Digital Story
To watch my digital story created in Windows Movie Maker with Windows Media Player, click on the following link:
caa-products-services_i-just-cant-get-enough_cathy-jung
Alternatively, to watch my digital story on One True Media, click on the following link:
CAA Products and Services – I Just Can’t Get Enough – Cathy Jung
I hope you enjoy watching my digital story as much as I enjoyed making it! Please see below for my Rationale and Reflections for this assignment.
Digital Story Rationale and Reflection
In selecting a tool for my digital story, the main consideration was organizational constraints within my workplace imposed by the IT department. Installation and approval of use for a program by the IT department is critical in terms of compliance with IT policy as well as technical support. The tool I chose to create my digital story with was Windows Movie Maker (WMM). This program is a Microsoft Windows product, which is available in the suite of programs on our workplace computers. I wanted to use a program that would allow for real-life workplace application following the completion of this assignment. Thus, gaining exposure and practical hands-on use of WMM was a logical choice. However, in light of making the most of this learning experience, I tried one of the tools found on Alan Levine’s cogodogwoo wiki site; I experimented with One True Media. This experience allowed me to see the features offered by One True Media and provided an alternative format for my digital story.
Despite the fact that WMM was already on my workplace computer I had never used this application before and I was unfamiliar with its features. Thus, other factors that came into consideration when considering and selecting WMM were the features I wanted in my digital story. In creating an outline for my story, I knew that I wanted to include graphics, graphics with text, text only slides and music. Upon viewing the features of WMM in more detail, I found that it offered these features along with others such as easy creation of titles and credits, special effects and transitions, audio narrative and music, and it could be saved in various formats. While WMM met the criteria of features and workplace approval, I still needed to ensure that I would be able to learn how to use the tool in time to complete this assignment. WMM proved to be an easy-to-use program even for a novice like myself. WMM’s Making Movies Tips, with its how to section was extremely helpful. The instructions were clear and in no time I was up and creating my story. The factors I discuss above in regards to selecting the right tool for creating a digital story can be linked to the Bates and Poole (2000) SECTIONS framework by addressing the issues of ease of use, cost, organizational issues and speed.
Impact On How I Told My Story
The impact of selecting WMM was that it allowed for the incorporation of media into my LMS lesson. By using a different medium, it allows workplace learners to experience and learn through another channel. While traditional story telling using my voice or reading a story from print may have relayed the content, this format allowed for a unique merging of the visual and auditory. The visual impact of the graphics were complemented by short text and provided a link between the image and content. The audio impact of including music added a level of fun, excitement and interest. Visual and text combined aimed to promote learner engagement by targeting learners’ senses and adding an element of diversity in the way the lesson is being delivered.
In addition, the use of WMM impacted my story telling in that I tried to keep it simple. Clear graphics and limited text on each slide left the message clear and concise. There was no need for narrative, as the lyrics in the music I selected to accompany my story said it all. The song “I Just Can’t Get Enough”, reflects my interpretation of how I feel the organization would want our clients to feel about CAA’s products and services. Consumer use and purchasing of CAA products and services is the basis of our existence and livelihood. By relying on the lyrics to rely my message, I was able to eliminate the need for narrative. The choice of music was also simple for me. Depeche Mode is one of my favourite artists and the title of the song seemed to be the perfect fit for the message I was trying to relay. The fact that the song repeats the lyrics over and over added to the impact of my story and the message. In addition, the up beat catchy rhythm of the song added to the fun and excitement that the story aimed to instill in the workplace learners.
Using this Tool to Produce Student Material
This tool could be used to interject educational technology and media into workplace training. As training within my workplace relies heavily upon lecture to share policies, procedures and processes through rote memorization, the incorporation of such a tool would add a fresh and well needed alternative. In addition, the incorporation of digital stories could allow for training content to be delivered outside a traditional classroom setting. Workplace learners could view the content at their own desk or in their own branch office as opposed to having to attend a live classroom training session. My experience in using WMM was that it was an easy task and the final product was produced in a short time. Incorporation of additional features would add to the timeline, but overall the turn around time was short, thereby allowing for immediate incorporation into training programs. Editing of the content was also very simple and would address the critical need for keeping the training content current.
Student Access to the Tool
Access to WMM by workplace learners would be feasible as this program is already installed on all of the workplace computers. However, time to learn how to use the tool and relevant exercises/assignments for this tool would need to be developed. It is crucial that the use of this tool by learners relate to authentic real-life on the job application. It would need to be more than an exercise for using technology for the sake of technology. I see WMM being used by both workplace trainers to relay key information through digital stories as well as by employees to document their learning, explore their understanding and to express their viewpoint.
Impact on Students Creativity and Motivation
In terms of creativity and motivation, I would anticipate that use of a digital story for sharing information would expand the learners’ overall experience. It would allow them to see that other options are available for relaying training content and creativity and fun are not mutually exclusive concepts when it comes to learning. By injecting digital stories I would hope that it would help to encourage alternative ways of thinking and expression amongst our employees, by allowing them to think beyond the obvious and consider other ways of expressing and relaying a message.
How Storytelling Can Work in my Training Course
The incorporation of my digital story would work very effectively as a summary in my LMS course “CAA SCO’s Company Orientation and Product Training Course”. The digital story serves as a culmination of all the products and services offered by CAA. It can be used a comprehensive summary of the modules within this course. It is a sound pedagogical investment as the digital story can be viewed again and again, allowing learners to watch as many times and needed and rewound to re-watch sections as necessary. Furthermore, updates can easily be completed providing the digital story with a long lifespan. Another area of practical application within my LMS course where the tool could be used surrounds discussion of CAA’s history and background. A digital story could be used in a timeline fashion to discuss the milestones of CAA SCO since it was formed more than 100 years ago in 1900.
The justification and use of digital stories in workplace training can be found in our course readings to date. Inclusion of digital stories in workplace training would allow for the incorporation of several of Chickering and Gamson (1987) principles of encouraging active learning and respects diverse talents and ways of learning. Digital stories could be used to augment the face-to-face and online learning. Furthermore, Anderson (2008) notes, the integration of new tools and affordances of the web and social software tools can further enhance learning experiences and make them more accessible; thereby providing “expanding opportunities for learners to plunge ever deeper into knowledge resources…benefiting from its expression in thousands of forms and contexts”.
By incorporating digital storytelling into learner exercises/assignments, this would support Anderson’s (2008) concept of a learner-centered environment, which would respect and accommodate “particular forms of expression that the learner uses to interpret and build knowledge”. It would allow for learner creativity and expression, while providing the learner with an opportunity to actively construct knowledge, develop ideas and an increased level of understanding. The digital story productions could be reviewed by the workplace trainers to validate comprehension and to see if there are any misconceptions that the learner has on the content. Furthermore, the incorporation of digital stories in my workplace training courses would bring me one step closer to meeting the NETS competencies of facilitating and inspiring learning, designing and delivering digital-age learning experiences, and modeling digital age work.
Reflection
This assignment has been the most enjoyable assignment I’ve completed in all of my five MET courses to date. Not only was the assignment a huge learning experience, but it allowed me to see a direct tangible result of my efforts in a form that I had not used before. The impact that story telling can have on my workplace training is evident in the final product I created. I can readily see other areas where digital stories can have an impact on the delivery of training content. I am anxious to share my digital story with my Director and Vice President. In sharing this with them, my digital story will serve as a concrete example of my learning in the MET Program and allow them to see a direct benefit and link from my coursework in ETEC 565 to my day-to-day work duties. I truly enjoyed this learning experience and the creative control it allowed me to have in producing my own digital story. Furthermore, in completing this assignment, I’ve gained a sense of confidence in using a new program and a sense of pride in my final product. In reflecting on this assignment, I feel like that I’ve taken one more step to becoming a digital age teaching professional.
References:
Anderson, T. (2008). Towards a Theory of Online Learning. In: T. Anderson & F. Elloumi (Eds.), Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Edmonton AB: Athabasca University. Retrieved on June 10, 2009 http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/02_Anderson_2008_Anderson-Online_Learning.pdf
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.
Chickering, A. W. & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39(7), 3-7. Retrieved on May 12, 2009 from http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples1987.htm
ISTE. (2008). National educational technology standards for teachers. Retrieved on May 6, 2009 from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_for_Teachers_2008.htm
Levine, Alan (2007). “50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story.” http://cogdogroo.wikispaces.com/StoryTools