Why did you choose this particular tool?
After examining the list of 50 storytelling tools from the CogDogRoo site, I had initially chosen Animoto to tell my story. However, while using it I found out that my text was limited to a certain number of characters and I couldn’t write as much as I wanted to for my narrative. Thus, I switched over to Prezi, a presentation software that I found had more interactive features than PowerPoint. I wanted to be able to combine text, images and embed a YouTube video to create my story. Also, I tried to bear in mind aspects of Bates and Poole’s (2003) SECTIONS framework for both myself and students with an emphasis on the ease of use, teaching and learning, as well as its novelty.
How did the tool impact the manner in which you told your story (perhaps in a way that is different had you just used text or related the story using your voice)?
I found that the tool I selected didn’t allow for using my voice recording to tell my story as users would have to click to play each “slide” or autoplay the presentation. Thus, this tool made me consider the importance of developing appropriate text and selecting relevant images that would convey my message. I think one of the most challenging aspects was selecting and narrowing down my topic so that I could tell a story in a succinct manner.
How might you use such tools in your own teaching to produce materials for students?
When I was creating my story, my purpose was tri-fold: 1) to incorporate a way that it could be used to illustrate a story that students could relate to on the impact of using evidence to inform their decision-making which is central to patient care, 2) to use it as a marketing tool to promote library services particularly that of a medical librarian (as I found Prezi to be far superior to that of traditional PowerPoint presentations, and static handouts) and 3) to fulfill the course requirements of using a Web 2.0 cloud-based digital storytelling application from the CogDogRoo site. Thus, I would use this tool as a discussion starter as part of my training modules to teach evidence-based searching, including how to use the PICO method, and the evidence-based medicine pyramid. Additionally, I would use this in the promotion of library services to staff and the general public.
How might students be given access to the same authoring tools?
As Prezi is a freely available online tool, students could use it to create and share their own stories with the rest of the class. This could even be used as an icebreaker integrated with the discussion forum on the Moodle site.
What kind of impact would you expect to see in your students in terms of motivation, creativity, or any other characteristics?
The kind of impact that I would expect to see is that of inspiration, motivation and creativity. I would hope that viewing this story would peak their interest and encourage them to learn more about the topics that I have introduced to them. Also, students can be challenged to learn something new, or delve deeper into topic(s) and/or online tools that they may have been familiar or unfamiliar with.
Reference
Bates, A.W. & Poole, G. (2003). Chapter 4: A framework for selecting and using
technology. In Effective teaching with technology in higher education: Foundations
for success (pp. 77-105). San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers.
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