Powerful Tools for Teaching and Learning: Digital Storytelling

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/digital-storytelling

Introduction

### Course Review: Powerful Tools for Teaching and Learning: Digital Storytelling **Overview and Relevance** In a world increasingly dominated by digital media, harnessing storytelling for educational purposes is crucial. The course, **Powerful Tools for Teaching and Learning: Digital Storytelling**, available on Coursera, delves into the vibrant and increasingly popular field of digital storytelling tailored for educators. It serves as a comprehensive introduction, equipping teachers with the knowledge and skills to craft impactful digital stories that can enhance their students' learning experiences. This course is suitable for educators across various disciplines and levels, whether you are a seasoned teacher looking to integrate technology into your classroom or a new educator keen on engaging students through creative platforms. **Course Structure** The course is divided into five well-structured weeks, each focusing on a specific aspect of digital storytelling, ensuring participants gain a holistic understanding of the process. 1. **Week 1: Choosing a Topic and Defining your Purpose** From the onset, participants are guided through the fundamental components of a digital story. This week emphasizes selecting a topic and defining the most effective purpose for the story. Approaching storytelling through the lens of education’s diverse curricula showcases the flexibility and depth of this medium. 2. **Week 2: Writing an Effective Script and Creating a Storyboard** Scriptwriting is an art in itself, and this week tackles it head-on. Instructors cover narrative structure, emphasizing critical components like character development and conflict resolution. The course also introduces storyboarding, teaching participants how to visualize their narratives effectively and locate suitable images. The hands-on tutorials engage educators logically and creatively, reinforcing learning. 3. **Week 3: Recording Audio Narration** This segment focuses on one of the most personal and powerful components of digital storytelling: narrating your story. Participants learn to use various recording devices and editing software, including Audacity. Additionally, exploring how to incorporate music further enriches their digital tale, allowing educators to create an auditory experience that complements their visual content. 4. **Week 4: Assembling Your Digital Story** Upon mastering scriptwriting, storyboarding, and narration, week four guides participants through the assembly phase. Here, they gain practical skills in using video editing tools of their choice, which lends flexibility to their creative expression. This week encourages experimentation, fostering individual creativity in the final output. 5. **Week 5: Reflection and Revision** The final week revolves around reflection and assessment. Educators evaluate their journey through the course, discussing challenges encountered and solutions devised. This reflective process not only solidifies learning but also encourages continual improvement and revision of digital stories based on feedback. **Pros and Cons** **Pros:** - **Comprehensive Content**: Each week builds on the previous one, ensuring a cumulative and deep understanding of digital storytelling. - **Hands-On Learning**: The course prioritizes practice, allowing educators to apply what they learn in real-time. - **Accessibility**: Tutorials and resources provided are user-friendly, catering to all levels of tech-savviness. - **Community Engagement**: Participants can share their stories, receive feedback, and interact with fellow educators, fostering a collaborative learning environment. **Cons:** - **Time Commitment**: The course is structured to require a significant investment of time, which might be challenging for busy educators. - **Software Familiarity**: Some participants may find themselves struggling initially with unfamiliar video or audio editing software. **Recommendation** I wholeheartedly recommend **Powerful Tools for Teaching and Learning: Digital Storytelling** for educators seeking a creative outlet to engage students while enhancing their digital literacy. This course is not just about learning to tell a story; it's about empowering teachers to create memorable, multimedia-rich presentations that resonate with learners. The skills acquired here can be leveraged beyond the classroom, fostering a deep appreciation of storytelling in various contexts. In conclusion, this Coursera course is a valuable resource that provides educators with the necessary tools to bring their narratives to life and engage students in a meaningful way. Whether you are aiming to enhance your teaching methods or simply explore the art of storytelling, this course is worth your time and energy.

Syllabus

WEEK 1: Choosing a Topic and Defining your Purposes

Week 1 introduces you to the basics of digital storytelling. You will explore the fundamental elements of a good digital story and review examples used by educators across a varied curriculum. By the end of this week, you will be able to choose a topic and define the purpose of a digital story you will create for your classroom or informal learning setting. You may access the course materials for this week from the links below, or from the navigation bar on the left side of this page.

In Week 2, we will focus on scriptwriting, storyboarding, and Creative Commons. We will begin by discussing the steps in developing and writing a script for the digital story you will create in this course. We will explore the basic elements of the script, such as introduction, character development, tension and resolution that are necessary in developing a script. Then, we will also examine the importance of selecting appropriate images and creating a storyboard. In Week 2, you will learn not only the functions and the sequences of a storyboard, but also the most useful ways to locate images, such as using photos taken with a digital camera and images downloaded from the internet based on the size, quality, type and usage rights. A step-by-step approach will be used to illustrate how these images can support your own script as a part of creating a digital story. By the end of this week, you will begin to understand the important steps and elements of scriptwriting, and be able to envision your story's script in a visually interesting storyboard.

In week 3, we will focus on how you can record audio narration that will be used in your digital story. We will examine some of the most common types of microphones and recording devices that you can use to record the script you wrote. We will also demonstrate how to record and edit your digital audio files using Audacity, free audio recording software available for Windows and Macintosh computers. Of course, if you prefer, you may use any audio editing program to record and/or edit your narration. The important thing to remember is that recording your own voice is a key component of the digital storytelling process since it explains the information you are presenting and provides a personal touch to your story. We feel strongly that this part of the process should not be overlooked. This week, we will also explore how you can find and download appropriate music that supports the theme of your story. We will focus on music that is in the public domain or is free of copyright restrictions so that it can be used in your digital story legally and at no cost.

In Week 4, we will explore how to assemble all of the elements (text, images, narration, and if you choose, music and/or video clips) to create the final version of your digital story and publish it online. You may use any video editing software program of your choice, and you may find a list of software options, Web 2.0 tools, and mobile apps, on the Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling website (http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu).

In Week 5, you will reflect on what you have learned in this course, how you dealt with each component of the digital storytelling process and discuss the challenges you faced, as well as how you dealt with these challenges in creating your digital story. In addition, you will have the option of revising the final version of your digital story based on the feedback you received. Please note that you may choose to use the version of your digital story that you submitted in the previous week as the final version. If this is the case, you do not need to revise your digital story, but you should still complete the Final Digital Story Assessment as one of this week’s assignments.