[[/youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://animoto.com/play/DBtrVv2C5lWZQYUR0eglxA
Leslie’s Digital Story
I was very excited to explore the 50 different options available to tell a story. I connect with digital storytelling as I first encountered it at a Computer Workshop on a Pro D at least 5 years ago. I was impressed at how one could use storytelling in a digital way to support oral literacy in the primary grades. The program I saw demonstrated was Photostory3. I like the set up of Photostory3 and I usually make one after each holiday. When I took a year of TLITE at S.F.U. I did a field study researching the correlation between digital stories and oral literacy. I found through my own research and existing studies that literacy is enhanced and supported through a digital means of delivery. I have been using Photostory 3 with every Grade One class since. The children love it.
I was curious to learn about other digital software programs and what affordances they offered. After looking through and playing with many I selected Animoto. I had seen other digital projects over the last 9 months using Animoto and I was curious.
I like Animoto because like its name it is somewhat animated. The one I choose is called Pandora’s Box. I like the analogy to life and the affordances within the program make it very visual and for me, emotional. Stories that evoke meaning and emotion have an impact. Animoto is attractive to me in that way. I would like to try it with my class and see how they could manage it. We have always made the Photostory together with me managing the program. The children share it with their parents during student-leds. It would be interesting to see how they could challenge themselves to make one individually.
I also looked at Tikatot and thought that would be a great place to start as an introduction to storytelling with my class. They can make they own storybook by using templates and selecting from an array of preloaded pictures. Within the program is the ability to foster innovation and creativity. This program would be ideal for beginning writers as there is not a lot of writing needed to make a story. Whatever the program it should be fairly easy to use for this age group and meet the needs of individual learners.
Animoto was a perfect tool to tell my story. Animoto is fun and easy to use and the end result is very entertaining and pleasing. The ability to be as creative as one wants is a positive attribute, and the creativeness of the program adds the final storybook dimension.
Leslie