ISTE Standard 1
states that "students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge,
and develop innovative product and processes using technology." As with
all good classroom tech use, the goal is to elevate and move beyond what is
possible with a basic pen-and-paper classroom. For this particular standard,
students are encouraged to express themselves and share information in a
creative way.
In most classrooms,
"by tradition, teaching aims at convergence more than divergence"
(Soh, 2016, p. 59). This means that students are rewarded for being compliant,
for checking boxes, and, in general, for following instructions to the letter. In
the past, this has been difficult to conquer as there are only so many ways to
make a poster or give a speech. Most students only had access to a textbook or
the teacher for information. Through technology, however, students have access
to a whole new world of information at their fingertips. It is important that
students be allowed to play in this world and to be taught how to do so. Used
correctly, the "technology can be used to bring out the very best in how
teachers teach and how students learn" (Robin, 2008, p. 221).
For this standard, I
elaborated on the assigned question about creative and innovative student use
of technology by thinking about a particular project that I do. As part of a
unit on Greece and Rome, students summarize their learning by writing journal entries
from the point-of-view of a time traveler. They record their observations,
including sights, sounds, and smells, and they draw a picture of what they see.
I wanted to see if there was a way I could elevate this project to allow
students to go deeper with their work and demonstrate greater knowledge, as
many of the journal entries I get begin to move beyond a repetition of the
textbook info, but don't go very far. Digital stories are often easier to make
more engaging than written stories because of its "quick visual displays
of information coupled with its engaging images of people, place, and
planet" (Dillon, 2014, p. 1).
One source I found
to be very interesting was a book by Carolyn Handler Miller called Digital Storytelling: A Creator's Guide to
Interactive Entertainment. The first chapter is devoted to a comparison
of the myths and stories of ancient civilizations to the type of digital
storytelling we do today. This would be a great way to hook my students and
teach them a little more about the culture of Ancient Greece! The students like
to see the people in history as relatable, and the learning sticks better when
they can see themselves in the historical situations. This comparison would be
good starting material for explaining the project to my students.
For the nuts and
bolts of the project, I would probably use some of the resources from
ReadWriteThink's lesson plan on creating digital stories about Greek myths.
This lesson plan contains reproducible handouts for the planning, research, and
writing stages, as well as a rubric for the digital storytelling project. There
is also helpful integration of conversations about plagiarism and proper
citation, which is very important when students are set free on the internet. I
could see myself using parts of this lesson plan when I teach this lesson next
September.
Before I do, though,
I will need to think carefully about the atmosphere in my classroom. Thinking
creatively is a risky activity, since most classrooms are set up for
conformity. My students need to feel safe to take risks in my classroom. Soh
(2016) writes that to foster creativity in students you need "to immerse
them in a social environment which promotes creativity" (p. 60). Teachers
who display creativity, and take risks themselves, can create this type of
environment. This means that I need to welcome diverse project ideas, and I
need to familiarize myself with various digital tools. ReadWriteThink endorses
PowToon, a free-for-education site that allows students and teachers to create
animations, for their digital storytelling project. I also want to learn more
about creating podcasts, and EdTech has a list of different education-friendly sites. By developing competency in these areas, I can help my students grow and
encourage them to think outside the box.
References:
Dillon, B. (2014,
Dec. 15). The power of digital story. Edutopia.
Retrieved from
Miller, C.H. (2004).
Interactive storytelling: A brief history. Digital
storytelling: A creator's guide to interactive entertainment. [Google
books version]. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=4FQRw8a9qSMC.
Robin, B.R. (2008).
Digital storytelling: A powerful technology tool for the 21st century
classroom. Theory and Practice, 47, 220-228.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00405840802153916.
Soh, K. (2016).
Fostering student creativity through teacher behaviors. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 23, 58-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2016.11.002.
Wickline, K.
Digitally telling the story of Greek figures. ReadWriteThink.
Retrieved from http://www.readwritethink.org/resources/resource-print.html?id=30805.
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