Direct link to the story in ToonDoo: http://www.toondoo.com/ViewBook.toon?bookid=306171
Using a storytelling approach in education
Storytelling has been an important tool in education for thousands of years. In the past, it was commonly used to teach values, cultural beliefs, and appropriate social behaviour. Today it is still widely used with younger children, as it aids in the development of imagination and creativity of students. However, I believe that storytelling and story creation is also useful for students in high school classes.
This story is an example of creating analogies to information in the science curriculum. This act of manipulating information solidifies the knowledge in students’ minds. Creating analogies to write stories also encourages students to identify main points, make logical arguments, and form frameworks. In the past, one of the main limitations with using a storytelling approach in high school classes was the insecurity that many students were prone to concerning their artistic abilities. Using ToonDoo or a similar program to compile a digital story addresses this issue.
ToonDoo was selected by applying the criteria identified in Bates and Poole’s(2003) SECTIONS model. It is good for students that are not confident in their ability to draw, as all of the elements are pre made. Changing body positions, emotions, and colours are all done with the click of a button. Each part of the scene can also be made larger or smaller, rotated, or placed anywhere in the frame by dragging it with the mouse. Making the story into a book is also very easy. Once the pictures are made, they are simply dragged and dropped from a basic library into the shell of a book. In addition to the very easy learning curve, ToonDoo is also free to use.
There is no one approach that will work for all students. Having a variety of options for students to express their knowledge is important for accurate assessment, and digital storytelling may appeal to many of those students that are uninterested in a more traditional storytelling approach. In addition to increased student engagement, ToonDoo is easy to learn and cost effective, making it an excellent choice for students to create professional looking cartoon books in a science class.
References
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.