Digital Storytelling

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Digital storytelling can be very useful in a classroom. I was able to do a digital storytelling project in my TE 401 class already and it was a lot of fun to use. This can be something used all the time in the classroom to the teacher presenting ideas through a video they made or students coming up with their own stories to tell. This could be used at the beginning of the year to have students tell their story about who they are instead of having posters. this way students can be more creative and use any picture they want without having to worry that it will get ruined on a poster. This can also be used in a social studies/history class where students can use pictures and videos to tell the story about a certain era, battle or the life of a famous inventor. This allows the students to be creative and learn something new through the research they do and by watching other students stories. Digital storytelling can make teaching history in a fun way for the students instead of just learning dates and places. I loved how easy it was to use one true media. They make it really easy to upload videos, edit them and put your own music in your story. If you don't have music you can upload to the program there is hundreds of different songs to choose from. You can crop your picture, figure out the transition and decide how long you want each picture to show. There were a few down points on the program though. The only way you can put captions on your story and share it with others is if you buy the dvd or upgrade to the 'premium' account. I originally had captions in my story, but because I didn't have that premium account they are not showing. Also i did not see an way to audio record or talk in the story. I think this is another element that would be fun and key to use in a classroom where students can literally tell their story instead of writing it all out in captions or hope the students understand just by looking at the pictures. All in all I think digital storytelling can be very beneficial in the classroom, but it is important to find the right program that will work best for your projects in your classroom.