Before taking this class I did not know anything about digital story telling. I was not sure how this new technology could be used in the classroom. The University of Houston website had some great suggestions that would work really well with students. I think they would especially enjoy creating a personal narrative. Students love to talk about themselves, and digital story telling would be a very creative outlet. Another suggested use that I liked were the historical stories. History is one of my favorite subjects to teach, but elementary students find it difficult to relate to something that happened a long time ago. Creating a digital story or listening to one created by the teacher would help to bring history to life for the students.
Ebooks was another topic that I knew very little about. I was amazed to see all the free books available through Project Gutenberg and International Children's Digial Library. Teachers and students could find many uses for ebooks. Many students would rather read a book on the computer instead of the traditional print version. Ebooks also give students and teachers access to books that are not available in the school library. They are also available 24/7 through the Internet.
My media center does not have ebooks. The only ebook sources we have available would be the reference books available through Galileo.
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Hi Rhonda,
ReplyDeleteI did not know anything about digital storytelling and think it is so fascinating as a way to engage students. On one of the other posts, Marian said that her school is using a digital story to get interest in a school renovation---another great idea. I thought that the examples on the U of Houston site were pretty neat---particularly the one about the person's favorite books. This is something that we could definitely do on our website and even help students be spotlighted on the site by sharing their own digital stories.
I was very impressed by the books on the ICDL site. Some of them were so old....and students would love that kind of history, I think! There was a picture book called A for Apple Pie (I think) that was published in 1900 that was adorable! Anyway, these are things that we can use in lieu of the standard holding up the book to read aloud and showing the pictures. It would be great to do this as a group on a big screen!
I knew about e-books because I had the experience with them in the academic library where I used to work. However, I did not know about Gutenberg. I tried it out, and was disappointed that none of the books I selected by author's name were available. I went under "A" for Maya Angelou and did not find her name at all. I also went under "S" for Sallinger hoping to find The Catcher in the Rye. I also did not that title. I had more success with the e-book options I found through Gallileo on my former job. I guess it is good to have more than one e-book sight available. I am glad that students in the Atlanta Public Schools have access to Galileo and Teachingbooks.net. I would say that Gutenberg is okay but could use improvement. More material and more access points. It would be great if users could access e-books by subject or call number as well as title and author.
ReplyDeleteI knew of digital Storytelling but did not know it was so widespread. I liked some of the stories I read on the University of Houston's Website. I would however, like to see some stories with animated video rather than just still pictures. Maybe I will get a chance to create some using my own stories. I am still trying to figure out ways to use it for core instruction in the media center. I need to do some deep thinking for that.
Great post Rhonda, and I share your positive hope for ebooks. With regards to ebooks, my school does not have an extensive use of them, except for World Book Online and those available through Galileo. I think that ebooks could be great for all students, and very popular, especially in our "ipod" and "cell phone" generation. A friend that I deer hunt with even reads ebooks on his iphone while he is sitting in the woods to pass the time. Two specific groups of students that could definitely benefit, especially from the audio component of many ebooks, are ELL students and Learning Disabled students, as they could have audio while that read the book without bothering to cue a cassette tape or CD.
ReplyDeleteI was also very unfamiliar with digital storytelling as well, and see great potential in its use. This format could be used as an excellent learning tool for students and a great format for students to do projects and other performance assessments, but also as a good way for a media specialist to both advertise books and encourage reading in the media center. I could definitely see a media specialist creating a digital story and linking it to their website, or a digital synopsis if the book is a novel.
Digital books are a fabulous idea for media centers. Some of the key benefits of E-books are their portability. Although students have to have a computer to access the books, this is a great tool for students who might be home bound or unable to get to the school. Additionally, this is great for students who read above grade level or who have interests that are not supported by their school or local libraries. I have not worked in a school that had e-books, but I have seriously considered using them from the public library. After consideration, I realized that personally, I would rather pick up a book. I get tired of looking at a computer screen, but I do realize the novelty this idea holds for students. If this is one way to get students to enjoy reading, I say let’s get them some E-books.
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