EDUC - 5333 Blog Week One

 Hello Everyone! 

    My name is Ella Christensen and I am currently a 4th Grade teacher in Lincoln, Nebraska. I am actually moving to Omaha next year and recently accepted a job at a new school as a 3rd Grade teacher. If anyone has 3rd grade advice, I will take it! I love working out, spending time outside, reading (specifically mystery novels), and I recently got engaged this past year! 

    As I think about digital storytelling for me personally, I am not yet sure what story I would want to tell. I think something about my first year as a teacher or the last year of college and transitioning into adult work-life could be interesting. I also think that if I were to use digital storytelling in a classroom setting, I could have students write a skit and create a video to represent one of our chapter book readings. I think this would be a fun way to get them engaged and even more excited about the book they are reading. The video could be a 'trailer' or preview of the book, or it could be a video of them acting out a specific scene in the book. In a social studies lesson, students could work together to create a short documentary about a historical event or figure that we have read about. In science, students could create an informational digital pamphlet explaining concepts they are learning.  I think these types of projects would make learning feel more authentic and engaging because students would be creating something meaningful rather than simply completing a worksheet. I also feel like digital storytelling gives students a chance to use their own voice and creativity in their school work. A lot of traditional classrooms and assignments are centered around workbook pages and writing prompts, which can become repetitive for some students. Digital storytelling gives students other ways to express their ideas, through images, narration, music, and video. This can help students who may struggle with writing feel more confident sharing their thinking, and have more fun with it! It also allows students with different strengths and learning styles to participate. 

     One idea that resonates with me from the reading is how digital storytelling can increase student engagement, motivation, and academic achievement. The article explains that integrating technology with storytelling helps students to participate more actively in their learning and develop important skills such as research, writing, and problem-solving. DST could also engage colleagues by getting them to collaborate and work together on creating a project for students and through sharing digital storytelling tools. Overall, the readings helped me see how digital storytelling can encourage student engagement, creativity, and deeper understanding of curriculum. I think it is a strategy that has the potential to make learning more meaningful for students and also more intentional for teachers. As technology continues to be more involved in education, I think digital storytelling will become an extremely valuable tool for both teachers and students. It encourages creativity, collaboration, while enhancing and extending student learning.