Digital Stories in the Classroom

In class last week we watched two "digital stories." It's some neat stuff. I wish I could link them; they were pretty cool. The first one we watched was so cute. It was called A Journey Through The Rainforest. I found a link to the website for it, but not the video itself. :( Anyways, I think it was a first grade class (if not first grade, they were pretty little) who all drew pictures about different animals in the rainforest and how it was being destroyed and put them in a video that they narrated. Not only was it adorable, it seemed like the kids really learned a lot and had a good time putting together the project. The second one we watched was called Home, and it was about soldiers' views on what "home" is. I didn't like this one as much as the first one. It really had no application in the classroom. More than that, though, the person who made it wasn't in the military herself, and she even credited Google for her pictures. Doesn't seem like she put a whole lot of time or effort into it. It had emotional music paired with emotional pictures, though, and it's worth watching once just to see what you can do with the software. I've googled the video but I can't find it. Sorry. :(

I think the idea of digital story telling could actually be a good thing in the classroom. I liked how the first grade class used it as a culmination of the research they had done for their unit on the rainforest. I think using it as a final class project is a great idea. I think the videos could be dropped to a DVD pretty easily, and then the kids could have something to show for all their work. It could give them a real sense of accomplishment. Do I think I'll use it when I teach? To be honest, probably not. While it's a good idea, I don't know how to do it myself, and it would require time in a computer lab to make it that could be spent teaching. If my students would want to make one for extra credit, I think that would be great, though. It definitely has an application in the schools; I just don't know if it would work in my class.



Okay, the picture for this time... This one is me, my dad, and Sammi. You can also see my adorable new Buggie. I named her Bonnie Blue Beetle after Bonnie Blue Butler from Gone With the Wind. Unfortunately, I had to wreck my Corolla, Rosie, to get her, but I'm so glad I have her now! What the heck, I'll put up the picture of Rosie too. The wreck was pretty bad. I ran head on into a Lincoln Navigator. The Navigator won.

Okay, I lied. I tried to put up the picture of the Corolla, but for some reason it won't upload. :( I'll try to put it on a future post.