital storytelling to promote reflective learning by medical
students. Medical Teacher, 30, 774-777.
•
Schank, R. (1990). Tell Me a Story: Narrative and Intelligence. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
•
Søreide, G. E. (2006). Narrative construction of teacher identity: positioning and negotiation. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and
Practice, 12(5), 527-547.
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
Image Sources:
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Audacity image: www.sourceforge.net
Blue Snowball mic image: http://condensermic.net/blue-snowball-microphone/
CDS graphic: http://www.storycenter.org/
DST wordle graphic: Created by Bonnie using www.wordle.com
Windows MovieMaker image: http://it.seattleschools.org/BEXlevy/wpcontent/uploads/2009/06/moviemaker.jpg
Aviary’s Myna image: http://aviary.com/tools
Wide-screen TV image: http://www.dolphin-media.co.uk/images/wide_screen_tv.jpg
NUI Galway Image: http://www.crookhaven.net/attractions.php
Tutorial image: celtscot.ed.ac.uk
4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011
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4th Internation Digital Storytelling Conference, Lillehammer, Norway, 4-7 February, 2011