Jason Chwirut

Jason Chwirut

Camtasia Studio

PROJECT PROPOSAL

Incorporating the Use of Video

This would be a professional development course that educates teachers on digital storytelling and its effects in the classroom. The topics to be addressed in this course are as follows:

• What is digital storytelling?
• Why is digital storytelling a significant classroom tool?
• How can a digital story be created?
• How can digital stories be incorporated into various content areas?

By the end of the course, teachers will be able to create a digital story and an accompanying lesson plan to be implemented in the classroom.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Problem

A key problem that teachers face in schools today is the lack of motivation from their students. As times change, students no longer respond to the chalkboard methods of the past. With the rise of technology our students have become digital. 92% of children ages 2-17 use some form of technology on a daily basis (Simpson & Clem, 2008). Students respond positively to these tools because they motivate by virtue of being fun (Simpson & Clem, 2008). When incorporated into the classroom, technology is extremely valuable. 74% of teachers polled across the United States reported an increase in student attention when these tools were used in the curriculum (Rother, 2003). 86% said that the use of technology improved performance (Rother, 2003). As educators, we need to respond to these findings and create learning experiences that motivate our students to achieve.

What is to be Learned

Through this course, teachers will learn what digital stories are, why they are significant, and how they can be used in the classroom. They will also learn how to create digital stories which will be implemented during classroom instruction.

Learning Audience

Teachers are the target audience for this course.

Learning Content

The course will begin by explaining what digital stories are. It will have links to digital stories to help teachers fully understand the concept and components involved. It will also provide teachers with links to other sites that contain digital stories. Next, the course will discuss the benefits of digital stories in the classroom and how they respond to the varying learning styles in the classroom. This unit will have links to articles where the teachers must read and discuss the impact that digital stories will have on student learning. In the unit that follows, students will learn how to create a digital story with an accompanying lesson plan. The teachers will upload their stories along with the lesson plan to the discussion page and give each other feedback on the stories and lessons they view.

In each unit there will be a brief introduction. This will be followed by the learning objectives for the unit. Each lesson will also have a discussion where the teachers must discuss the information they are learning with one another. At the end of each unit, there will be a journal selection where students must provide a brief reflection about what they learned.

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES

By the end of this course, teachers will be able to:

• State what a digital story is.
• Generate a list of ways that digital stories can be used in each subject area for their grade level.
• Create a digital story that is appropriate for their grade level using Microsoft Photo Story.
• List the benefits of digital stories in all subject areas.
• Facilitate the use of a digital story with their students.

CURRICULUM MAP

Click the link to view my curriculum map for this course. File:Curriculum Map.doc

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

After reading chapters 9-12 in Gange, I thought a lot about the learning activities that I wanted to present in this course. I considered such things as how I would gain the attention of the learners, inform objectives, provide guidance and feedback, elicit and assess performance, and enhance retention. I decided that through the use of video tutorials, articles, group discussions, project creations, and journal entries, I would help students meet the learning outcomes. Look below to find the specific activities that are included for each unit.

Unit I-- Demonstrate the understanding of digital storytelling.

1. State what a digital story is.

Activities:

• Using video to watch a sample digital story.
• Reading "7 Things You Should Know about Digital Storytelling."
• Create a personal definition of digital storytelling based on example.
• Discussion of personal digital storytelling definition with classmates.

2. Identifies the components of digital storytelling.

Activities:

• Watches a digital story and identifies the components existing or lacking from the story.
• Discusses noticings about these existing/lacking components with classmates.

3. Lists the educational benefits of digital storytelling in the classroom.

Activities:

• Reads an article that details some of the benefits of digital storytelling.
• Watches several digital stories to find additional benefits.
• Discussion of additional digital storytelling benefits (other than the ones taught).

Assessment—Teachers will complete a journal entry on how digital storytelling might benefit their students.

Unit II-- Demonstrate the ability to use Microsoft Photo Story.

1. Demonstrates the ability to select and import images using the “Import” option in MS Photo Story.

Activities:

• Watch video tutorial on how to import images.
• Practice uploading images provided by the instructor.
• Post a question/problem to the navigational discussion area if necessary.
• Help students with difficulties they may be having with microsoft photo story in the navigational discussion area.

2. Demonstrates the ability to add titles and text to images using Microsoft Photo Story.

Activities

• Watch the video tutorial on how to add titles and text to images.
• Practice adding titles and text to previously uploaded images.
• Post a question to the navigational discussion area if necessary.
• Help students with difficulties they may be having with microsoft photo story in the navigational discussion area.

3. Demonstrates the ability to record narrations using the “Record” option in MS Photo Story.

Activities:

• Watch the video tutorial on how to record narrations.
• Practice recording narrations based on the script provided by the instructor.
• Post a question to the navigational discussion area if necessary.
• Help students with difficulties they may be having with microsoft photo story in the navigational discussion area.

4. Demonstrates the ability to add motion to photos using the “Customize Motion” button.

Activities:

• Watch the video tutorial on how to customize motion.
• Practice adding motion to uploaded images.
• Post a question to the navigational discussion area if necessary.
• Help students with difficulties they may be having with microsoft photo story in the navigational discussion area.

5. Demonstrates the ability to add music to a story using the “Create Music” option.

Activities:

• Watch the video tutorial on how to create music.
• Practice creating music for the story you’ve created.
• Post a question to the navigational discussion area if necessary.
• Help students with difficulties they may be having with microsoft photo story in the navigational discussion area.

6. Demonstrates the ability to save a story for playback on the computer.

Activities:

• Watch the video tutorial on saving digital stories.
• Practice saving your story based on the tutorial.
• Post a question to the navigational discussion area.
• Help students with difficulties they may be having with microsoft photo story in the navigational discussion area.

7. Demonstrates the ability to upload a digital story onto YouTube.

Activities:

• Watch video tutorial on uploading video to YouTube.
• Practice uploading the "How to Grow a Flower" digital story onto YouTube, based on the the tutorial.
• Post a question to the navigational discussion area.
• Help students with difficulties they may be having with microsoft photo story in the navigational discussion area.

Assessment—Have the teachers journal their feelings on navigating Microsoft Photostory. They can write about their triumphs and/or frustrations.

Unit III-- Demonstrate the ability to use digital storytelling in class.

1. Creates a list of ways that digital storytelling could be used with students in each subject area.

Activities:

• Read the article "Digital Storytelling Across the Curriculum."
• Based on the article, brainstorm a list of ways digital storytelling could be used in each subject area with students.
• Discuss the generated list with classmates to gain additional ideas.

2. Demonstrates the ability to use digital stories with students through the creation of a digital story and lesson plan.

Activities:

• Create a digitial story for one of the ideas listed that were listed in the previous activity. (All the components discussed in the course must be utilized.)
• Create a lesson plan to be used with the digital story created.
• Post a link to the digital story and upload the lesson plan to the discussion area so that classmates can give one another feedback.

Assessment--Have the teachers reflect on what they learned during the course and how they will apply what they've learned in the course learning journal.