A Few Thoughts
Just like the ability to create a coherent argument in the form of an essay is a valuable skill, the ability to construct and communicate a compelling message in a mixed media format like a digital story is becoming increasingly valuable. Using digital storytelling in the classroom gives learners the opportunity to practice telling a story in a mixed media format, which is is incredibly hard to do (just like learning to write a solid essay takes time and practice). I hope this page of resources and ideas is helpful as you prepare for and use digital storytelling within your classroom community.
Before you surf through any of the resources on this page, be sure to visit Alan Levine's unbelievable collection of resources over at his
CogDogRoo - StoryTools wiki. His ideas for starting out with digital storytelling significantly simply the process and lower the barriers for anyone interested in using this medium in the classroom.
*Platforms and Applications for Digital Story Creation and Publishing
Most of these sites have a free component along with a subscription option that offers greater features.
Jaycut - A free online video editor. Just think of iMovie, but no special software is needed as the editing is done directly through the web browser.
Voicethread - This is a fantastic platform for students to both create and publish digital stories. It also allows others from around the world to leave an audio, video, or text comment quite easily. Check out their ED.Voicethread network if you are a school and you'd like to easily provide every learner with a Voicethread production space.
Slideshare - Upload powerpoints, keynotes, etc and have them visible directly in a web browser. Slideshare now allows audio to be added so you can create "Slidecasts."
Google Docs Presentation- Google has a very simple web based presentation tool that makes publishing very easy.
Wikis - wikis make a great platform for learners to share their digital stories. Wikispaces, Google Sites, and PBWorks are all excellent wiki choices.
Posterous-this is a blog tool, but what is powerful about posterous is that users are able to post just about any type of media like audio, video, images, and text directly from the comfort of their own email. It is a nice space for multiple contributors as well-just give out the email address directly to the people that you'd like to contribute.
Photopeach-a nice and easy place to create and publish multimedia slideshows.
Facebook-this is a highly underutilized platform for students to create and publish digital stories. It is a great place for students to receive comments and feedback on their work. Students may post videos, photo collections, and "Notes," which are essentially blog posts. At a minimum, students could cross publish select digital stories in Facebook.
Animoto - this platform provides a very easy way to combine pictures, text, audio and video as well.
YouTube - This might be my favorite publishing platform. Put your video here if you'd like to give it the best chance to be viewed by a potentially large audience.
Flickr -
Useful sites and links:
University of Houston's, "The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling."
*Please check the terms of service for all of these applications and platforms. Many online services have a minimum age of 13 years old.
