Digital Story
Why is this story worth telling: what does it contribute to student learning? What’s your pedagogical rationale for doing this?
This story is worth telling because many students enrolled at the college where I teach come from humble beginnings, and many feel that they cannot excel in life because of this. They feel that life has been unfair to them, and that they are destined for a life of mediocrity. The story contributes to student learning because it encourages them to move beyond their past to what they have in the present: an opportunity at a college education.
The story will also be useful to me in teaching the literacy classes that my college will be offering in the fall. Most of the students that come through these classes are adults with reading/writing issues. This will be one way to get them interested in these two activities. As Vasudevan (2010) points out, remixing and mashups do not undermine traditional ways of communication, but enhances it. This will be great for my advisees, too, many of whom struggle in college for various reasons.
Why was this the right tool for you to use to tell your story? Explain how you purposefully selected your tool based on its functionality and your requirements.
I had Prezi on my list of software to explore, and although I did explore other programs, like toondo, xtranormal, and a few others, I found that Prezi was the perfect tool for me because I wanted to includes lots of pictures and video. I wanted to draw students into my life as a country girl, which in Jamaica carries negative connotations. I wanted them to appreciate the beauty of the land and the wonderful music. I liked that Prezi allows various features such as zooming, foregrounding/backgrounding, and even has a feature for timelines. I left off the timeline because I thought the narrative provided a clear sense of events.
What are the strengths of a storytelling approach? What are the limitations?
Storytelling is a wonderful informal and personal approach to teaching. It’s great for teaching literacy, for bringing a point across without being preachy. One doesn’t have to worry about sounding “professor-ly” or “scholarly.” It’s a story. Folk-like. Earthy. It’s approachable and welcomes students into the storyteller’s space, while gives the students a place, literally and figuratively, outside of the classroom to explore deep issues which has a profound effect on them.
References:
Vasudevan, L. (2010). Education remix: New media, literacies, and the emerging digital geographies. Digital Culture & Education, 2(1), 62-82. Accessed from http://www.digitalcultureandeducation.com/uncategorized/vasudevan_2010_html/