Story
For this project Storify proved to be the right tool to use from a pedagogical perspective because it allows for many types of learning to occur and for many different types of learners to access and utilize it, with few barriers to entry. I very much wanted to be able to use multiple types of social media within one platform for this project. This is because I see the learning exercises within my larger learning project as transitioning through multiple storytelling methods and eventually toward an understanding and expertise with multi-media. The overall goal (both from a research and teaching standpoint) is to help learners effectively capture, reproduce and ultimately preserve the original orally-based Haisla stories while allowing them to utilize their knowledge, personal experience and the technology tools available to them to interpret and relay those stories. Pedagogically, Storify helps meet the requirements of creating a learner and knowledge-centred environment described by Anderson. And as Anderson notes, online learning environments must pay particular attention to cultures and learning styles, and I believe the flexibility of Storify meets these requirements:
“Further, the learning environment respects and accommodates the particular cultural attributes, especially the language and particular forms of expression that the learner uses to interpret and build knowledge. Learner-centred activities make extensive use of diagnostic tools and activities to make visible these pre-existing knowledge structures to both the teacher and the students themselves.” (Anderson p. 47)
I feel like we are just beginning to understand the complexities and uses of social media and I don’t want learners (or the instructor) to be limited to one form because of the rapid, exponential changes of social technology that are afoot. More important, I wanted to work within a platform that offered students the opportunity to utilize tools they find relevant. And again, I think the use of Storify allows for the creation of both a learner and knowledge-centred environment (Anderson).
Storify provides opportunities to use text, sound, imagery, video and social media of just about every conceivable type. What I really wanted to be able to do is integrate multiple types of technology in much the same way as blogs do. This is because I do still see blogs as the most powerful of all social media. And in most instances, from Facebook to Twitter and everywhere in between, social media appears to me at least, to simply be trying to build off the back of blogging. Storify, like blogging, allows for dialogue, evaluation, feedback and multiple forms of communication, including text, in order to connect and relay very complex ideas between people:
“Despite obvious appearances, blogging isn’t really about writing at all; that’s just the end point of the process, the outcome that occurs more or less naturally if everything else has been done right. Blogging is about, first, reading. But more important, it is about reading what is of interest to you: your culture, your community, your ideas.” (Downes p. 21)
Storify is very similar to a blog in many regards, however, I think it takes significant steps forward in terms of ease of integration of media technology types (including multiple blogs), which I see as likely very important in the ongoing advance of social media. Examining Storfiy in a way that is consistent with the SECTIONS framework in Bates & Poole I found that the answers to many of the main questions posed within SECTIONS led toward the conclusion that Storify is a very effective educational tool. In particular, its cost, flexibility and ease of use seem to fit very well with the needs of the learners I anticipate I’ll be working with. And because I only have a limited knowledge of whom those learners/ participants and what their learning styles might be, Storify’s flexibility in particular is crucially important pedagogically:
“In many cases, you will still have to make decisions with insufficient evidence, but the more accurate the information you have about your potential students, the better your choice of media and technology is likely to be. Almost certainly, though, you will have diverse students, so the design of your teaching will need to accommodate this fact. (Bates & Poole p. 87)
I do have some concerns about how well tested Storify is, particularly some of the issues related to its use in Internet Explorer, however, with so many apparent benefits, this is a risk I am willing to take because I anticipate these will be solved in short order.
Wanting to try something that was bleeding edge was a big driver is this project as well. Although novelty plays only a minor role in the SECTIONS framework, from a research (and professional competitive advantage) perspective it seems valuable for me to stay on top of what is happening with social media’s most recent developments. With Storify picking up a Best of Social Media Award at SXSW while I was in the middle of producing this, I do anticipate that Storify will be much talked about and used in mainstream media shortly. It may in fact represent a significant change, and at the very least a formidable addition to the social media landscape.
Storify also proves a sound pedagogical fit for my project because it seems as though it will be an excellent tool for the evaluation of coursework, which I see as being much more prevalent within this type of learning exercise than exam-based evaluation, and thus likely to meet student learning needs:
“Students consider coursework to be fairer than exams, to measure a greater range of abilities than exams and to allow students to organize their own work patterns to a greater extent (Kniveton, 1996).” (Gibbs and Simpson p. 21)
Ultimately, I see this story, its virtues and imperfections, as leading students toward an understanding of the impact of multi-media production capabilities on telling Chief Ken’s many stories. Although there are a few glitches in the sound quality, we chose not to do another recording. It would have been easy enough, however, there are several teachable moments within the production of these recordings and even though I do believe I have figured out how to edit out some of the imperfections, I’ve specifically chosen not to. Many ancient storytelling traditions, particularly orally based traditions, accept that the subtle changes that occur while telling a story can be as important to understanding and knowledge acquisition as the stories themselves. Perhaps that may be seen as trying to justify these imperfections, and perhaps it is, but I am certainly aware of that and have made the conscious choice to keep the recording as it is.
The point of this story within the overall context of the learning exercise I envision is to challenge and engage students and get them to think about ancient storytelling in modern contexts. It’s my hope that this story and its examination and presentation through Storify will act as a building block that will work for many, many others, ranging from personal stories to traditional stories. And ultimately, I hope that it will help us reach the goal of discovering how to preserve this ancient language, its stories and the knowledge contained within them.
References:
Anderson, T. (2008). Teaching in an Online Learning Context. In: Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Athabasca University.
Bates A. W. & Poole, G. (2003). A Framework for Selecting and Using Technology. In A.W. Bates & G. Poole, Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education (pp. 75-108). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Downes, S. (2004). Educational Blogging. Educause Review. September/October 2004
Gibbs, G. & Simpson, C. (2005). Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, i, 3-31.