OHLER Book Thoughts

I’ve felt that most of the information I’ve read thus far in our DST class book has been interested.  A lot of the questions we have all probably thought about have been brought up - such as costs, time and how to go about implementing DTS into the classroom.

One area that especially drew to my attention was in Ch. 2 under the title “Creativity and Originality.”  The quote that said something like “creativity seems to be at the odds with the world of standardized testing and getting the right answer” made me think about this one struggle when it comes to implementing creativity into the classroom.  The book also stated that teachers can see evidence of creativity skills in students that apply to the real world (with DTS), but are not being addressed in school.  This made me think of a video I just recently saw in my “Creativity in the Classroom” class by Ken Robinson entitled “RSA ANIMATE:  CHANGING EDUCATIONAL PARADIGMS” (very good clip to watch from YouTube!)  Many subject areas (Math, Science, etc.) have to deal with standardized testing.  This creates a barrier to spending the time a teacher may need to start implementing DTS into the classroom.  Although we know that the time may be well worth it in the end, these teachers have a constant focus on getting their students to pass tests and the curriculum they are teaching may already be jam packed.  School personnel and administration may not be completely accepting of this time needed - especially with the “No Child Left Behind” act - which makes schools more responsible for the success of the students.  Although all subjects have standards they must follow, the content areas with state tests will have the most struggle with trying new classroom techniques. 

Back to the Ken Robinson video which can relate to the standardization issue, Robinson explains that the current education system is designed and conceived for a different age (the intellectual culture of the enlightenment and industrial revolution).  An increase in ADHD is partly due to an overstimulating nation with children not being able to focus because schools are filled with “boring stuff.”  Also the clip states that ADHD increases with standardized testing and that children learn better in groups than separately.  A solution to the education systems many problems is to go in the opposite direction of standardization.  I think that standardization doesn’t easily allow for the implementation of creativity in students and the acceptance of DTS in many of the classrooms.  A major struggle will be to convince others that DTS can only help the learning system if done in the right manner (example from the book: time spent versus benefits derived).  

One more resource in case anyone is interested...there is another youtube clip by Ken Robinson called “Do Schools Kill Creativity” that is also great!

Digital Storytelling Project - Group Update

I've been getting more excited about the project - now that our group has created a FOCUS on what we will be doing it on.  When I first heard about the project, I honestly thought "oh crap what am I going to do." After getting into a great group, I am really enjoying it and all the ideas we've come up with.  My mind is always thinking about new ways I could use digital storytelling in my future classroom.

My group - Dan, Aaron and I - are using iMovie to compile all of our work & ideas into a digital story.  (i have a slight obsession with iMovie now and have literally spend hours on trying to create some digital stories for my own use & for some creativity projects in another class of mine - OBSESSED!  And I also created one using music and pictures from my recent family Philly trip and sent it to my dad - it turned out so cute & makes me look very "techie?" "techy?")  Our focus is on the importance of creating emotions within students and the different types of ways to do it (audio, visual, etc.)  We each came up with 1 main idea from our subject area of expertise - with the exception of Aaron who came up with a great idea which can be incorporated in different types of classes.

We all came together with ideas in the first class and then decided to split up some work we could do individually and keep in touch and let each other know how we were doing.  We met at Starbucks last week and complied some stuff together.  It was so nice to see everyone helping each other out - Dan and Aaron worked for a couple hours until I could get out of class and meet them.  I feel that the group dynamic has been great - I've rarely been in a group where when you say "ok - everyone get this done by next week" and they ACTUALLY DO IT.  It felt great to see our progress and be with friendly and optimistic people.  Aaron was helping Dan with his audio section and through this whole process so far, each person has been helping one another out if another lacked knowledge on how to do something.

The majority of what we have left to do is to shoot a video clip to put onto the digital storyboard and a little bit of editing.  We plan on shooting the video clip after class on Tuesday and then hopefully just a few touch ups!  I'm very excited to see what everyone else has come up with and all the hard work of the others in class! :D

Digital Story Telling - Journal #1

I'm having a bad hair day - that is why I cannot post a video.  Ok, I lied.  My hair looks ok - I just don't want to do a video.  Maybe next time!

The story I chose was "Unable" by RaNiqua Wilson.  RaNiqua created a story sharing her experiences with her mother and fathers abusive relationship and how it affected her family.  My overall impressions were that it was a sad, yet powerful video.  I thought the way in which she used her own voice to tell her story was great and the way she spoke showed her sadness and the seriousness of the topic.  The pictures of her family made it more meaningful and real.  When she said that it seems like her life is great and that she hides behind a smile, I feel that many people can relate to this - and when people can relate to something, it makes it more valuable.

I can think of lots of ways to use this in a HEALTH classroom.  One example would be to use this as a demo of something I would have high school students re-create into their own.  I would include this in a STRESS MANAGEMENT unit.  Sadly, suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among adolescents and young people, which is why stress management skills are VITAL to helping them cope with all the difficulties life brings - especially at that age.  There are many adults who don't know how to cope with problems in healthy ways, but children/teens especially don't have as much life experience in knowing that they can get through certain things (a breakup, not making a sports team, etc) - things that seem so silly, but can seem so BIG to them.  Although we all have our own struggles, many people feel as though they are the only one's dealing with a certain situation, when in reality, there are many others facing similar struggles.  Learning strategies to help cope with these struggles can be learned through a project like this where they can see what others their own age go through.

*I would possibly allow students to make a video on someone else (must be around the same age) if they do not feel comfortable telling a story of their own - b/c telling someone else's story can be just as powerful & still benefit the purpose.

I would have the students create a video on a struggle or hard situation that they dealt with in the past or are dealing with now.  A great environment where students feel comfortable sharing these personal things is very important - so I wouldn't do this project until a little later in the school year.  They can share something simple (stress over school, friends, parents) or something more personal (someone having cancer in the family, a friends suicide, an major injury/accident, etc)  I think that students are willing to be very open - and not only will the students see difficult things that their peers go through, but will help to create a sense of connectedness within the classroom.

I would EVALUATE this project/idea by the ability of them to be creative in their personal story (music, voice, pictures, etc), ability to create emotion, showing how the situation affected them AND the people around them, how they dealt/are dealing with the problem, and suggestions to others who may be facing a similar situation.

Thanks for reading! -Eileen