Katy Smalley

LITR 630

Digital Story Assignment

 For this lesson, students are publishing their research in a digital story by

using the Adobe Spark website. A digital story is a powerful teaching and learning

tool that engages both teachers and their students (Robin, 2008). This allows

students to personalize their findings and publish them in a mode that allows for

parents and others outside of the school to see their work. Using Adobe Spark

videos is a great tool for students to access. It allows students to have tools and

build skills that were not available a just few years ago. A research project like this

would have been too complicated and costly to be an effective lesson, but digital

stories are now within everyones grasp. And, according to Jason Ohler, with the

Internet as an international stage, they are everyone's to watch and enjoy (Ohler,

2006).

Standards

Common Core State Standards:

W.2.7- ARTICIULATE IN SHARED RESEARCH AND WRITING PROJECTS (E.G.

READ A NUMBER OF BOOKS ON A SINGLE TOPIC TO PRODUCE A REPORT)

Students are continuing to work together to collect and share information on an animal.

Students are using the wiki and Adobe Spark Video to share the information gained in

their previous online research.

ISTE 3. Research and information fluency

Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.

a. Plan strategies to guide inquiry- students previously worked on finding credible

sources through a guided practice and worked in partners to continue to use these skills.

This lesson also includes a lot of modeling to guide learning on a new format- Adobe

Spark.

b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a

variety of sources and media students are analyzing and evaluating the websites

presented to them, students have been working to locate and organize sites with a partner.

This lesson allows them to take this information, ethically use it and publish across

various media.

c. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness

to specific tasks The lessons leading up to this one required students to evaluate and

select their sources.

d. Process data and report results- students were reporting their results by creating and

publishing their videos.

KTS:

6.1 Uses available technology to design and plan instruction.

Technology was used in the entirety of this lesson. The Weebly and Wiki were updated

for students to access the page, and students were taught how to use the Adobe Spark

website. During the school year, all lesson plans would be uploaded into grade level

Google Docs in order to ensure collaborative planning.

6.2 Uses available technology to implement instruction that facilitates student learning.
Students are using Chrome Books to engage in the lesson, and follow along with small

group and whole class discussions. Students are accessing Adobe Spark through class

websites, then using it to publish their research.

6.5 Demonstrates ethical and legal use of technology.

All websites are linked (through my Weebly site and the classroom wiki) to the original

source, so credit can be given to the creators of each site. Students are also using a feature

within Adobe Spark that ensures the photos they are using are not infringing on

copyright.

ILA 1.2 Candidates understand the historically shared knowledge of the profession and

changes over time in the perceptions of reading and writing development, processes, and

components.

By explicitly teaching students online literacy skills, I am embracing the changes over

time to the perceptions of reading and using online resources.

ILA 2.2 Candidates use appropriate and varied instructional approaches, including those

that develop word recognition, language comprehension, strategic knowledge, and

readingwriting connections.

Students are being exposed to websites at different reading levels, and are scaffolded so

that they may all be successful. They are also engaging in partner, small group, and

whole group discussions to work on language comprehension, and typing out responses

online.

ILA 2.3 Candidates use a wide range of texts (e.g., narrative, expository, and poetry)

from traditional print, digital, and online resources.

Students are using digital print after being exposed to traditional print on the same topic

in previous lessons. Students are also using online resources by way of the school

website, Weebly, search engines, the Wiki, and Adobe Spark.

ILA 3.1 Candidates understand types of assessments and their purposes, strengths, and

limitations.

Anecdotal notes and teacher observations are used throughout this lesson. Students

videos meeting set criteria (using a picture and text on each slide, include all the required

information from the graphic organizers, working together with their partner/group) will

also be used as a student assessment.

ILA 5.1 Candidates design the physical environment to optimize students use of

traditional print, digital, and online resources in reading and writing instruction.

Checking out the Chrome Book cart from the library, and allowing students to work

collaboratively within their table groups and partners have optimized the environment

optimized for student use of technology in this lesson.

TPACK

This lesson utilizes the TPACK framework that uses technology to enhance student

learning. The planning of this lesson began with the content knowledge, knowing

that students need to publish a writing piece, and understanding the engagement

that creating a video will bring. Adding that to the excitement of students be able to

share this final product with their parents made it a great connection between

technology and content. Students are using technology in a variety of ways,

including being introduced to a new website and using it to create and publish a

video showcasing the research they collected using the SEARCH framework (Henry,
2006). The lesson shows my pedagogical knowledge by modeling expectations and

procedures throughout the lesson. Students are also able to synthesize and

communicate with their peers to help process their new learning. As showcased by

the CCSS incorporated into this lesson, students are also engaging in content by

analyzing the online text and identifying the authors purpose. This is also a part of a

larger writing unit that matches CCSS.

 References

Henry, L. A. (2006). SEARCHing for an answer: The critical role of new literacies while reading on the

Internet. International Reading Association, 59(7), 614-627.

Ohler, J. (2006). The World of Digital Story Telling. Educational Leadership, 63(4), 44-47. Retrieved June

27, 2017.

Robin, B. R. (2008). Digital Storytelling: A Powerful Technology Tool for the 21st Century Classroom.

Theory Into Practice, 47(3), 220-228. doi:10.1080/00405840802153916