Marianthi Kotadaki, M.Ed. ELT School Advisor
Digital Storytelling as a Learning Tool in the Foreign Language Classroom
Course guide
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Introduction
A digital learning generation Teaching a foreign language to "digital generation" students in today’s classrooms requires at least the teachers’ alertness to and flexibility in integrating technological advances in their classrooms. Major language learning theories promote learner- and learning-centred approaches, which promote the learners’ active and holistic involvement in authentic language acts. The development of the students’ productive (speaking and writing) and collaborative skills is placed at the heart of contemporary teaching as a key factor for the shaping of communicatively efficient world citizens. Storytelling and Digital Storytelling Oral and written language production is intrinsically linked to the human ability to narrate and frequently constitutes a product of collaborative action. Storytelling is an effective means for oral and written expression. Traditions, beliefs, cultural norms and history passed from generation to generation through fables, myths and story-based rituals, which were meant to teach and entertain, but they were also essential to people’s identity and survival. Stories are the reflection of our experiences. Therefore, they can be used to teach lessons, to motivate an audience toward a learning goal. They are ideal for attitudinal training because when an audience is motivated, they no longer need to be persuaded, they are inspired to take action. In educational contexts, telling or writing a story can make learning more effective, as it enables learners to process and remember information Therefore, it is a demanding cognitive skill, the development of which requires a strategic process. Over time, new media have opened new worlds of storytelling possibilities. Digital storytelling has emerged and developed over the years as a powerful tool for enhancing learning results. Digital storytelling “…refers to using new digital tools to help ordinary people to tell their own real-life stories” (Wikipedia). It is defined as the production of narrative speech enriched with digital multimedia, such as images, audio and video. Embedding a particular theme or viewpoint in multimedia technology as a modern channel of sharing personal recounts is considered a contemporary form of selfexpression and, as such, it is adopted for a variety purposes in social, academic and occupational environments. Digital stories can be digital documentaries, computer-based narratives, digital essays, electronic memoirs, interactive storytelling and plenty more narrative types which embed a variety of multimedia, including graphics, audio, video, and Web publishing. Pioneer in the field, British photographer, author, and educator Daniel Meadows defined digital stories as “short, personal multimedia tales told from the heart.” The beauty of this form of digital expression, he maintained, is that these stories can be created by people everywhere, on any subject, and shared electronically all over the world. Digital Storytelling as a Learning Tool in the Foreign Language Classroom Marianthi Kotadaki (M.Ed.), School Advisor
Page |3 Digital Storytelling in EFL/ESL language teaching and learning Digital Storytelling has over the years evolved into a powerful learning tool in a variety of educational contexts. The ability to produce effective narratives presupposes the implementation of significant skills and literacies, such as receptive and productive language skills, digital and transmedia literacy and collaboration skills. Integrating Digital Storytelling in the EFL/ESL classroom can generate interest, attention and motivation for the "digital generation" students, whose analytic and synthetic language skills, creative talents and communication abilities can be activated and enhanced by learning to organize and present their ideas in a coherent, linguistically appropriate and individually meaningful way. The process of constructing, sharing and evaluating personal narratives can boost the students’ emotional intelligence and social learning appealing at the same time to their diverse learning styles, making, in this sense, the Digital Storytelling process a valuable experience of ownership and accomplishment for both teachers and students.
Digital Storytelling as a Learning Tool in the Foreign Language Classroom Marianthi Kotadaki (M.Ed.), School Advisor
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About the e-course
‘Digital Storytelling as a Learning Tool in the Foreign Language Classroom’ is an intensive 4-week-long e-course which introduces prospective English language teachers into the concept, the process and the pedagogical value of Digital Storytelling. Through actively engaging in the strategic procedure of creating a digital story, the participants experientially explore the merits of this pioneering approach for language learning. The major aims of the course are: •
to investigate the elements of storytelling as a specific genre,
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to present the main principles underlying the production of narrative speech,
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to investigate the elements of Digital Storytelling as a teaching and learning approach,
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to investigate the contribution of digital storytelling to the production of authentic and structured spoken and written language,
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to raise awareness of the pedagogical value of integrating digital storytelling in teaching and learning,
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to investigate the contribution of digital storytelling to the development of collaboration skills through cooperative creativity,
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to enable the participants to develop collaboration skills through the exchange of ideas and experiences,
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to enable the participants to actively explore a new pedagogical approach, so that they may eventually integrate active learning in their teaching,
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to enrich the participants’ academic and pedagogical knowledge and skills and
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to reinforce the participants’ digital literacy, as well as their use of ICT for their professional development.
The present e-course offers a combination of academic studying, digital training and personal creativity, so that it may become clear that every means or approach that is linked to teaching needs to be theoretically underpinned, actively trialed and reflectively implemented.
Digital Storytelling as a Learning Tool in the Foreign Language Classroom Marianthi Kotadaki (M.Ed.), School Advisor
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E-course structure
The course is structured in four (4) units thematically distributed in four respective weeks. The infographic below presents an overview of the units’ structure.
The infographic was created with Canva (https://www.canva.com)
Digital Storytelling as a Learning Tool in the Foreign Language Classroom Marianthi Kotadaki (M.Ed.), School Advisor
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The e-course content per unit
Each unit explores a specific topic area related to Digital Storytelling. Participants study the material and do a small number of assignments per week. Each week’s content may include: a) PowerPoint presentations including the key theoretical background on the topic under focus, with links to websites and other multimodal resources (videos, articles, infographics, etc.), b) topic-related research articles for further study and use for assignment completion, d) documents in doc(x), pdf, or jpeg form to use in particular assignments. The structure of each unit is as follows:
Week 1 Storytelling becomes Digital Storytelling This week’s focus •
Definition and elements of storytelling.
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Definition, elements and process of Digital Storytelling. Storyboarding and its significance in the creation of digital stories.
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Pedagogical value of Digital Storytelling. Examples of digital stories.
Study material
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Research article on Digital Storytelling.
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PPT presentation including the key theoretical background on the topic.
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Set of images to use as prompts for story writing.
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Story grid to use as a guide for scriptwriting.
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Storyboard template to use in Assignment 2.
Assignments
Assignment 1: the participants write the scenario of a short story inspired by a number of pictures. Assignment 2: the participants create the storyboard of their written scenario completing a blank storyboard template.
Assessment
1. The participants get 1 point for each appropriately completed assignment. An assignment is considered appropriately completed if the criteria set in the instructions are fully met. 2. The participants get 1 point for their contribution to the selfassessment quiz.
Digital Storytelling as a Learning Tool in the Foreign Language Classroom Marianthi Kotadaki (M.Ed.), School Advisor
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Week 2 Tools for Digital Storytelling: text, image and sound This week’s focus •
Presentation of image and sound tools (image and sound libraries, image and sound editors).
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Presentation of multimedia tools which combine text, image and sound (Storybooks and Comic Strip creators).
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Tutorials for tools in video and/or book form.
Study material
Assignments
Assessment
PPT presentation including image and sound libraries and editing tools and brief descriptions of digital storybook creators (Storybird, StoryJumper, Liitle Bird Tales) and comic strip/book creators (Toondoo, Pixton, Storyboard That).
Assignment 1: the participants use any of the recommended digital storybook creators and information from their written scenario to create two pages of a digital storybook combining text, image(s) and/or sound.
The participants get 1 point for each appropriately completed assignment. An assignment is considered appropriately completed if the criteria set in the instructions are fully met.
Assignment 2: the participants use any of the comic strip creators and information from their written scenario to design a onepanel scene related to their story.
Digital Storytelling as a Learning Tool in the Foreign Language Classroom Marianthi Kotadaki (M.Ed.), School Advisor
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Week 3 Tools for Digital Storytelling: entering the world of multimedia This week’s focus •
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Presentation of specific multimedia tools for Digital Storytelling including image, sound and animation (VoiceThread presentations, Photostory 3, Moovly and Windows Movie Maker). Tutorials for tools in video and/or book form.
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Study material
Assignments
PPT presentation including brief descriptions of the multimedia tools (VoiceThread presentations, PhotoStory3, Moovly and Windows Movie Maker).
Assignment 1: the participants select one of the presentation tools to create a one-slide scene of their story combining text, image and sound. Assignment 2: the participants use Photo Story 3 to create a 3picture slideshow using information from their story scenario and their own recorded voice.
Assessment
The participants get 1 point for each appropriately completed assignment. An assignment is considered appropriately completed if the criteria set in the instructions are fully met.
Assignment 3: the participants select either Windows Movie Maker or Moovly to create an animated scene based on their story scenario.
Digital Storytelling as a Learning Tool in the Foreign Language Classroom Marianthi Kotadaki (M.Ed.), School Advisor
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Week 4 My digital story This week’s focus •
Methodology of digital story assembling.
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Definition and significance of evaluation rubrics used in Digital Storytelling.
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Creation, selfevaluation and dissemination of the created digital stories. Task-based investigation of the integration of Digital Storytelling in EFL/ESL teaching and learning.
Study material
Assignments
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PPT presentation including the key theoretical background on assembling, editing and evaluating digital stories.
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Sample evaluation rubric.
Assignment 1: the participants create their digital stories using their preferred multimedia tool and share them with their peers on a Padlet wall.
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Research article on the integration of Digital Storytelling in EFL/ESL teaching and learning. Lesson plan template.
Assignment 2: the participants assess their digital stories using an evaluation rubric.
Assessment
1. The participants get 1 point for each appropriately completed assignment. An assignment is considered appropriately completed if the criteria set in the instructions are fully met.
Assignment 3: the participants design a short lesson plan to embed Digital Storytelling in the foreign language classroom.
Digital Storytelling as a Learning Tool in the Foreign Language Classroom Marianthi Kotadaki (M.Ed.), School Advisor
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Forum To resolve any queries or issues that may arise, or simply to express their views, the participants use the course forum. Contribution to the forum is considered valuable for overcoming individual or group difficulties, as well as for the enhancement of peer communication and, therefore, it is strongly advised.
Important information
1. Participants need to have acquired basic ICT skills and to be willing to experiment creatively with new ICT tools. 2. Experimentation with the multimedia tools and applications is largely dependent on adequately fast internet connection speeds. 3. Participants are expected to demonstrate a will for communication and collaboration. 4. It is important that the participants go through the study material before proceeding to the assignments. 5. All contact is made online through the forum, where there are possibilities for general discussion, peer interaction and communication with the trainer. 6. Questions on the assignments and other issues are discussed only online so that collaborative development and problem solving may be promoted. 7. All assignments are compulsory. There are no deadlines set for assignment submission, or any other restrictions about time allocation, therefore, participants are free to manage their study or assignment completion time as they wish, provided that all assignments should have been successfully completed by the end of the course. 8. Careful reading of the assignment instructions reduces the likelihood of misunderstandings or errors. 9. Compliance with the e-course regulations and assignment specifications as well as decent peer communication, are essential for the smooth flow of the course. 10. The e-course certificate is granted to the participants who have carried out all assignments correctly and in accordance with the specifications set by the assignment instructions and/or those provided by the trainer.
Digital Storytelling as a Learning Tool in the Foreign Language Classroom Marianthi Kotadaki (M.Ed.), School Advisor