Curriculum Guide

Digital Storytelling: A Kids Guide

ETEC 510: The Design of Technology-Supported Learning Environments.

Charmalee Kirk, Cristina Leo, & Dan Edwards
University of British Columbia
April 2nd, 2017

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 Table of Contents
Welcome and Introductions
How to Use the Curriculum Guide.. 4
How to Use the Website 5
Why Digital Storytelling? .. 6
Meet the Authors ... 7

Key Frameworks of Digital Storytelling

What is Digital Storytelling?... 8
How Does Digital Storytelling Relate to the Classroom?. 8
How is it Situated in Educational Theory? 10
Why is it Significant in 21st Century Education?.. 11
Limitations Regarding Digital Storytelling in the Classroom..16

Implementing
Connecting to BCs New Curriculum. 18
Lesson Plans for the Writing & Digital Phase 22
Classroom Implementation 33
Differentiation 34
Apps - Examples 34
Assessment
Formative Assessment. 38
Self-Assessment & BCs New Curriculum 38
7 Essential Elements of Digital Storytelling 39
Summative Assessment & Digital Storytelling 40
Rubrics 43
Rubrics and Assessment 43
Badges & Student Portfolios.. 44
Badges 44
Digital Portfolios 44
Paper-Based Portfolios 44
Saving Digital Stories for Future Viewing. 45

Digital Storytelling - Community of Practice

Twitter Feeds45
Blogs to Follow http://www.itofisher.com/mito/...45
TED Talks to Watch .... 45

Conclusion. 46

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Appendix
Student Privacy Concerns... 47
Parent Permission Forms 47
Design Considerations.. 48
Screencast for Teachers.. 48

References. 49

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 Welcome and Introduction

Welcome to the curriculum guide for Digital Storytelling: A Kids Guide. Thanks for
checking us out! You will find in this curriculum guide everything to get you and your class
started on our website. It is our hope that you will learn more about the educational
theories behind Digital Storytelling, how to implement it within your classroom as well as
find additional resources to help you on this journey. Lastly, we hope you connect with
other people who have exciting Digital Storytelling projects going on in their classroom.
Enjoy!

How to Use the Curriculum Guide

Our curriculum guide is intended for British Columbia educators who teach Grades
3-5.

This curriculum guide, along with the collaborativestorytelling.weebly.com website

is geared for educators to who want to implement the BC New Curriculum in an exciting
and dynamic way, resulting in transformative digital stories students are excited to share
beyond the classroom through social media platforms of their choice.

Educators are encouraged to learn more about the theoretical framework situated
within digital storytelling and 21st Century Learning throughout the curriculum guide
before instructing, inspiring, and leading students through the scaffolded phases of
writing and digital production.

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How to Use the Website

Our website found at www.collaborativestorytelling.weebly.com is intended for

both students and teachers to be user-friendly, informative, and supportive.

Students are encouraged to move through the website, in conjunction with teacher
lessons, as a scaffolded approach to writing a solid personal narrative script, before
embarking on the digital phase of production. Integral to student learning is self-
reflection, peer-reflection, and teacher conferencing, all of these elements are
embedded within the design of the website to provide opportunities for dialectical
thought and metacognition.

Meet Rex and Lily! The characters Rex and Lily are designed to provide support for
students along the way. Rex, our writer in resident, provides reminders and sets
guidelines for students during the writing phase. Lily is our digital expert, who also
provides support for students by explaining the learning objective for each phase. The
characters are intended to aid in the scaffolded approach of writing and digital
production, for students who may be unsure of the expectations of each page.

Educators can use our website in the classroom but can also reference the For
Teacher page to access links to BC Curriculum (Scope and Sequence), Assessment
rubrics and links, as well as the
Curriculum Guide.

Students are
encouraged to watch
the Rex & Lily How-To
videos, embedded
within each page. Each
video provides an
extra level of support
for learners of all
abilities and ages.

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Why Digital Storytelling?

Digital storytelling provides a powerful way for humans to communicate and connect with
each other. Combining the writing process with technology offers many opportunities to
create and share ideas. Some important features of digital storytelling include the
following:

an effective way for humans to tell their story

another form of communication (multimodal forms of literacy)
helps to encourage literacy through the use of technology
allows for personal (and collaborative) reflection
community building
enhances creativity
promotes media literacy
aligns with 21st Century Learning learning framework
provides opportunities for Technological, Visual, Media, and Information
Literacy (multiliteracies) skill development

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Meet The Authors

CHARMALEE KIRK
Charmalee taught at the secondary level for a number of years in the Okanagan and most
recently taught English to newcomers to Canada in Saskatoon. She is really enjoying the
MET program at the University of BC, especially the collaboration with fellow classmates.
She's excited to get back in the classroom and share all the new things she's learned in the
program.

CRISTINA LEO
Cristina currently teaches Grade 5 at an Independent School in British Columbia. She has
been an educator for the past 9 years. A lover of all things design and technology, Cristina
has a background in Communication and Sociology, as well as Magazine Publishing.
Currently in her second semester of the Master of Technology program at the University of
British Columbia, she believes that digital storytelling is an excellent way for students to
express themselves. Cristina enjoys running extra-curricular programs in Stop-Motion
Animation, Art, and Robotics.

DAN EDWARDS
Dan is an elementary school teacher in Chilliwack, British Columbia. He has been an
educator for the past 9 years and is currently teaching Grade 2. Dan holds a Bachelor of
Arts degree and is currently enrolled in his 5th course of the Master of Educational
Technology program at the University of British Columbia. He is a technology enthusiast
and enjoys employing a variety of new media tools and devices in his classroom, including
a SMART Board, iPads and laptops. Dan is always looking for new and more effective ways
of implementing technology in his teaching program to improve student learning.

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 Key Frameworks of Digital StoryTelling
What is Digital Storytelling?

As humans, we are natural storytellers, cultivating a tale that we share with an audience.
From communicating a variety of information and feelings, storytelling allows us the
opportunity to share and convey meaning from one person to another. Alexander and
Levin (2008) note, Storytelling is a rare human universal, present and recognizable across
cultures and epochs. We can refer to it as the art of conveying events into words, images,
and sounds often by improvisation or embellishment (p. 42).

Digital storytelling takes it a step further as it will allow your students to utilize computer
technologies to help tell their story. As a result, digital storytelling can often be defined as,
A form of short narrative, usually a personal narrative told in the first person, presented as
a short movie for display on television or computer monitor or projected onto a
screen (Ohler The World of Digital Storytelling, p. 45). As a communication tool, digital
storytelling continues to evolve with the addition of new and emerging technologies.

How Does Digital Storytelling Relate to the Classroom?

Students all have something unique to contribute and it need not be strictly in the form of
a narrative story. Robin (2008) reminds us that digital storytelling allows us to become
creative storytellers by selecting a topic, conducting research, writing a script and,
ultimately, developing an interesting story. By offering choices to students through apps,
mediums and topics, they will be a part of the process, rather than limited or restricted in
the ways in which they tell and share their stories. Thus, the medium becomes their
narrative, giving students both an authentic experience and audience.

Through the digital storytelling approach, your students will work through the writing
processes of brainstorming, storyboarding, researching, creating, editing, and polishing.
The digital storytelling process they follow will be both engaging and interactive, providing
many opportunities for exploration and construction of understanding. Integral to the
success of student learning is reflection. Therefore, our website provides a platform where
students can tell a story, share an opinion, or even offer a suggestion.

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Figure 1 highlights the steps involved in creating digital stories.

Figure 1: The
Convergence
of Digital
Storytelling in
Education
(Robin, 2008,
pg. 223).

Digital stories are an impactful tool that can help foster the creative development of your
students and encourage transformative learning. In fact, as students become more
engaged in digital stories, the role of student changes from that of a passive nature to one
that is more hands-on, as students become active knowledge developers and producers
(Hur & Suh, 2012). This type of learning requires students to connect with their learning on
a relatively new level.

Students can gain new understanding in a variety of areas, including digital literacy (where
they will work in an expanding community), global literacy (interacting with material with a
global perspective), technology literacy (new skills), visual literacy (communicating through
visual images) and information literacy (evaluating and synthesizing information) (Robin,
2008). The target group for this Digital Storytelling tool is primarily students at the
elementary level (Grades 3-5).

The literature reminds us that todays children are much different from those of the past.
These students live in the digital age, surrounded by technology. In fact, Ohler (2013)
suggests that they are digital natives, beyond comfortable with technology, and digital
storytelling allows them to express themselves in the ways that are familiar to them.
Further, creating digital stories will also allow students to extend their learning and

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collaboration beyond the classroom. Students can publish their work online, allowing
them to work with peers and the chance to analyze other students works (Robin, 2006).

How Is it Situated in Educational Theory?

Digital Storytelling is situated in constructivist, constructionist and TPACK frameworks.

Constructionism evolved from the research and life-long work of Seymour Papert (video
link) whose theory of learning is based upon experience and observation. He posited that
through experience, and reflection on these experiences, students can construct their
knowledge and understanding of the world (Jonassen, 1991). In this instance, knowledge
is actively constructed by the mind of the learner.

Constructionism added to this with the the concept of knowledge building communities
(Brennan and Resnick, 2013). There is an emphasis on the social and interactive context of
building valued artifacts within a bounded setting wherein learners are making things
using tools that make abstractions concrete and manipulable (Brennan and Resnick, 2013).
At every stage of the learning process, there is interplay between community artifacts
and community members (Brennan and Resnick, 2013, p.256). Both learning and
creativity are enhanced through interaction with others since they are both social
processes.

Furthermore, in constructionist educational applications, significance is placed on the

development of technological fluency in students where learning happens through
designing and sharing within collaborative environments (Papert, 1996). It places a high
value on the pedagogical role of media in education which includes an emphasis, again,
on the social and interactive component; the situatedness, of building valued artifacts
within the microworld. Students learn best by making things in real life learning
opportunities through a guided, collaborative process which incorporates peer feedback.

Digital storytelling allows students, both individually and with their peers, to construct and
transform their own ideas and experiences of the world and share them. The platform
incorporates ...pedagogy in order to influence practices that will give students the skills
and knowledge they need to achieve their aspirations (New London Group, 1996, p.63).
The activities and media promote skills associated with storytelling, and/or expressing
opinions or ideas which provides multiple opportunities for creativity in learning and
execution (Robin, 2008).

This digital storytelling site promotes and develops media literacy skills which are essential
for 21st century students. Teachers play an essential role, but ultimately students control

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the learning process as they progress through the cycle of planning, implementing,
monitoring and evaluating their learning (New London Group, 1996). Students will be
coming up with their own ideas and stories, all the while ... making things, using tools that
make abstractions concrete and manipulable (New London Group, 1996, p.61 ). This is
the essence of the platform: technological fluency encouraged learning through a shared
environment.

These frameworks, through their emphasis on active, engaging educational opportunities,

are the backbone and have led to the proliferation of digital storytelling approaches across
both subjects and ages.

Why Is it Significant in 21st Century Education?

According to the Partnership for 21st Century Learning the 4Cs are considered the
necessary skills students must have in order to be successful in their lives (P21, 2017). The
4Cs include Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, and Creativity. According to
Robin (2008), digital storytelling is a multifaceted and significant tool that can be used to
not only teach the skills necessary of the 21st century, but also to apply them in meaningful
ways. Todays learners are digital natives and are comfortable using technology outside of
the classroom (Prensky, 2001). When educators are equipped with the necessary
technological skills, as well as confidence, they can begin to leverage the benefits of digital
storytelling in the classroom. Educators are then teaching multiliteracy skills that go
beyond the basic literacy skills of reading and writing. Therefore, our website provides a
platform for teachers to scaffold the necessary writing stages of a digital story in a user-
friendly way for students to access and utilize.

Figure 2: P21
Framework for 21st
Century Learning
(www.P21.org).

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 21st Century Partnership 21 Digital BC Curriculum
Skills Storytelling: A Core Competency
Kids Guide
Website
Clearly articulate Students are able Connect and
thoughts and ideas
COMMUNICATION to showcase their engage with
effectively using thinking through others.
oral, written and brainstorming,
nonverbal storyboarding,
communication
script writing as
skills in a variety of
well as through
forms and contexts
the digital
production
Listen effectively to
decipher meaning, phase. Acquire, interpret,
including and present
knowledge, values, information.
attitudes and
intentions

Use Students practice collaborate to

communication for articulating their plan, carry out,
a range of ideas using oral, and review
purposes (e.g. to written, and visual constructions and
inform, instruct, forms while activities.
motivate and
working
persuade)
independently
and while
Utilize multiple
conferencing with
media and
technologies, and peers and
know how to judge teachers.
their effectiveness
a priori as well as
assess their impact

Communicate Students engage Explain/recount

effectively in and connect with and reflect on
diverse fellow peers. experiences and
environments accomplishments.
(including multi-
lingual)
21st Century Partnership 21 Digital BC Curriculum
Skills Storytelling: A Core Competency
Kids Guide
Website

Demonstrate Students plan, Connect and

ability to work follow through engage with
COLLABORATION
effectively and and review their others.
respectfully with work with peers
diverse teams and teachers.

Exercise flexibility Students learn to Acquire, interpret,

and willingness collaborate with and present
to be helpful in their peers when information.
making necessary creating digital
compromises to stories together.
accomplish a
common goal

Assume shared Students collaborate to

responsibility for appreciate the plan, carry out,
collaborative thoughts and and review
work, and value ideas of one constructions and
the individual another. activities.
contributions
made by each
team member

Explain/recount
and reflect on
experiences and
accomplishments
.
 21st Century Partnership 21 Digital BC Curriculum
Skills Storytelling: A Core Competency
Kids Guide
Website
Reason Effectively Students are Analyze and
Use various types of learning to think critique.
CRITICAL THINKING
reasoning (inductive,
critically when
deductive, etc.) as
developing their
appropriate to the
situation ideas during the
Use Systems writing phase.
Thinking
Analyze how parts of Through the use Question and
a whole interact with of brainstorming investigate.
each other to
and
produce overall
storyboarding
outcomes in complex
systems activities,
Make Judgments students learn to
and Decisions analyse ideas,
Effectively analyze synthesize
and evaluate information, and
evidence, arguments,
evaluate sources.
claims and beliefs
Students are Develop and
Analyze and
evaluate major required to think design.
alternative points of dialectically as
view the must consider
Synthesize and make how their writing
connections between will be
information and
transformed
arguments
during digital
Interpret information
and draw phase.
conclusions based
on the best analysis Students will
Reflect critically on need to problem
learning experiences solve any
and processes
technical issues
Solve different kinds of
non-familiar that may arise
problems in both during digital
conventional and production.
innovative ways
Identify and ask
significant questions
that clarify various
points of view and lead
to better solutions
21st Century Partnership 21 Digital BC Curriculum
Skills Storytelling: A Core Competency
Kids Guide
Website
Think Creatively Through digital Novelty and
Use a wide range of storytelling value.
idea creation students are able
techniques (such as to express
brainstorming) themselves in
Create new and different ways.
worthwhile ideas
(both incremental and
radical concepts)
Students are given
the opportunity to
Elaborate, refine, Generating ideas.
CREATIVITY

analyze and evaluate choose an area of

their own ideas in personal interest to
order to improve and write and create a
maximize creative digital story about.
efforts Developing
Work Creatively with Students showcase ideas.

Adapted from Partnership 21, BC New Curriculum Core Competences, 2017.

Others their artistic skills
Develop, implement when given the
and communicate opportunity to
new ideas to others create their own
effectively
artwork to
Be open and
showcase in digital
responsive to new
stories, or by
and diverse
perspectives; making decisions
incorporate group on what the best
input and feedback images, sound, etc.
into the work include to enhance
Demonstrate their digital story.
originality and
inventiveness in work During
and understand the opportunities for
real world limits to self-reflection,
adopting new ideas peer-reflection and
View failure as an teacher
opportunity to learn;
conferencing,
understand that
students are given
creativity and
the chance to
innovation is a long-
term, cyclical process showcase their
of small successes creativity in a
and frequent mistakes variety of different
way.
Limitations Regarding Digital Storytelling in the Classroom

Limitation Concern Solution

Digital literacy lessons are vital to the development of
Not enough explicit students success.
Expectations teaching of literacy Teachers can spend time focusing on specific literacy lessons,
of Literacy and digital literacy such as how music affects the audience.
skills.

Perform a school-wide technology inventory, and plan ahead

Limited availability to book devices through an online calendar.
Access to of devices
technology Teachers can differentiate the instruction of digital storytelling,
working with smaller groups of students. Therefore, not all
students require access to the same technology, at the same
time.

Students may be encouraged to bring their own devices. (See

Parent Permission From in Appendix regarding student
privacy concerns).

Time Sadik (2008) Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the assignment, students
research reports may wish to schedule multiple blocks throughout the day
that educators were geared toward completing each phase of the digital
concerned storytelling website.
regarding the time
needed to complete Teachers may choose to chunk portions of the assignment.
digital storytelling Leaving space between the writing and digital phase for
assignments. reflection.

Time can be allocated for writing phase, to ensure sufficient

time is spent on creation, self-reflection, peer-reflection, and
editing.

Teacher Robin (2008) noted Teachers can practice creating their own digital stories prior to
concerns regarding implementing in the classroom. Teachers could create a digital
Technology teacher confidence story showcasing the writing and digital phase, as a digital
Confidence and skill when storytelling resources to be used in future lessons.
implementing digital
technologies into Teachers can rely on students as mentors and digital experts
the classroom. in the classroom, fostering leadership, communication, and
collaboration skills for students to further develop.

Teachers can request support from EdTech Teachers,

Librarians, and fellow teachers to mentor/coach them through
the implementation process.
 Limitation Concern Solution
Robin (2008) and Before beginning the digital phase, teachers can provide
Ohler (2006) note students with specific links to digital content (such as pixabay,
Lack of that students can iTunes) as well as limited number of required images or audio
Content potentially get clips.
carried away with
searching for, and
using too many
images and
sounds, losing
focus on the
necessary
elements of
effective digital
stories.

Concerns regarding Teachers front-load students with a citation lesson. This can
digital creation and be done in collaboration with the teacher-librarian.
Copyright content pose a
Infringement threat to students Students can also watch the easybib citation video (also
not crediting available on our website).
sources effectively,
either intentionally Throughout the website, reminders regarding citation are
or not. included. When students engage in self-reflection, peer-
reflection, and teacher conferencing opportunities arise to
discuss where images and audio were sourced, as well as
where they were recorded.

(Adapted from Sadik, Ohler, Robin and Digital Storytelling Wiki)

 Implementing
Connecting to BCs New Curriculum
British Columbias new curriculum is currently undergoing implementation in classrooms
around the province. At the heart of the curriculum are core competencies that all students
need to develop in order to allow for meaningful and lifelong learning. These core
competencies include the areas of Communication, Thinking as well as Personal and Social
areas (BCs New Curriculum, 2017). Learning activities using digital stories can easily
connect to the core competencies. Digital storytelling lends itself to more than just
reading and writing. Digital stories allow students to engage with peers through
collaboration, engage with technology media, develop digital literacy skills, as well as
others.

Within the BC Language Arts Curriculum Text is defined as

Text and texts are generic terms referring to all forms of oral, written, visual, and digital
communication:
Oral texts include speeches, poems, plays, and oral stories.
Written texts include novels, articles, and short stories.
Visual texts include posters, photographs, and other images.
Digital texts include electronic forms of all the above.
Oral, written, and visual elements can be combined (e.g., in dramatic presentations,
graphic novels, films, web pages, advertisements).
(BC Curriculum)

According to BCs New Curriculum (2017), The Big Ideas are generalizations and
principles that students are able to discover through the Content and Curricular
Competencies of the curriculum. They represent the aha! moments of the curriculum.
The Big Ideas in ELA reflect a variety of important concepts and competencies, such as
strategies, connection-building, identity, diverse perspectives, and cultural awareness (BC
Curriculum, 2017). Digital stories offer the employment of multimodalities to extend the
writing process for students in various ways. Stories connect easily to The Big Ideas, allow
them to be written in a variety of ways and across numerous platforms. Incorporating
technology extends the writing process and allows students to develop, attain and learn
new skills.

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The table on the following page highlights how utilizing digital stories in the classroom can
combine curricular areas and cover many aspects of BCs new curriculum.

19
Communication

SAMPLEIcanSTATEMENTS Connectandengagewithothers(toshareanddevelopideas)
Icanaskandrespondtosimplequestions
Icansupportandencourageothersbybeinganac velistener
Acquire,interpretandpresentinformation(includesinquiry)
Icanunderstandandshareinforma onaboutatopicthatis
importanttome
Icanpresentinforma onthatisclearandorganized
Icanpresentinforma on/ideastoanaudience,includingthose
thatIdonotknow
Collaboratetoplan,carryout,andreviewconstructionsandactivities
Icanworkwithotherstoachieveacommongoal
Icansummarizekeyideas
Explain/recount,andreflectonexperiencesandaccomplishments
Icangive,receiveandactaccordinglywithfeedback
IcanexplainandtellwhatIhavelearned

Thinking

SAMPLEIcanSTATEMENTS Noveltyandvalue
Icandevelopabodyofcrea veworkinanareathatpersonally
interestsme
IcangeneratenewideasasIpar cipateinac vi esthatIwant
tolearnmoreabout
Generatingideas
Icanlearnaboutsomethingbydoingresearchorcollaborating
withothers
Icanbuildonothersandmyownideasinnewwaystocreate
somethingnew
Developingideas
Icanmakemyideasworkormakenecessarychanges
Icanusemyexperienceswithpreviousstepstohelpdirectmy
futurework

PersonalandSocial

SAMPLEIcanSTATEMENTS Relationshipsandculturalcontexts
Icangivedescribemyfamilyandcommunity
Icanunderstandthatlearningiscontinuousandmyconceptof
selfwillcontinuetoevolve
Personalvaluesandchoices
Icantellwhatisimportanttome
Personalstrengthsandabilities
Icandescribemycharacteris csandskills
Icandevelopnewabili esandstrengthstohelpmemeetnew
challenges

BigIdeasinEnglishLanguageArts(Reading, BigIdeasinAppliedDesign,Skills,and
WritingandOralLanguage) Technologies

Grade3
language and story (including oral, wri en, or designs grow out of natural curiosity
visual) can be a source of creativity and joy skills can be developed through play
stories (whether real or imagined) and other technologies are tools that extend human
texts help us learn about ourselves, our capabilities
families, and our communities explore the use of simple, available tools and
stories can be understood from dierent technologies to extend their capabilities
perspectives
create stories and other texts to deepen
awareness of self, family, and community
plan and create a variety of communication
forms for different purposes and audiences
use oral storytelling processes
Grade4/5
language and text (including wri en, visual, designs can be improved with prototyping and
and digital texts) can be a source of creativity testing
and joy skills are developed through prac ce, eort,
exploring stories and other texts (whether real and action
or imagined) helps us understand ourselves the choice of technology and tools depends on
and make connections to others and to the the task
world choose appropriate technologies to use for
texts can be understood from different specific tasks
perspectives demonstrate a willingness to learn new
using language in creative and playful ways technologies as needed
helps us understand how language works
questioning what we hear, read, and view
contributes to our ability to be educated and
engaged citizens
exchange ideas and perspec ves to build
shared understanding
respond to text in personal and crea ve ways
use personal experience and knowledge to
connect to text and deepen our understanding
of self, community, and world
Lesson Plans for the Writing & Digital Phase

Educators are encouraged to use the following lesson plan pages as a guide for
implementing Digital Storytelling with the classroom. Each sample lesson is geared
towards a Grade 5 student, however modifications can be made to best meet your current
grade level.

Students will require access to: Internet, Computer (laptop, desktop, or mobile device),
and headphones (optional, but recommended).

Some Phases require students to enter their name. It is strongly recommended that
students only enter their first names, and not their last names. Students can use a class id
number in forms requiring last name. More information regarding Student Privacy can be
found in the Appendix.

The following lessons are provided:

Writing Phase

Introducing Digital Stories to Students

Brainstorming
Storyboarding
Researching
Creating
Editing
Polishing
Digital Phase

7 Elements of Digital Storytelling

Storyboarding
Make Away

22
 Digital Storytelling
Introducing Digital Stories to Students

Grade Level The Task

Students will be learning to create digital stories about
5 personal narratives. Before beginning the digital
production, students will need to spend time developing their
thinking before starting the writing phase, and moving onto
the digital phase.

Expected The Students Learning connections to others and the

Time Objective
BC LA Curriculum Big Ideas
40 Minutes *Language and text can be a
source of creativity and joy.
*Exploring stories and other
texts can help us understand
ourselves and make
world.
BC Applied Design, Skills
and Innovation Big Ideas
*Skills are developed through
practice, effort, and action.
*The choice of technology and
tools depends on the task.

The How
Assessment 1. Begin by showcasing sample digital stories
(youtube, previous years work, etc).
Formative 2. Discuss the importance of digital stories.
Self- 3. Discuss what elements a digital story
Reflection include.
4. Demonstrate to the class, how the
Collaborative Digital Storytelling Website is
organized.
5. Explain what the goal of the activity
includes. Specific topic identified.
6. Allow students to ask questions about
digital storytelling.
 Digital Storytelling
Writing Phase: Brainstorming

Grade Level The Task

Students will participate in brainstorming as part of the
5 writing plan. Students spend time accessing prior
knowledge, determining importance, and thinking about
ideas and perspectives.

Expected The Students Learning

Time Objective
BC LA Curriculum Big Ideas BC Applied Design, Skills
40 Minutes *Language and text can be a and Innovation Big Ideas
source of creativity and joy. *Skills are developed through
*Exploring stories and other practice, effort, and action.
texts can help us understand *The choice of technology and
ourselves and make tools depends on the task.
Assessment connections to others and the
Formative world.
Self-
Reflection
The How
1. Begin the lesson by explaining that all
good digital stories include detailed
Student
Badge behind the scene work.
2. Discuss the importance of brainstorming
as part of the writers process.
3. Explain to students that brainstorming is
an opportunity to be creative, and to
come up with a variety of ideas.
4. Explain how the website will guide the
student through the brainstorming
process.
5. Provide sufficient time for students to
work through the webpage.
 Digital Storytelling
Writing Phase: Storyboarding

The Task
Grade Level Students will be learning to storyboard their personal
narrative ideas as part of the writing process. Storyboarding
5 provides a visual representation of what the student will
include in their narrative. Planning is key, but can still be
flexible!

Expected Time The Students Learning

Objective
40 Minutes BC LA Curriculum Big Ideas BC Applied Design, Skills
*Language and text can be a and Innovation Big Ideas
source of creativity and joy. *Skills are developed through
*Exploring stories and other practice, effort, and action.
texts can help us understand *The choice of technology and
ourselves and make tools depends on the task.
Assessment connections to others and the
world.
Formative
Self- The How
1. Begin the lesson by explaining the
importance of storyboarding.
Student 2. Students can use either type form or
Badge google doc to organize their work.
3. Remind students that citing sources for
images, music and any other digital content
is critical.
4. Encourage students to think about
choosing the best digital content!
 Digital Storytelling
Writing Phase: Researching

The Task
Grade Level

Students will be conducting research as part of the writing

5
process. Additional information may be required to fill in
missing information in their personal narrative planning,
such as geographic or historical information.

Expected Time The Students Learning

Objective
40 Minutes BC LA Curriculum Big Ideas BC Applied Design, Skills
*Language and text can be a and Innovation Big Ideas
source of creativity and joy. *Skills are developed through
*Exploring stories and other practice, effort, and action.
texts can help us understand *The choice of technology and
ourselves and make tools depends on the task.
Assessment connections to others and the
world.
Formative
Self-
Researching
1 Watch digital rights/copyright video.
Student 2 Demonstrate how to use Sweet
Badge Search for images or information to
help write the story.
3 Go through the online checklist to
make sure sources are good.
4 Write key words and phrases on
sticky notes corkboard.
5 Record sources on the Padlet.
 Digital Storytelling
Writing Phase: Creating

Grade Level The Task

Students will be learning to create digital stories about
5 personal narratives. Before beginning the digital production,
students will need to spend time developing their thinking to
write their draft.

Expected Time

40 Minutes
The Students Learning
Objective
BC LA Curriculum Big Ideas BC Applied Design, Skills
*Language and text can be a and Innovation Big Ideas
Assessment source of creativity and joy. *Skills are developed through
*Exploring stories and other practice, effort, and action.
Formative texts can help us understand *The choice of technology and
Self- ourselves and make tools depends on the task.
Reflection connections to others and the
world.

Student The How

Badge 1 Watch the drafting video.
2 Start writing the first draft of your
story.Researching
 Digital Storytelling
Writing Phase: Editing

The Task
Grade Level
Part of the writing process includes editing. Students take
5
part in self-reflecting upon their writing before looking for
grammatical areas requiring revision. Students will also
conduct a peer-evaluation to help provide information in
potential gaps of understanding.

Expected Time

40 Minutes
The Students Learning
Objective
BC LA Curriculum Big Ideas BC Applied Design, Skills
*Language and text can be a and Innovation Big Ideas
Assessment source of creativity and joy. *Skills are developed through
Formative *Exploring stories and other practice, effort, and action.
Self- texts can help us understand *The choice of technology and
Reflection ourselves and make tools depends on the task.
& connections to others and the
Peer- world.
Reflection

The How
Student 1. Watch editing video.
Badge 2. Students will self-edit their written draft by
checking for punctuation, capitalization, grammar
and spelling. If applicable, students will review
any images or sources that they have used to
complete their writing.
3. Have students work with a partner to peer-edit
each others work. Each student will review draft
for any errors (including punctuation,
capitalization, grammar, and spelling).
4. Peers will record any suggestions and feedback
directly into the websites comment box.
 Digital Storytelling
Writing Phase: Polishing

The Task
Grade Level
The final part of the writing process includes polishing.
5
Students will take this opportunity to implement feedback
from peers into their final edit. Students are completing their
personal narrative script to be used in the digital production
phase.

Expected Time

40 Minutes The Students Learning

Objective
BC LA Curriculum Big Ideas BC Applied Design, Skills
*Language and text can be a and Innovation Big Ideas
source of creativity and joy. *Skills are developed through
*Exploring stories and other practice, effort, and action.
texts can help us understand *The choice of technology and
ourselves and make tools depends on the task.
Assessment
connections to others and the
world.
Formative

The How
Student
Badge
1. Watch revising video.
2. Have students edit to finalize their
written work. Remind students to
consider the feedback that their peer
partner has provided.
3. Students write their polished version
(final draft) directly into the websites
comment box.
 Digital Storytelling
Digital Phase: 7 Elements of Digital Storytelling

Grade Level The Task

5 Let the digital fun begin! Essential to interesting and

engaging digital stories are the 7 elements. Students will
learn what the 7 elements of digital storytelling are, and
why they are vital for their work.

Expected Time The Students Learning

Objective
40 Minutes BC LA Curriculum Big Ideas BC Applied Design, Skills
*Language and text can be a and Innovation Big Ideas
source of creativity and joy. *Skills are developed through
*Exploring stories and other practice, effort, and action.
texts can help us understand *The choice of technology and
ourselves and make tools depends on the task.
Assessment
connections to others and the
world.
Formative
Self-
Reflection The How
1. Begin the lesson by explaining that all good
digital stories include detailed behind the
Student
Badge scenes work.
2. Discuss the importance of brainstorming as
part of the writers process.
3. Explain to students that brainstorming is an
opportunity to be creative, and to come up
with a variety of ideas.
4. Explain how the website will guide the
students through the brainstorming
process.
5. Provide sufficient time for students to work
through the webpage.
 Digital Storytelling
Digital Phase: Storyboarding

The Task
Grade Level
Storyboarding, Part II! Now that students have written their
5 script, and have an idea of what they want to say, they will
plan how their personal narrative will be organized.
Storyboarding is essential for ordering images, considering
sound, and details.

Expected Time The Students Learning

Objective
40 Minutes
BC LA Curriculum Big Ideas BC Applied Design, Skills
*Language and text can be a and Innovation Big Ideas
source of creativity and joy. *Skills are developed through
*Exploring stories and other practice, effort, and action.
Assessment texts can help us understand *The choice of technology and
ourselves and make tools depends on the task.
Formative connections to others and the
Self- world.
Reflection
The How
1. Begin the lesson by explaining that all good
Student digital stories include detailed behind the
Badge scenes work.
2. Discuss the importance of brainstorming as
part of the writers process.
3. Explain to students that brainstorming is an
opportunity to be creative, and to come up
with a variety of ideas.
4. Explain how the website will guide the
students through the brainstorming
process.
5. Provide sufficient time for students to work
through the webpage.
Digital Storytelling
Digital Phase: Make Away

The Task
Grade Level Students are finally ready to make their digital stories! This
is can be the most exciting part for students, and now that
5 careful planning has gone into their writing and
storyboarding, there is a clear plan on what they need to do.
Technical issues can be problem solved by being open-
minded.

Expected Time The Students Learning

Objective
40 Minutes BC LA Curriculum Big Ideas BC Applied Design, Skills
*Language and text can be a and Innovation Big Ideas
source of creativity and joy. *Skills are developed through
*Exploring stories and other practice, effort, and action.
texts can help us understand *The choice of technology and
Assessment ourselves and make tools depends on the task.
connections to others and the
Formative world.
Self-
Reflection
The How
1. Watch student example videos.
2. Select platform for creating digital story (i.e.,
Student Tellagami, Adobe Spark, Stop Motion Studio) and
Badge
appropriate technology tool (i.e., desktop/laptop
computer, iPad, tablet, etc.) that will best fit your
schools accessibility, students and grade level. If
necessary, create student accounts or log-in
information for students to access.
3. Introduce platform to students. Consider building
an example together (step-by-step) as a class.
4. Have students explore the platform and build their
own digital story with their final written draft.
5. Monitor students and review areas as necessary
(multiple lessons to complete).
Classroom Implementation

Are you EXCITED to bring digital storytelling to your students? Well, get ready because its
going to be a FUN adventure!

Things to keep in mind:

1. Digital storytelling is about having students write their own story but making sure they
get input from others - peer feedback is a valuable piece of this puzzle.

2. Scaffolding is SO important. You will want to spend some time with your students prior
to them coming onto the website so they are not overwhelmed and understand the
process to follow. A lesson (or more) which introduces the process of writing is
essential. (link to sample lessons)

3. Digital Rights will be something that you will be reminding your students about
numerous times throughout the course of this process. No matter the age, kids will
need to know about copyrightable works and how to search and document their
findings.

4. We have selected the variety of technologies presented in the Digital Storytelling

resource to support students Grades 3 - 5 in both writing and digital phases.

5. The writing phase takes students from brainstorming to storyboarding, to researching,

to creating, to editing and finally to polishing their written piece.

6. Students then go on to the Digital phase where they learn about the 7 essential
elements of digital storytelling and how to apply them to their story, providing
opportunity to storyboard once again.

7. Each page has a variety of technologies included; from no-technology requirements,

such as talking with a peer about their story; to watching a video, to surveys and Padlets
and more. There is something for all learners!

33
8. Take some time to go through the website yourself, before introducing it to your
students so you can understand the different Digital Storytelling options presented and
support and challenge your students fully (link to screencast video).

9. Overall, our desire is to keep the student engaged while providing activities that are
easy to use and produce quick results with which to share with their peers.

10. Oh...the most important thing is to HAVE FUN!

Differentiation

Another important consideration in your class is making sure ALL students are integrated,
regardless of their learning differences, into this learning process. Digital storytelling is a
great way for this to occur. In particular, experts suggest this approach is a powerful
teaching tool for English Language Learners (ELL). In fact, Hur and Suh (2012) note that
digital technologies make it easy for educators to combine audio and visual data, which
helps in developing English-language proficiency. Along with the assistance from visual
learning is the opportunity to practice and develop vocabulary and pronunciation (Hur &
Suh, 2012). Learning improvements extend beyond oral skills. Teachers can also expect to
see reluctant learners spark up when given options for interactive tools to produce their
stories.

Digital storytelling has also been observed to be ...a promising construct to position
struggling writers as competent writers (Sylvester and Greenridge, 2010, p. 294)
Struggling writers may be motivated by this activity because they are more literate in new
literacies and can use these to scaffold traditional literacy. Knowing that a piece of writing
will extend beyond the writer and the teacher may motivate reluctant writers to polish,
clarify confusing parts, entertain, inform, or for some, even complete a writing assignment.
(Sylvester, and Greenridge, 2010). Tapping into the fun and excitement of using digital
techniques in the lesson may be exactly what these reluctant learners need.

Digital Apps for Storytelling

The Apps listed in the website are ordered from user-friendly to more complex.

34
What isTellagami?
Tellagami is a mobile app that allows users to create short animated videos called a Gami. It is an excellent app to help
bring student stories to life. Students can customize their Gami following basic, easy-to-follow steps. First, students
begin by selecting an avatar that will become their character. They can adapt their character by giving them a mood
(i.e., happy, silly) and then place them on the screen. Next, students can select a background that will best match their
story. Users can also personalize their background with their own pictures. Once characters and background are set,
students will record their voice to share their story. When finished, teachers can have students share their Gami on
Facebook, Twitter or send by email. Educators can also post finished videos to YouTube. Tellagami is available for
download on Android or Apple platforms.

4 Simple Steps to Complete a Gami!

Student Examples

You can see student examples here

Additional Options

Tellagami Edu is available (for a fee) to schools looking for extended options. Some of the features include text-to-
speech, character customization, background choices and doodle options.

Resources:
https://tellagami.com/
What isAdobe Spark?
Adobe Spark is an online program (and mobile app) that is free to use. It allows users to create animated video stories
with a variety of images, sounds and web pages that help to tell their own story. First, Adobe Spark is great for schools
who do not have mobile devices (including iPads and tablets), as the content can be accessed easily from any computer
with internet access. Adobe Spark is truly integrated, as students can begin their work on an iPad, come back later to it
on a desktop and finish editing their work on a PC.

How do students get started? First, users can log-in to Adobe Spark with either a Facebook, Google, or Adobe account.
The latter may be the most suitable way for teachers to log their students into the program. Once logged in, students
can begin creating their digital storytelling video. They will begin their project by choosing a pre-designed template or
creating their own. Once a template is chosen, a theme is added to create some exciting visuals. At this point, students
are ready to build and explore some of the options that they can add to their stories, including icons, photographs and
text. Students can add their voiceover to personalize and narrate their story.

Worried about copyright concerns? Well, Adobe Spark has a vast collection of stock photographs and music that users
are able to access and incorporate into their digital videos.

Ready to share? You can create links or download student projects to your computer. This allows educators to
determine where and how to share student work.

Signing up is easy! Create and Share!

Use your Computer or Mobile Device!

Still Need More Information?

Check out the tutorial here

Student Examples

You can see student examples here

Resources:
https://spark.adobe.com/
What isStop Motion Studio?
The Stop Motion Studio app is great for students looking to make animation videos. Stop-motion videos are easy to
complete with a variety of interactive tools, including automatic capture, overlay capabilities and the ability to import
images. The Stop Motion Studio app is free to download and is available on Android, Apple (iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone)
and Kindle Fire.

Some of the features of Stop Motion Studio.

Still more features.

Green Screen
Remote Camera
Movie Themes

And.

Share it anywhere!

Still Need More Information?

Resources:
https://www.cateater.com/stopmotionstudio/
 Assessment
Formative Assessment
Self-Assessment & BCs New Curriculum

British Columbia introduced a new curriculum model intended to be implemented within

the 2016-2017 school year. The redesign of curriculum also included a revision regarding
assessment practices. Moving away from letter grades in the foundational years, greater
emphasis has been placed in self-reflection as a critical piece of a students educational
journey. According to the Supporting the Self-Assessment and Reporting of Core
Competencies (2017) document, the ministry aims to provide support for educators in
developing and fostering self-reflection practices from students in relation to the core
competencies, alongside formative and summative practices conducted by the teacher.

The importance of self-assessment is a major component in ensuring students are

reflective, aware, and developing metacognition in terms of monitoring their own learning.
The Supporting the Self-Assessment and Reporting of Core Competencies (2017)
document states, Self-assessment will allow them to develop the ability to describe
themselves as unique individuals in relation to the Core Competencies. They will set goals
and gain greater ownership of their learning when they as learners, document their
progress, and share their accomplishments in an ongoing and holistic manner (pg. 2).

As students become part of the assessment framework model, essentially active

stakeholders in their own learning, each and every task is conducted with understanding in
how it fits in with the big ideas and core competencies.

Therefore, when students engage with the Collaborative Storytelling Website, there are
strategically placed self-assessment sections for students to engage in reflective and
metacognitive analysis of their progress. For example, when students are working through
the writing phase and are under the editing page, there is an opportunity for students to
peer-edit. Students actively engage in dialogue with their peers, discussing what areas
require support or further work. This process of peer-reflection coincides nicely with the
Core Competencies of Communication and Critical Thinking; students are learning how to
listen thoughtfully to their peers, contribute meaningful feedback based on prior

38
knowledge, and relying on strategies to discuss various perspectives. As students are busy
writing their drafts for their digital stories, teachers are given the opportunity to observe
and provide timely formative feedback in a safe and inclusive environment, allowing
students to edit and revise their work.

Self-reflection during the digital phase is equally important. Students are given opportunity
to carefully reflect, observe, and think critically about whether they have successfully
implemented the 7 Elements of Digital Storytelling through the use of short answer
responses. When students are asked to critically consider how and to what extent they
have implemented the 7 Elements into their digital stories, students again are given the
opportunity to reflect upon the level of their work.

Finally, during the Teacher Conference page of the digital phase, students are given the
opportunity to conference with their teacher in order to ensure all elements of their digital
story are included so that their writing, script, and multimedia make sense before
production begins.

As Jason Ohler states in Digital Storytelling in the Classroom having students reflect at
the end of the media creation process is critical (pg. 67). When students are asked to think
about their digital stories, the issues they experienced, what they learned, and how they
improved throughout the process, they consider themselves active members rather than
passive students.

7 Essential Elements of Digital Storytelling

According to Joe Lambert and Dana Atchley, who established the Center for Digital
Storytelling, they suggest that all good digital stories are based on a combination of the 7
elements of digital storytelling. These include,
Point of View--give students the power to voice their opinions and perspectives
Dramatic Question--students learn to hook their audience and captivate their attention
Emotional Content--go beyond laughter and allow the audience to emotionally
connect with their video
Economy--students learn to budget time, attempting to limit their video to 2-3 min.
Pacing--how will they maintain engagement with their audience
Voice--narration is key, clear voiceover is necessary
Soundtrackhow will music/audio improve the digital story

39
Summative Assessment & Digital Storytelling

When assessing students final production in the form of a digital story, it is important for
teachers to have a clear understanding of what they intend to assess. According to Jason
Ohler (2008) a digital storytelling rubric must consider the following points:

Set clear goals: Teachers should have a solid understanding of what learning objectives
they want to assess while also considering the technological components.

Assess Everything: All work students conduct and create while preparing a digital story
must be assessed. Consider their writing, any artwork, images and music sourced, etc. as
essential elements that will either add to, or take away from their final digital story.
Provide formative feedback during each phase, as has been set up in our website, to
ensure students overall success during summative assessment.

Assess the Process: As each phase (writing and digital) has been scaffolded to provide
students with the tools necessary to plan effectively, be sure to keep anecdotal records
of their progress. Students require timely feedback during each phase so they are
successful at achieve set goals. Therefore, summative assessment can include the
process as well.

Include Self-Assessment and Peer Review: As previously mentioned, including self-

reflection and peer-reflection as part of the summative assessment is critical so students
are aware that each phase of the digital storytelling process lends itself to the final
production piece. As students are encouraged to take-risks in their thinking and digital
design, students should be cognizant that they are members of a larger community of
learners.

Ohler suggests teachers consider the Assessment traits and choose between three to six
traits together with students, as a means of creating the summative assessment rubric.

Included on the following page is a list of possible digital story evaluation traits.
(Source: Jason Ohlers website)

40
List of possible digital story evaluation traits

Story How well did the story work? This trait can address structure,
engagement, character transformation or any of the other qualities
of story discussed in Part II. In fact, an entire rubric can be devoted
to evaluating the quality
Project planning Is there evidence of solid planning, in the form of story maps,
scripts, storyboards, etc.?
Media How well did the student follow the media development process
Development covered in Part III?
Process
Research Was the students project well researched and documented?
Content How well did the student meet the academic goals of the
understanding assignment and convey an understanding of the material
addressed?
Assignment Did you require stories to be under two minutes, use no more than
criteria 10 images and 30 seconds of music and provide citations in MLA
format? Whatever your criteria, be clear and stick to them.
Writing What was the quality of the students written work exhibited in the
planning documents, research, etc.?

Originality, voice, How creative was the production? Did the student exhibit an original
creativity sense of voice and a fresh perspective?
Economy Was the information presented through the story sifted, prioritized and
told without bird walking or detours, as described in Part III?

Flow, organization Was the story well organized? Did it flow well, moving from part to part
and pacing without bumps or disorientation, as described in Part III?

Presentation and How effective was the students actual presentation or performance? This
performance includes burning a DVD, posting the story on the Web site effectively,
performing it before an audience, or whatever the assignment required.
Sense of audience How well did the story respect the needs of the audience?

Media application Was the use of media appropriate, supportive of the story, balanced and
well considered?

Media grammar How bumpy was the story? Media grammar and its relation to bumps
and squints are described in Part III. There are many facets of media
grammar, and you may want to choose a few to focus on.
Citations, Has everything that is not original been credited, as described in Part III?
permission Have permissions been obtained where necessary? Do citations appear
in the format required by the project?

http://www.jasonohler.com/storytelling/assessmentWIX.cfm
Consider writing a rubric together with your students to reinforce the significance of the
digital storytelling assignment, as well as ensuring students have a clear understanding of
the learning objectives and expectations.

Based on the work by McNeil and Robin (2012) they created an evaluation framework for
digital storytelling that has three main categories: evaluation during the design process,
evaluation during the development process, and evaluation after the project is completed.
Each of these categories is divided into self-evaluation by the creator or group of creators
if the project is team-based, peer-evaluation by other students, and educational evaluation
by the teacher. (University of Houston-Education).

McNeil, S. & Robin, R. 2012

42
Rubrics

Kathy Schrock, a leading technology integration teacher provides a list of useful rubrics
that can be used as a reference or used to assess the digital stories created by students.
Provided below is a list of Assessment and Research links collated by Schrock, and
available on her website. However you choose to develop your own rubrics is determined
upon the goals of your digital stories.

Assessment and Research

1. University of Houston sample rubric

2. Kamehameha Schools (HI) rubric
3. Scott County Schools (KY) rubric
4. Digital storytelling contest judging rubric
5. Ohler: Assessment traits
6. Hung: PBL & digital storytelling research
7. Barrett: Digital storytelling research
8. Maddin: Using TPCK with digital storytelling
9. Digital storytelling rubrics : UMBC
10. Digital storytelling rubric (UIUC Libraries)
11. Digital storytelling rubric (UC-Denver)
12. Digital storytelling rubric (DSTCO)
13. Schrock rubric for digital storytelling
14. Schrock critical evaluation survey: Digital stories

43
Badges & Student Portfolios

Badges
The badges issued to your students after each level in the writing and digital phases are
intended to do more than merely cheer them up and motivate them in the future. Yes,
these badges are easy to get, and are mostly offered in an attempt to make the process
more fun in the hopes that, in some small way, it will motivate them to like the activity (ies)
and try their best. Further, the badges are used as as a way to clearly communicate whats
expected of students and when theyve achieved mastery. The motivation is to show
students how far they have come and how far there is still yet to go. It communicates that
according to this badge issuer, the student has successfully completed everything we
think they need to do to demonstrate mastery. (Abramovich et al, 2013, p 219) While
badges are not a motivator in and of themselves, they can be a valuable tool for
communicating what your students know and can do. In that sense, they can be extremely
powerful when used as part of a digital storytelling process.

Digital Portfolios
Badges are also an excellent piece of evidence to include in student portfolios. For
students who are creating digital portfolios, badges can be added to their portfolio as a
documentation piece, showcasing their progress and learning. Students can also provide a
written reflection describing what the badge stands for, and how it is connected to their
learning objectives. Digital badges are exciting for students because they can use the
badges as a speaking point discussing their learning with parents, family, and friends.

Paper-Based Portfolios
For students who are collating their learning in a paper based portfolio, a completed
badge form can be downloaded, printed, and glued into their paper portfolios. Students
can colour in these badges while working through each phase, as a means of monitoring
progress, and then when the digital story is completed they can complete one final self-
assessment reflection focusing on 2 stars and a wish for the writing and digital phase. (Link
to Assessment page).

44
Saving Digital Stories for Future Viewing

As technology is constantly evolving at a rapid rate, issues may arise regarding where and
how to store digital stories so they can be enjoyed for years to come. Some things to
consider:
Does your school or district have a digital portfolio policy? Consider uploading videos
to a students eportfolio, such as FreshGrade or SeeSaw.
With parent permission, students may upload videos to their Youtube channel or a
class Youtube Account.
Students can also save to the cloud using their personal account information.
Using a specific hashtag can also allow students to search their digital stories on social
media platforms for years to come.
The possibilities are endless!

Digital Storytelling: Community of Practice

Do you want to know more about Digital Storytelling in the 21st century classroom?

Here are some interesting Twitter feeds to follow:

Twitter Feeds - Bernajean Porter, Mizuko Ito,
Blogs to follow http://www.itofisher.com/mito/
Amy Burvall and Alan Levine

Also, there are many videos out there that show great examples of Digital Storytelling in
other classroom. A variety of storytelling videos can be found on ted.com and Youtube.
Teachers can prepare for lessons by collating videos that meet their specific classroom
needs, revolving around content and curricular connections.

45
 Conclusion
The design of our website, along with the curriculum guide is intended to guide, support,
and encourage educators to implement digital storytelling within their classrooms. The
writing and digital phases of the website should challenge students to think creativity and
critically. Reflection is a critical piece of digital storytelling, students consider their progress
and the process. Students are encouraged to revise their work and make any necessary
changes. The design of digital storytelling is not linear but cyclical, students can work
backwards to ensure their intended goal is met. Along with self, peer and teacher
feedback, students are demonstrating metacognition.

Most exciting in our design, is that we hope all educators feel empowered to share these
digital stories with a larger, global audience. When students write for a larger audience,
they are much more motivated to write and tend to do their best work (Sylvester and
Greenidge, 2010, p. 290). We hope your students are engaged, motivated, and excited to
share their stories to an audience that reaches far beyond the four walls of the classroom.
Dont forget to use a digital storytelling hashtag! Have fun.

46
 Appendix:
Student Privacy Concerns

When utilizing online programs and websites, educators are required to protect the privacy
of their students. For instance, teachers need to ensure student privacy for information that
includes their name, age/birthday, address, email address, phone number, personal
identification number, geographic location or any other information that may identify them.
Further, this may also include photos or videos of individual students as well. In other
words, personal information is any information that may be used to identify an individual
student. Many school districts have both parents and students sign acceptable use
agreements when accessing Internet programs with school technologies. These
agreements typically have guidelines for Acceptable Use, Social Networking sites, Privacy/
Safety concerns, Copyright/Fair Use/Plagiarism and others. In fact, all British Columbia
school students and staff are expected to follow the rules and expectations as laid out in
the provinces Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA).

Since some of the programs utilized on the Digital Storyboarding Weebly website include
activities that are performed off-site (i.e., external programs and websites), users are
reminded to ensure that students are not using any personal information that may identify
them. Thus, if a student needs to perform activities that require their name, teachers are
strongly encouraged to assign a number or other method that ensures their students
privacy (i.e., first name, log-in number). In addition, teachers need to ensure that student
work is maintained on Canadian servers. Many websites, such as FreshGrade, provide
information as to how they handle the private information of students. For more
information on protecting the privacy of students, educators are encouraged to refer to
FOIPPA as well as checking their local school boards for specific guidelines and policies.

Permission Forms
Additional information regarding using Weebly in the classroom can be found here.
Educators are encouraged to be aware of terms and agreements, and have parents sign
permission forms acknowledging that students will be using Youtube, apps, and
technology devices (in conjunction with their schools Technology Policies).

47
 Design Considerations

While the website created offers many educational benefits, it is important to note that
during the current beta mode there are some limitations to this platform. Understanding
these concerns, we recognize that collecting data is important for educators who are often
asked to monitor and track student progress. Therefore, our website, which uses forms
such as Typeforms and Wufoo, realizes the this data may be stored on third-party servers,
and require teachers to move towards other forms to collect self-reflection data. One
possible solution would be to change these forms to google, so that teachers could set up
the form to send data to their own google folder, allowing them to control where and how
student information/data is organized. However, based on the current design model, this
design is effective for the designers implementing these forms within their current teaching
practices.

Screencast for Teachers

Included on the website you will find a screencast video explaining the features of the
website and how to use it in your own classroom. This how-to guide supplements our
Curriculum Guide, and Lesson Plans.

Check it out here!

48
 References
Abramovich, Samuel, Schunn, Christian and Mitsuo Higashi, Ross. (2013). Are
badges useful in education?: it depends upon the type of badge and
expertise of learner. Education Tech Research Dev. 61:217232. DOI.
10.1007/s11423-013-9289-2.

Adobe Spark. (2017). Retrieved from https://spark.adobe.com/

Alexander, B and Levin, A. (2008). Web 2.0 storytelling: mergence of a new genre.
Retrieved from :http://er.educause.edu/articles/2008/10/web-20-storytelling-
emergence-of-a-new-genre

Barrett, H. (2006). Researching and evaluating digital storytelling as a deep learning tool. In
C. Crawford et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology &
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