lunes, 22 de noviembre de 2010

The Art of Digital Storytelling


Communication through stories has been common in cultures throughout the world. Most cultures have used oral communication to transmit their history, identity and beliefs from one generation to the other.  The earliest record from Indo-European cultures, the epics of Homer, is in story form.

When it comes to storytelling, today’s westeners are at an extreme disadvantage.  Most have never  told stories extensively.  We may be used to reading/watching stories, but we have left these skills  to  writers and movie makers.

We westeners are probably more analytical and we have been taught to learn information rather than to tell and understand stories.  How can we - educated out of storytelling - learn to understand and  communicate with stories?

As listeners, we like to interact. We surf the web or through our TV remotes in digital cable. Instead of regretting our students’ disability to listen to stories passively, why don't we try to  involve them in the storytelling? We cannot expect them to sit quietly while we ramble on. We have trained them not to accept whatever is dumped on them. 

Sean Buvala,  a full-time storyteller, speaker and public-speaking trainer who has 25 years of experience as storyteller suggests three ways to engage listeners in your story:

1. Ask students to share what they are listening to as they listen to it: As you speak, stop after some of the major points and say “Let’s check in”.  Do this several times as you speak, giving the audience just a few minutes to interact.

2. They can tell their own story but using the subject you chose: This is especially good at the  beginning of a presentation. Say, "Today I am talking about (the subject). Is there a time in your life when you or someone you know encountered (the subject)? How did you react to it? How does (the subject) fit into your life? Turn and briefly tell your story to the person in the next seat." You can also do this at the end of your presentation, asking folks to talk about something that came to mind as you spoke.

3. Invite them to create a quick sample or demonstration with your information: Today’s world requires students  to embrace new ways of thinking/expressing . It has proved to be quite good to create examples of the items you have just introduced.  Students may work in small  groups of five or six  members .  They can discuss the material you have presented. Rather than being passive observers, they become part of teaching each other.

Regardless of the topic, there are ways for us to move our presentation from something people look at to something they can experience. Every time we add another sense (such as touch, smell, hearing) to a presentation, retention of the learning is increased. We must help our audience to take hold of our subject and give them a creative way to interact with us and each other.

What does digital storytelling add to the traditional way of telling stories? What does modern technical tools add to the ancient art of storytelling? 

Technology is a practical help in the students’ struggle to find their own voice and identity but as I have said many times it must not be the protagonist of the process. Digitelling assembles old topics and new types of communication  making students literate in multimedia. They use three different dimensions instead of just one. They use images, sound and text. The students’ own voice can be an important part of the story too engaging them in the heartful expression of their own creativity. It helps students see themselves as authors with a purpose and an audience for writing , they are in the director's chair. They commit to a task. So it is not just a report of information. 

The two-phase process, (engaging + structuring) , implies preparation from both parts, teacher and students. In a relatively short time, approximately 3 minutes in length (always less than 8 minutes), students must tell a 3D story that includes an introduction, a body and an end and has a complete sense.

First of all , they must follow an outline. As a pre-telling activity students can orally answer questions from an outline with a partner. Where  it happened, what it looks like, and why it is important, for example.

The body of the story needs to answer several questions:
What is your earliest memory of it?
What are your feelings?
What difference does it make in your life?
What do you see in it that no one else sees?

Then there’s the visual dimension, this can be done  by drawing, painting, creating a collage, or using KidPix on the computer; they must select one image that best represents her or his feelings. This  provides an anchor for the story and, this way, the teacher can elicit more information from the student. The point is not to  create merely a simple slide show. 

Important skills students need to learn: how to bring images, music, and voice into the computer (importing) and how to sequence them according to their story (drag and drop). Most of the times students figure out on their own. Create digital stories does not require a digital camcorder either. Most students use photographs and images that they draw by hand or on the computer, they must also determine where and in what format scanned images are being saved/stored by the scanner software

Students will progress through selecting images, scanning, importing them into the computer, recording their voices, and adding transitions and text at varying rates. They have to evaluate the effectiveness of their text , the  images they select, the tone of their voice, and the music that accompanies the story. A model of what the teacher expects from their students to complete must be shown from the very beginning.

In this task peer coaching is essential. Students need to share their computer skills and interests in others’ stories. It creates  a  positive classroom environment and empowers students’ voices. When  tellers share their story, they receive appreciations, then suggestions from the class, and finally had a chance to ask the audience any questions about their story.



As you may suspect, digital storytelling is going to be our second task. So, you will have to consult your wiki  “firstdayatschool” and follow the instructions carefully. Again, there will be a page for the task itself where you will find the information you need and a second page to upload your work. Our last task was a complete success! You learnt how to use Powerpoint or Google Docs so why don't you start thinking about the story you will tell and get familiar with Windows Movie Maker or iMovie?




jueves, 23 de septiembre de 2010

European Day of Languages (EDL): 26th September



Behind languages there is a rich source of history, culture and lifestyles. This is what this special day, 26th September, aims to celebrate. It is celebrated since 2001 and now 45 countries are involved in it. The goal is to get you excited with language learning. Learning a foreign language or more can be a gratifying experience, moreover, it takes you to different worlds and experiences. Switching to different languages makes your intelligence grow and, what´s more important, makes you capable to communicate with much more people!

Try to do the following Treasure Hunt about English Speaking Countries and answer THE BIG QUESTION at the end. You´ll want to know more.



domingo, 19 de septiembre de 2010

1st ESO's new wiki: firstdayatschool


Wikis & Collaborative Tasks

Welcome to our wiki! I have called it "firstdayatschool" because I would like you to have the same feeling of newness and surprise you have the first day at school but all through the year. 

This wiki is going to be our channel of communication for homework. But not only that, here I am going to present new tasks and you, students,  will be able to upload your work. Since your work will be published on the web, it must be well-presented and neat. Doing this kind of tasks, you will become editors and authors of this site, so enjoy the experience!

Have a look at the page. You have a new task. It is called "Melting Pot Classroom" and it will focus on the cultural diversity there is in your school and how to get familiar with it.  Read the instructions carefully and do not start until you are sure of what the task is. Apart from that, this task will be our first approach to the project "New Technologies in the English Classroom". I hope you like it, do not forget to ask me if you do not know how to start. See you in class.



lunes, 13 de septiembre de 2010

DEAD POETS SOCIETY



Most probably, the content in the last two entries has provoked different reactions. Whether they were  in the direction of including new technologies in daily education or not, I must say that it was supposed to provoke reactions. Most teachers have to face the criticism of those who do not know how hard it is to motivate 30 students at a time, as if they were the same person, most of the times with the only resource of a textbook and one's wit. What´s more, the constant change of educational laws has made us teachers feel vulnerable and less valued. If we add to this the strength with which technology has broken into our lives, the fear of being substituted by the machine appears on stage. But, take it easy, nobody is going to disappear.

Teachers are as necessary as knowledge, in fact, teachers are those who pave the way to it. Teachers feel, inspire and encourage. The machine is a resource, a means of bringing students to yet undiscovered paths, and not an end in itself, so it must not be the protagonist...or our antagonist. It is the student who must build knowledge him/herself. Knowledge is the goal, but not only that of Literature, Maths or Science but also that of collaborating, sharing, helping others. With all my respects, that would be difficult if students were sitting still behind their desks. It would also be difficult if we ignored that each student has his/her own preconceptions and sees things from a different standpoint. Knowledge is not a static content block. It is something that you can manipulate like a potter molds the clay. The fans of the dead-poets society have to come back to life. There are many little shakespeares  in our classrooms, and  there are also many readings of Shakespeare. He will rest in peace even if one of our students deconstructs it , s/he is using a foreign language to communicate! Who blames Adriá?

Another overwhelming truth is that we do not communicate the same way we did twenty years ago. Penpals have become keypals, text has been improved by hypertext and learning is transforming into e-learning. I still talk to my students face to face and we enjoy doing so, but I can include other  ways to communicate with them. What's the big deal???





Let me share with you some links that can guide you through the frightening world of new technologies:

1. Computer Assisted Language Learning
2.A very useful website to find CALL resources
3. Technology- Enhanced Language Learning: Hype or Gold Mine?
4. How to Use an Interactive Whiteboard



martes, 31 de agosto de 2010

NUEVO PROYECTO PARA ALUMNOS DE INGLÉS DE 1º ESO ( I.E.S. Marqués de Santillana, Colmenar Viejo): Uso de las nuevas tecnologías en el aprendizaje del inglés (resumen)

Las nuevas tecnologías estimulan el aprendizaje autónomo y motivan al alumno
Use of the smartboard in class

- Nuestros alumnos deben adquirir una competencia lingüística que responda a las necesidades de una realidad plurilingüe y multicultural.
   
- Consideramos que el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje de una lengua extranjera en esta etapa educativa contribuye a desarrollar actitudes positivas y receptivas hacia otras lenguas y culturas, al mismo tiempo que  incide directamente en la comprensión y el dominio de la lengua propia.

 - El inglés se ha convertido en una herramienta básica para la utilización de las nuevas tecnologías y el vehículo de comunicación universal.  En nuestro país la enseñanza del inglés ha tenido que superar los diferentes cambios ocurridos en las leyes educativas y además, y seamos realistas, una larga tradición de fracaso. Aunque también se han hecho muchos esfuerzos para adaptarse a los cambios ocurridos fuera y dentro de los centros educativos.

 - Los actuales alumnos de primaria y secundaria han sido calificados como la “Generación de la Red”; sus conocimientos, su desarrollo y  su vida social han sido mediatizados. Tanto es así que la exposición constante a la cultura de la imagen ha estimulado su comprensión del lenguaje verbal y concreto en detrimento de la comprensión de conceptos abstractos.  
El uso del ordenador fomenta el trabajo cooperativo y la ampliación de conocimientos mediante la investigación

   - Internet es, en estos momentos, el fenómeno sociológico más importante ligado a los medios de comunicación.  Se ha  convertido en el mayor y más utilizado instrumento de comunicación de la actualidad. La mayor parte de los usuarios son jóvenes, lo que genera un desafío a la generación actual en cuanto a sus implicaciones educativas, ya que las relaciones laborales y sociales, el mercado del empleo, la formación hacia una profesión, el ocio, e incluso la vida privada, se van a ver absolutamente afectadas por la total conexión comunicativa. 

 -  El profesor debe adelantarse a los acontecimientos, proponiendo la navegación por la red con fines didácticos, educativos e instructivos. Buscar información, rastrear nuevas fuentes, comparar opiniones, crear grupos de trabajo e investigación, comunicarse con profesionales de su nivel o especialidad, enriquecerse con imágenes de otras disciplinas, archivar documentos encontrados, etc.

   -   Como docentes estamos obligados a enfrentarnos a esta realidad con un cambio de actitud, actualización y reciclaje y , por otro lado, orientar la aplicación de las nuevas tecnologías para que su uso no se haga mecánico. Es decir, los alumnos deben de ser capaces de seleccionar y acceder a la información según sus necesidades. Debemos entonces compaginar la fuerza de la imagen con la formación de personas autónomas y críticas.

  -  El uso de las nuevas tecnologías en la educación nos ayudará a descubrir todas las posibilidades de aprendizaje de nuestros alumnos. Por lo tanto, existe la necesidad de que los docentes nos subamos al caballo de las nuevas tecnologías sin miedo en ningún caso a que éstas nos substituyan pues el profesor debe ser como el director de orquesta, figura imprescindible para regular y monitorizar la práctica.

A aquellos luditas del siglo XXI que todavía les cuesta aplicar el uso de la tecnología en sus clases les recomiendo que vean atentamente el siguiente video:  Technology in the classroom is not a new idea

21st century teachers and learners:


21st century teachers



A Vision of K-12 Students

"HOW TO USE LITERATURE IN ENGLISH LESSONS, an approach"


Beyond all  doubt,  literature is an essential part of our society and our own perception. It’s been said that literature not only describes reality but also adds to it. What does  it add? It adds values, beauty, imagination and creativity. It makes a person grow as an individual and understand reality. From Shakespeare to Rowling, many great contributions have been made to the world of literature which, at the same time, has modified lives and behaviours. But, what is literature? stories, poems, and plays, especially those that are considered to have value as art and not just entertainment. A broader definition can be: any text (in all its formats) that reflects different aspects of society, and I personally think this is a more down-to-earth one. 

Literature  is treated as a source of information about the target culture so it can also be very useful in esl lessons, but texts must be carefully selected. Otherwise, we take the risk of provoking a  hostile reaction in students. So, they should also be included in the process of selection, within some limits, as obvious. Widdowson pointed out two levels of linguistic knowledge: usage and use. According to him, usage involves a knowledge of linguistic rules, whereas use involves how to use these rules for effective communication. Do the literary texts which we have selected contribute to a knowledge of both skills? The end of teaching literature in English lessons must be, not only the admiration of literature but the transfer of imaginative energy from literature to the students. 

They can also become authors. One example is digital storytelling, a computer-based approach to writing and storytelling and it is basically a recorded audio narration supported by images, music,etc. British photographer, educator and digital storyteller, Daniel Meadows defines digital stories as "short, personal multimedia tales told from the heart." He maintains that the beauty of this form of digital expression is that these stories can be created by people everywhere, on any subject, and shared electronically all over the world.



The steps are described by Carmen Gregori Signes (Univ. Valenciana) as follows: 


a) Script development: they write the story, often with a group called a story circle to provide feedback and story development ideas. Here linguistic and literary instruction is necessary (e.g. on genre characteristics) while at the same time collaborative work is fostered. EFL students will be asked to focus mainly on the production of a good script which implies consulting and reviewing academic articles on genre production, genre impact and the linguistic and literary devices which turn a text into an example of a particular genre; a task which demands a lot of effort on the part of the students. If they do it in groups, they can split the work up and come to conclusions about how to develop the script. The research previous to the script design will make them more self-critical about the product they are designing.  
b) Record the author reading the story (audio recording and editing). Previously, we would work with  the students reviewing intonation patterns and the correct pronunciation of for example function vs. content words to avoid incorrect stress placement; which is one of the major causes of intelligibility for foreign learners (Roach 1983, 1991:91) [30]. Reading out loud, recording one's voice and publishing it on the internet can be very intimidating, thus one can safely predict that the student will increase his/her effort. Dewey (1913) [12] already pointed out the relationship between effort and interest and ow these interacted in producing good results. Digital storytelling has the advantage of being a new genre for most students, it raises interest, and therefore it is probably a good way of promoting student effort. 
c) Capture and process. Images are captured and processed to further illustrate the story. The student will be practicing with image scanning and editing, working therefore towards improving his/her visual and technological literacy; 
d) Combining different types of media such as  audio and images (and any additional video) onto a timeline, add music tracks (video editing, so developing their visual literacy. Visual literacy is the capacity that someone possesses to be able to evaluate, apply or create visual concepts and meaning. This is even more necessary for business and engineering students who will necessarily need to develop these skills to be competent in their work, since they are often asked to present their ideas with images rather than words; 
e) Present or publish the finished version of the story. This is the final step which obviously gathers together all the previous ones and at the same time demands good knowledge of presentation skills. Reviewing some pragmatic and rhetorical concepts, intonation and pronunciation would certainly help them to do a good job. This part certainly invites a review of certain pragmatic funtions of utterances in spoken and written texts  as well as a formal introduction to the grammar of spoken English (discourse markers, tails, heads, word order etc.).  A possibility would be to work on the first draft of the digital story and correct the possible mistakes so as to improve the final version, an exercise that would certainly enrich the students. (See some examples in http://www.storycenter.org/stories/)

“ The teacher is like a hard-working farmer, battling the unpredictable elements, knows the input but also knows that the output is unpredictable.  The farmer’s work is non-linear” (Fitch O´Connell, Porto 2008). There are three different players on the stage, the teacher, the learner and the language and, regardless of status , they have an equal effect on each other, they interact in a non-linear way. However, this interaction is not always ideal, If we as teachers want to succeed and be “good farmers”, we must know that no two people read the same book (Edmund Wilson), as no two seeds grow the same way. We, teachers or learners, contribute to what is being read. In that three-factor model  language has been substituted by literature, it is a basic language learning tool that contributes to a non-linear classroom. A teachers-learners partnership creating a non-fixed list of attractive readings - this includes teachers working together. 

Pre-reading activities are important and must involve the students from the very beginning. As stepping stones, pre-reading activities lead to a previous building-up of the story and encourages imagination. In conclusion, reading must be a joy, not a drudge. If  completing the coursebook or the syllabus checklist is the only important thing, then that is our only option. If we want to make language alive, we must include live literature, although this might mean sacrifice some pages from textbooks.