Kevin Wilnechenko’s Digital Story
For my digital story I created a dialogue between a young student and a teacher about the places where we see physics in the real world. As with most students, this character is struggling with seeing the relevance in learning physics and the teacher tries to find ways to convince him why physics is so useful. I chose to create the story as a Prezi with short Xtranormal clips scattered throughout.
Why did you choose these particular tools?
When sifting through Levine’s (2007) list of “The Fifty Tools”, I found myself drawn to the Prezi because it seemed like PowerPoint on steroids. PowerPoint is something that I am familiar with, but my students are even more familiar with it. It seems that every project that is assigned is done on PowerPoint, which is not a bad thing in itself. However, I wanted to stretch the creativity of my students and introduce them to a wonderful alternative to PowerPoint that would not be too foreign for them.
I was torn, however, because I had fallen in love with Xtranormal as well. I really like the ease and professionalism that Xtranormal affords, all the while being very effective at telling a story. I ended up using both web 2.0 applications and created a story where one character, a questioning young lad named Tommy, was my Xtranormal representative and the other character, a wise teacher, was my Prezi representative. The result was fairly effective and it was a lot of fun to make.
Finally, I also evaluated various tools by sifting them through a more pedagogical filter. To do this, I took into consideration the National Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for Teachers (NETS, 2008) and Bates and Poole’s (2003) SECTIONS framework. I focused on how I could Inspire Student Learning and Creativity and Model Digital-Age Work, as well as keeping in mind the Ease of Use and Cost.
How did the tool impact the manner in which you told your story (perhaps in a way that is different had you just used text or related the story using your voice)?
The way in which my digital story is told is very similar to how I would tell it myself if I were reading to the class or speaking spontaneously. The difference, I believe, is that it is much more entertaining and visually appealing than what I could do myself. The features of a Prezi and an Xtranormal video allow for seamless transitions that become part of a story. The visuals are like anchors for the story and reinforce the text. I would not likely hold up pictures while telling a story or pause periodically to show a short video of Tommy, the character in my story. These applications did a much better job than I could do.
How might students be given access to the same authoring tools?
For my Physics 11 course, I always begin the year with a “Kick-start Project” where students must research and present on a famous physicist. In recent years students have used PowerPoint or created a poster board, mainly because that is what I suggested. Since I began my MET journey, I have been exposed to various web 2.0 applications. Just this last year I suggested students consider making a Prezi and I was pleased to get three out of 12. Now that I have Levine’s (2007) “The Fifty Tools” I plan to expose my students to even more possibilities. I will direct them to Levine’s (2007) site and let them explore. I can’t wait to see what I get!
How might you use such tools in your own teaching to produce materials for students?
As I begin to get more and more examples of what a well done project looks like, I plan to use these as exemplars for my future students to aspire to. As time goes on, I know I will get better and better projects. I can also see how I could use a similar storytelling method at the beginning of each unit. It would be a great introduction that would grab attention. It could be a light and interesting snapshot of what is to come and only uses up a couple of minutes of class time. Perhaps the same could be done at the end of a unit; it could be used as a way to review before a unit test.
What kind of impact would you expect to see in your students in terms of motivation, creativity, or any other characteristics?
I would expect increased focus and attention when viewing creations from other people, which would help to get everyone involved in the community of learners. I would also expect to see more motivation and creativity in students as they use these Web 2.0 tools. I have already seen evidence of this in past projects that I have assigned, but as the students see more of what is possible, I know they will run with it.
References
Alan Levine. (2007). “50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story.” Accessed 10 July 2011. http://cogdogroo.wikispaces.com/StoryTools
Bates & Poole. (2003). “A Framework for Selecting and Using Technology.” In Effective Teaching with Technology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers. Retrieved July 18, 2011 from:
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_for_Teachers_2008.htm