Chapter 4: The students completed their DST, now what do I do?

"In many ways, assessment is a pivotal point in the education process" (Ohler, Kindle edition, 942 of 2900) is the first statement of this chapter on assessing digital stories. I believe this is true because in order to justify the time and energy spent creating DST, teachers need to be able to clearly explain their assessment strategies and its impact on student learning. 

Throughout my seven years in the classroom, the area that I struggled with most in terms of assessment was definitely writing.  With writing there was no absolute clear answer (such as in many areas of math, science, reading comprehension, etc.)  Although I would always create a clear rubric and share it with students prior to their task or assignment, it was the most time consuming of all grading I encountered.  DST is similar in nature in that there is no "correct answer" and the goals must be laid out clearly before students begin their projects.  The author suggests assessing the story, all the artifacts and written work, the planning and process, media grammar, understanding and presentation of content, teamwork, and performance.  One of the ideas that I agree strongly with is to have the students self-assess their own projects.  I used this form of self-assessment in my 5th grade class when students were working on their State Reports.  In this case, I had a rubric set up and they would assess their content, grammar, etc. and determine if they were ready to submit the assignment.  After reading this chapter, I would add a section with open ended questions for them to reflect on the process they had just completed.  Students enjoyed evaluating their own work and it helped them to understand that I wasn't giving them a grade, they were earning it based on the amount of work they had put in and meeting expectations of the assignment.  I also believe that the author's approach of keeping the rubric length manageable is especially important.  Focusing on the most important objectives will improve the likelihood of overall success in this project as well as decrease the chance of giving up after one try.

Chapter 3: What is the Value of Digital Literacy for students?

Although I have been out of the classroom for many years, I can imagine one of the first questions from an administrator approached about the inclusion of a DST project would be, "What is the value of digital literacy for students at our school?"  This is a valid question in a time of standardized testing and focus on school improvement.  

The school I taught at used to have a career day each year.  On that day, we would have guest speakers from the community come into our classrooms and inform students about the job opportunities available to them and the qualifications necessary to be successful in these careers.  Although the students always enjoyed this day, it always left me wondering if I was doing the best job preparing them for the realities of the world outside our classroom.  In other words, educators do our best to provide students with the basic skills they need to graduate but are we truly preparing them for the real job market?

Ohler points out that students need to be provided with instruction on using the digital technology effectively, creatively, and wisely.  In talking about students being able to use digital tools intelligently and proficiently he says, "This includes knowing how to push the right buttons, use the Web efficiently as an information resource and collaboration tool, apply technical skills to problems with proficiency, and transfer learning from one situation to another." (Ohler, Kindle version, 860 of 2900).  

Having left teaching and now working for the government, I truly see the importance of introducing these technology skills early in students lives so that they may apply it to future situations.  As a budget analyst for the Department of Education, I have learned more about spreadsheets, databases, formulas, word documents, researching government databases in a year than I did in seven years of teaching.  Every interview that I have gone on focuses on the importance of having experience with Microsoft Office, Excel, Access, and Outlook.  This is often the deciding factor between candidates and I've been lucky to have acquired this skill set later in life.  By allowing DST in the classroom, students will get the hands on experience with computers, digital technology, computer software, and expressing themselves that will able to be applied to future endeavors. 

Chapter 2: Defining and discussing digital storytelling

In the second chapter, the following question caught my attention, "How much time did that take to do?" (Ohler, Kindle edition, 563 of 2900).  This is one of the most common first questions that the author receives and I believe would be asked in all K-12 educational environments.  With all the required standards, objectives, and testing preparation that teachers need to cram into their days, even tech savvy educators worry about the amount of time that may be needed to complete a DST project.

In my opinion, Ohler's advice of using the rule of 80/20 would make the production of DST manageable in most classrooms.  In other words, "you can produce  80% of a high-quality, high production-value digital story in 20% of the overall time that it takes to create the entire story.  The last 20% of your story, the polished, often glitzy high end of production-takes 80% of your time" (Ohler, Kindle edition, 591 of2900).  The final product may not be perfect or to the level that teachers and storytellers like, but the content and overall experience will still be sufficient.  From my own experience in the classroom, I think I would definitely be a person who would have spent too much time focusing on the 20% of production.  It's difficult because as an educator, we strive to submit work that we are truly proud of, and often have trouble letting go of the finishing touch details.  If I was to step  back and look at the big picture however, I would rather provide my students with an opportunity to tell their stories using available equipment than makes excuses and continue with the same methods of paper and pencil only writing activities.

Chapter 1:  Once upon a time there lived a world full of people choosing to be heroes instead of victims in telling the story of their lives.

Although there were many “revelations” that I felt strongly toward relating to digital storytelling in education, the one that left the largest impact on me was revelation number 12.  In this revelation Ohler states, “Students need to become heroes of their own learning stories as well as of the stories they tell with their own lives.” (Ohler, Kindle version)

I strongly agree with this statement and believe that helping students understand they are in control of creating the story of their future will empower them to not allow themselves to feel victimized by the world. This statement takes me back to my classroom teaching experience in a Title I school in West Sacramento.  Nobody could argue that my students grew up surrounded by hardship that most of their teachers couldn’t even imagine.  At the time I felt I was making a difference by understanding and empathizing with their situations while still having high expectations for learning.  After thinking about this revelation, I wonder if I was enabling this feeling of victimization to grow and become an excuse for any venture that didn’t prove to be successful.

Looking back, this would have been a perfect opportunity to allow them instead to the use available technology to tell the digital story of the future they desired and the steps they needed to take to achieve this life.  Realizing the cause and effect relationship of their choices to the future may have provided the needed motivation for students to strive for greater achievement in school.