Title: Creating an Online Digital Story

Subject: Digital Stories

Course(s): Literacy and Multimedia

Grade level(s): Upper Elementary or Special Education

Length:

60 minutes for online instruction and introduction to the online digital story creation program Tikatok

Extension of activity in which students will compile a digital story that is to be completed at home using story and graphics from previous Literacy lessons.

Abstract or goal of lesson:

The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to an online digital story creation tool. The lesson will expose students to this tool and how to use the tool to create an online book with graphics. At the end of this lesson, students will be able to use what they have learned to create their own digital storybooks online.

Resources/ Materials:

Websites:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS3843NP0nU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_kOKuq0YYY&feature=related

http://www.tikatok.com/view/shared/168cee3e176ec2b67c82cee05b3db564

http://www.tikatok.com/

Other Resources:

Smartboard

Class set of computers

Internet access

Students pre-created writing samples and scanned drawings

Physical copies of the book “Raheen Goes to the Moon.”

Action Plan:

Part One: Engagement

-Students will read the hard copy of the story “Raheen Goes to the Moon” in a group setting. They will converse about the format of this book and how it is a physical copy of a story. (5 minutes)

-Students will brainstorm about ways in which a story can be told and create a visual representation of their ideas (i.e., orally, digitally, in text format). (2 Minutes)

-Students will be introduced to what a ‘Digital Story’ is:

Digital Storytelling is the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories. Digital Stories have all the same components of a traditional story. They differ because they usually contain some mixture of computer-based images, text, recorded audio narration, video clips and/or music. 

Tasks students will partake in:

They will write a response in their online portfolios about examples of digital stories they may have worked with. (2 Minutes)

– Students will click on the following link for a book demo: http://www.tikatok.com/view/shared/168cee3e176ec2b67c82cee05b3db564 . This is a digital copy of the book  ‘Raheen Goes to the Moon’ that  was created using the online resource called Tikatok. (5 minutes) 

Part Two: Explanation

This part of the lesson will introduce students to the online digital story creating tool Tikatok.

Digital Story Tool :

Tickatok is a digital story creating tool that can be accessed online to help create online stories that can include graphics, text and audio. The book you just read in the previous task was an example of this. (1 Minutes)

Tasks students will partake in:

– They will click on the following link and watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS3843NP0nU . This YouTube video will explain how to navigate through the Tikatok website. (4 minutes)

-They will click on the following link and watch the video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_kOKuq0YYY&feature=related. This YouTube video explains how to create a book using this site (6 minutes)

-They will click on the following link and set up an account on the Tikatok website. http://www.tikatok.com/ . They  will need a user name and a password as well as their birthdate to set up an account. Their passwords need to be at least 6 characters and should include both letters and numbers. (5 minutes)

Part Three: Exploration

This part of the lesson will allow for students to work with the tool and explore in order to familiarize themselves with the resource.

Tasks students will partake in:

-Students will navigate through the Tikatok website and experiment with the different tools. (20minutes)

– Students will be encouraged to use the Internet to find other examples of digital stories and other programs that can be used to create digital stories. Students will  bookmark resources and sites they come across. These tools will be used in lessons later in the unit for students to create their own personalized digital stories of their choice. (10 minutes)

Part Four: Extension

The following homework assignment will allow for an extension to this activity, it will allow for students to explore and build on their skills and will assist teachers in assessing students’ understanding of the program introduced

Homework:

Each student will be asked to choose a short story from their creative writing folders that they have already written as well as some pictures that they have drawn or created on the computer to go along with this story (these pictures will be saved or scanned ahead of time).Students will be asked to use this story and graphics to create a digital story online using Tikatok. The link to these stories should be emailed to the teacher in the allocated amount of time assigned by the teacher (accommodations will be made in school for students who do not have access to computers or the Internet at home).

Special Needs – Modifications/Accommodations:

For students who struggle with language and literacy: Students will work in a small group setting with their Teacher or Educational Assistant. Students will record their stories orally and these audio files will be added with graphics to the Tikatok program to create digital stories.

Part Five: Evaluation

Rubric:

Students will be given the following rubric. The teacher will go through the rubric with the class and will explain how the rubric will be used to evaluate the student’s interaction with the program in class as well as through the finished product that is submitted.  Students will also complete this rubric as a means of assessing their learning.

Digital Story Rubric

	Beginner: 1 point	Novice: 2 Points	Intermediate: 3 points	Expert: 4 points	Self-Evaluation	Teacher Evaluation
Technological Awareness and Application	Use of skills learned from Digital lesson are not evident in finished project.	Use of skills learned from Digital lesson are minimally evident in finished project.	Use of skills learned from Digital lesson are evident in finished project.	Use of skills learned from Digital lesson are highly evident in finished project.
Technical Requirements	Includes 2 cards or less, and a few graphics	Includes 3 pages or less, fewer than 3 graphics, fewer than 3 animations and one or more advanced features.	Includes at least 5 pages, at least 3 graphics, and some advanced features, such as color and audio.	Includes at least 5 pages, 5 or more graphics and several advanced features, such as color and audio
Mechanics	Includes more than 5 grammatical errors, misspellings, punctuation errors, etc.	Includes 3-4 grammatical errors, misspellings, punctuation errors, etc.	Includes 2-3 grammatical errors, misspellings, punctuation errors, etc.	Grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization are correct. No errors in the text.
Cooperative Group Work	Cannot work with others in most situations.  Cannot share decisions or responsibilities.	Works with others, but has difficulty sharing decisions and responsibilities.	Works well with others. Takes part in most decisions and contributes a fair share to group.	Works well with others. Assumes a clear role and related responsibilities. Motivates others to do their best.
Oral Presentation Skills	Great difficulty communicating ideas.  Poor voice projection.   Little preparation or incomplete work.	Some difficulty communicating ideas, due to voice projection, lack of preparation, or incomplete work	Communicates ideas with proper voice projection. Adequate preparation and delivery.	Communicates ideas with enthusiasm, proper voice projection, appropriate language, and clear delivery.
Timeliness and Engagement	Was not engaged when working on online lesson, did not complete all components of assignment. Ineffective use of time.	Was somewhat engaged when working on online lesson, completed some components of assignment. Time was not used effectively.	Was engaged when working on online lesson, completed most components of assignment in the allocated amount of time.	Was actively engaged when working on online lesson, completed all components of assignment in the allocated amount of time.

Adapted from: http://www.ncsu.edu/midlink/rub.mmproj.htm