Digital Story
Until very recently storytelling was an oral tradition. For decades the stories of our ancestors and the folk literature of the past have been passed on as an artful interplay between storyteller and audience or preserved in print in a less interactive way. I wanted to play on the digitization of a print medium as well as that interactive experience with the audience to tell my story, so I chose to use Glogster. As a music teacher, the ability to incorporate music, and sound was a requirement. Sound is so much a part of my life, that being able to have sound in my final product was not negotiable. Glogster allowed me to upload sound as an Mp3 as well as record sound from my microphone quite easily. The second reason I chose glogster, was that it appealed to my artistic side. I love to make scrapbooks, but the time and effort involved was always an issue. (especially since beginning the MET program!)
I enjoy playing with color and texture and glogster addressed that as well. After all, what is the point of doing something that isn’t fun? Glogster let me choose backgrounds, borders for photos and even the style of the play button for my story. I found it easy to use, and the ability to post to my facebook account was also a plus. I seriously considered just putting about 20 different play buttons randomly on the screen that would tell a sound story, but opted for a more traditional scrapbook look in the end.
Using Glogster impacted my story in that it framed the mood, and the feel of the story through the backgrounds, frames and buttons. The ability to use voice clips and music let me be more informal with the story, which was my desire when I set out.
Glogster has educational accounts, which are free for teachers, so I signed up for the maximum number I’m allowed. (200) The educational accounts allow students to log in privately without needing an email address, the accounts are all set up by the teacher and the groups which can view the glog are also private, so it is possible to set up glogs class by class.
Pedagogical reasons to use Storytelling
I use storytelling regularly in my music classes, so incorporating digital storytelling is not a big stretch for me. In class we often create musical stories, accompany drama or dance, or create our own sound stories. I have done some digital stories in the past including fractured fairy tales, music videos, and composing sound recordings like soundscapes. Storytelling provides context, is active social learning and builds community and inclusion in the process through sharing. Driscoll (2002) describes learning as having four major components.
- learning occurs in context- using storytelling puts the curricular goals I have into the context of a story. It makes it interesting and fun;
- learning is active- creating or telling a story in any medium is an active experience;
- learning is social- sharing stories is a social activity. It involves risk taking and rewards and allows students to develop personal narratives and to build community with classmates;
- learning is reflective– learners watch and reflect on their work and that of others, whether this is shared in person, or digitally, and whether the sharing is out loud or introspective.
Additionally, Glogster addresses many of the Multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1983)
- Musical – adding sounds and music
- Visual/Spatial – layout and addition of frames, photos, video
- Intrapersonal – (depending on the assignment could be reflective)
- Interpersonal – sharing your Glog
- Verbal – using text or voice recordings
- Logical/Mathematical – arranging the items in a way that makes sense.
I have a few new ideas for next year using Glogster.
- As an icebreaker activity – Create a page that tells us about the music you listen to and why.
- As a music history activity – Create a page that showcases a composer and their musical style – I might even do this myself as a learning material for my older students.
- As a way to express emotion – Create a page that expresses a particular emotion
- As an assessment – Record yourself performing something
- As a soundscape- Take digital photos and incorporate them with sounds to create a visual and audio soundscape
I expect that my students will respond very positively to using glogster. I have always found that using any sort of new technology is motivating for students, they enjoy doing something different, and are eager to learn and share what they know. I also find that using technology is a great equalizer for those students who haven’t had the same musical training and practice as others, it lets a new group of students shine. Using Glogster will even the playing field so to speak, and the interface is simple enough that most students should be successful with very little intervention. I am always surprised when I use new tools with what my students create, and for me, this is the best part of my job teaching music. We create and share all the time. Glogster will give me a new way to extend our learning.
References
Bates, A.W., and G. Poole. (2003). Effective teaching with technology in higher education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Driscoll, M. (2000). Psychology of Learning for Instruction. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Egan, K. (1995). Narrative and learning: A voyage of implications, (pp 116-125), in H. McEwan & K. Egan (Eds). Narrative in teaching, learning, and research. NY: Teachers College Press.
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books.
Mello, R. (2001). The Power of Storytelling: How Oral Narrative Influences
Children’s Relationships in Classrooms. International Journal of Education & the Arts 2(1)
Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved July 16, 2009 from http://www.elearnspace. org/Articles/connectivism.htm