Throughout the year as we have been experiencing the frontier of digital storytelling; we have tried various methods with different schools and different students. It seems the following format has worked the best. This method has especially helped to open the eyes of students and some teachers as to how the use of the multimedia software (Studio 8) is a tool used to help students revise their pieces. This method creates a new writing process. The multimedia software is not just an additional step in the writing process providing for a way for students to publish their piece.
Keeping in mind that portfolio pieces had to be finished first, many could not see how a multimedia piece could be used in the portfolio, therefore did not spend time to use this method. Because of this belief, some did not look beyond the technology to see the finished written product that could be made as a result of the movie the student would create.
Therefore, below you will find a digital storytelling writing process that has been developed through this pilot that will show how a finished piece for the writing portfolio can be produced. This unit produces a personal narrative. Adaptations can be made for other genre according to the skill/s that need to be taught for that genre.
Personal Narrative Writing Process
First provide mini-lessons: What are the characteristics of a good personal narrative?
Read a model of a personal narrative that is focused and has a clear purpose.
Read models of pieces that are not focused and do not have a clear purpose. In the case of our pilot program where we used data from prior pieces written, we used those pieces as models because in most cases they fit this description.
Use Inspiration to break personal narrative into its different moments.
Decide which moment is the focus of the piece and delete the moments that are not really needed to help the focused moment. We called this turning events to moments.
Expand the moment by adding details if applicable for:
i. Action
ii. Thoughts
iii. Emotions
iv. Sensory Details
1. Sight
2. Smell
3. Touch
4. Taste
5. Sound
Model “catchy” introductions. Allow students to work in pairs or groups to think of a good “catchy” introduction for their piece.
Model conclusions. I call them “wrap-up conclusions” because they sometimes refer to something in the introduction which helps to keep the piece focused. In a personal narrative a person should explain a lesson learned and/or what they planned to do after experiencing that moment. Again allow students to work in groups to think of a conclusion.
Brainstorming:
At this point the writer may or may not have started a collection of pictures to be used. We have not really seen that this affects the success of the written piece.
Students create an Inspiration that shows
1. Catchy Introduction
2. More than one moment if necessary
3. Expanded moment which include where applicable thoughts, emotions, actions and sensory details.
4. Wrap-up conclusion.
Draft:
Students draft their story using the Inspiration prewriter as a guide. Emphasize that each bubble can be one or more paragraphs. (Show students how to copy and paste from Inspiration to Word.)
Creating
a Story board
Instruct
students to break
the draft into sections that provoke an image, thinking what image would be
used as the part is read. Use the
highlighter tool. (Instruct students to use the first yellow, light green and light blue
colors only. When the piece is
written and printed in black and white, it can still be read.)
Then create a story board
by copying and pasting the sections into a story
board template. (Use
table tools in Word to create the story board format.)
On the story board students will write a brief description of the
picture, graphic or illustration to be used and how it will be acquired either
by scanning a picture or drawing, using digital pictures, clipart (converted
to JPEGS via the Paint program) or permissible graphics from the Internet or
creating a drawing using the Paint program. This is
where a new kind of revision conferencing takes place.
As students are creating this storyboard the following opportunities may
arise:
1.
Students want to use a picture but
haven’t written details to go with the picture.
Ask the writer, “If you feel it’s important to include this picture,
do you feel it’s important to write about it?”
2.
Student can’t decide on a picture to
use. Ask and let these questions
lead the student to revise
their work if necessary.
a.
“What were you trying to say in this
section?”
b.
“What do you want me to know at this
point?”
c.
“Is this an action, thought, emotion or
sensory detail?” (Just
because it’s not on the prewriter doesn’t mean it can’t be added now.)
d.
“Is this part important?” (Should it
be deleted?)
Don’t
worry too much about syntax and grammar at this point. (You’ll see why later.)
In
some cases in the pilot we ran out of time and students didn’t have time to
word process the draft and make electronic storyboards.
In that case students circled the parts on their written pieces and
labeled a note about the picture and how it would be acquired.
Collecting
Pictures:
This
part can be time consuming but can be done during lab time as “research for
the piece” and therefore not taking up writing time.
Students do not have to be on the computer with the media software.
In most cases, student folders were made on the network.
Inside each student’s folder a picture folder and a sound folder was
made. When a student acquired a
picture, it was saved into the folder in JPEG format.
(Encourage students not to use
class time or lab time hand drawing pieces.
Also, if a student has access to computers at home, consider asking them
to do Paint drawings and emailing JPEGS and Internet sites with permissible
graphics.) Students
should save pictures with a number or letter corresponding to the cell in the
storyboard, i.e. picture of a waterfall for the third cell in the storyboard
would be “03waterfall.” With
numbers the computer will automatically have the pictures in order when you get
ready to use them.
Sound
recording – reading the piece
Two
methods:
1.
Some classes have made sound files using
any computer’s sound recorder
and microphone. The files are saved
to the student’s sound folder numbered according to the cells in the
storyboard.
2.
Record the sound using the multimedia
program. In our case, Studio 8.
Method 1 may save time if several students have their pictures collected. There will be replaying and re-recording involved which can tie up the computer with the Studio 8 software. Then the student only needs to drag the sound files into the Studio 8 program. However, when students have recorded into the Studio 8 program, we have had fewer problems with sound files being lost.
Again,
revision conferencing can take place here. In
many cases students catch their own grammar and syntax problems as they read
aloud. Also, in several cases
students have wanted to revise at this point which is wonderful!!!!
It
seems at this point some students begin to realize they will have a real
audience and start to become involved with what the piece is saying.
However, at this point, some students have felt rushed and seemed to act
as though their piece was already set in stone.
The teacher’s influence in revision may be critical at this moment.
Publish
Create the
movie. We used Pinnacle Studio
8. We highly recommend moving
the student’s picture and sound folder to the hard drive of the computer
where the movie is being created. Studio
8 seems to not keep up with all the files when more than one computer is
used involving network files.
This
is the point where most dreamers’ stop and think this process does not produce
a writing portfolio piece.
Instruct
students to paste their (hopefully revised) storyboard into a new word
document and de-highlight everything. Print
for the portfolio if desired.
Or
(We haven’t tried this, but wonder how it would work.) Instruct students to rewrite their personal narrative.
Joy Lynn Cox Buckingham
Technology Resource Teacher
Fayette County Public Schools
May,
2003