Tell Me a Story

My dad was the first one to introduce me to the power of story. In between his missionary travels, he'd create a funny and heroic tale starring me as he put me to bed. Later, as a theology professor, Dad wrote a groundbreaking book on the connection of story to church congregations. It was published after he had died of cancer.

The power of story still thrills me, guides me, haunts me, and is a motivating force for my life's work. It's transforming power is seen in many formats, such as children's books, storytelling festivals, radio fund raisers for charities, and digital stories. Little did I know that back in 1985, after my dad had died and my oldest child was born at 25 weeks, that the video I created using photos, music, interviews of family members, and old and new film clips would become what is now called digital storytelling. It was done in VHS format and I spent hours at the back of a video editing studio in Atlanta to create it. Now it can be done in the comfort of my home where I'm surrounded by reminders of the past and present.

I know that digitial storytelling will be a part of my future. If I have the opportunity to become a school media specialist, I will find some way to create an area for the learning community (students, staff, and community) to create and archive personal and curriculum-based digital stories. Creating the digital story for this class allowed me to experience the higher level critical thinking skills that are involved in this kind of project, to collect different resources (thank you Dr. Bennett and Kim) and to see the value and use of this in education. I would love to see an archive of images, audio, video, and text created that is based on the Georgia Performance Standards for quick access.

One of our classmates, Vernisa Durden, shared the ebook source Tumblebooks as her Tech Tip. During my full day visit at Luella Elementary (ALA's 2008 Media Center of the Year), media specialist Anne Wallace was excited to show me how students use Tumblebooks on the library computers and at home. Here's the link to Tumblebooks from their website. There's a lot of interacting with books that can occur through this source. Anne Wallace also has an area of the media center for storytelling and facilitates a storytelling club for students. She understands the power of story.

Daddy, your love of story lives on through me. Let me tell you a story.

Personalizing the Learning Journey- Tech Training

Have you ever participated in technology training where the facilitator moves quickly through the steps of using the software without much concern for learning styles, needs or preferences? Where teachers leave the room unsure about how to use the software to increase their effectiveness and student success or unconvinced about the value of taking more time to learn about the software? I have. This type of training values the software and technology over understanding teachers and what motivates them. There must be another way.

Jamie McKenzie, in his article How Teachers Learn Technology Best, presents what he's learned from years of working with teachers. He calls for technology training that is curriculum rich and based on standards so teachers can immediately see the value and application of the technology to student achievement. It is not so much about powerpointing which he says can be 'powerpointlessness', but it is about inspiring teachers to learn the value of engaging students in problem-based or project-based learning using a new tool.

Facilitators need to shift from a training mindset to an adult learning model states Mr. McKenzie. This adult learning model includes:

• Involving the adult learners in activities that directly relate to needs, such as needing to teach a Science standard, and also to personal interests and learning styles.

• Creating an educational environment of growth and discovery for all students and teachers that supports risk-taking.

• Learning by doing, having maximum guided practice, available support for ongoing learning, and connection to fellow learners.
  

• Encouraging the adult learners to identify obstacles and equipping them to problem solve and remove these obstacles.
  

To this model I would add the concept of creating a bridge for learners- that connects their existing knowledge to understanding the new information. An effective way of doing this is with analogies. Several years ago I was confused about the purpose of the Desktop. A kind technology specialist asked me what I had on my desk. After I responded that I had things that I needed to access frequently, he said that the Desktop was created with that in mind. Folders and software icons are placed here for ease of access, just like my desk. My understanding of the Desktop increased in two minutes based on this simple (and probably obvious to others) analogy. It was also due to this person who had created an environment for true learning. I felt safe to expose my ignorance. He had personalized the learning journey for me.

School TV News: A Marriage Proposal

Yes, it's time consuming. Yes, it's labor intensive. And yes, it can hurt the feelings of those students not chosen for the TV news team. But the rewards and benefits of having a school TV News program are worth it. Just look at the students' faces. Listen to what they share with their parents about their day. Watch the growth of the news team members.

When I taught 3rd and 5th grade at Northside Elementary, I saw how the well-run Cougar News Network (CNN) not only shared important information (such as lunch menu changes) but also celebrated and sustained our life as a learning community. We were used to seeing student and teacher-made PhotoStory clips on everything from the Character Word of the Week to the ongoing development of the baby chicks. One morning, we were watching a PhotoStory that at first appeared to celebrate one of the teacher's birthdays. Then,as we watched, our eyes grew bigger as it dawned on us that this video clip was actually a marriage proposal. It ended with the teacher being asked to step out into the hall to let her boyfriend know if she'll marry him! Of course, this magic moment was captured on video and shown the next day.

Deciding to produce a show is also a commitment, not quite the marriage kind, but it does take planning and ongoing learning and maintenance (kind of like marriage). CNN has a specific structure:

• CNN is produced live every morning from the media center and usually lasts 10 minutes. Team members are given scripts (typed by one of the co-sponsors using a basic outline) the day before and arrive 15 minutes before the show begins.
  

• It begins with a video clip (using PhotoStory3) of photos of the news team with music they've chosen. Each student in the school has a chance to be on CNN by helping to lead the pledge and by being part of a Character Ed skit or video clip.
  

• A 6-person news team is chosen from each 5th grade class. The first team starts several weeks into the new school year and each team produces the newscast for about 6 weeks. During the last 4 weeks of school, an "All Star" team- made up of the best of the homeroom teams- produces the show. They also train chosen 4th graders, who produce the show during the last week of school and during the first several weeks of the new school year.

• Team members are encouraged to personalize their set, what they wear, and themes they want to incorporate with the approval of the sponsors. Each day has a theme, such as 'Movie Monday' when a video clip is shown, or 'Thoughtful Thursday' when a trivia question is asked and correct responses are gathered for a drawing for a trinket.
  

• News team members have specific roles and job responsibilities (such as anchor, switcher, director, camera person, etc.). They rotate these each week. One of the roles is to watch the newscast on a monitor in another location and to take notes on what worked and what needs improvement. After the newscast, the team sits down with the two co-sponsors and this person gives feedback. The co-sponsors also use this time to do further training.

I have seen the tears of those who have looked forward to 5th grade so they could be on the news team and didn't make it. I have listened to an angry parent who thought my method of choosing my 5th grade homeroom team through auditions and a rubric was unfair. As a teacher, I've felt impatient when the show dragged because I wanted to get my students to their Specials so I could have my full planning time. I've heard the frustration that the media center is closed due to CNN preparation and broadcasting. But I still say it is worth it. It is a work in process, but you never know what may come from this commitment to hands-on learning. Possibly a down-on-one knee marriage proposal.

Beyond Being My Friend

Vince Dooley has almost 700 friends on Facebook! Problem is, he's never used this social networking site. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's October 12th article on 'The Changing Face of Facebook' speaks to the influx of adults on this previously youth-oriented online community. And what do most young people think about this? They don't like it. And when educators enter the space? Problems can arise from not only the blurry line of 'friending' but also the resistance of youth to share this social space.

But there is a strong argument for incorporating online social networking into the educational and library setting. It just depends on how you do it. The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County reaches out to teens in a unique way through a library island in Teen Second Life and offers them programming and information. Another possibility is to create content with students, like this TeacherTube media center animato video, that they may choose to put on their social networking page.

Some people feel it's important to go beyond the pre-established social networking environments and create your own school social network. Steve Hargadon, creator of Classroom 2.0 (a Ning social networking site), believes there is a way to set up private networking sites for schools. In this smaller, more specialized, school-controlled network, students can actively contribute to content creation in meaningful ways.

I was curious about how easily a Ning social networking site could be created. So I set one up. My goal was to create one for my extended family to do some online networking and sharing-similar to what could be set up for a media center's online school learning and sharing community. I found it to be easy and like the ability to blog, share videos and photos, and have a threaded discussion board. Because it has a private setting, only 'My Friends' can access it and comment on it. Here's a picture of the main page:








For a detailed look at how a school could create it's own safe and engaging social network read this FunnyMonkey's article. It speaks to creating an online learning environment for schools that has different levels of private and public access by using a combination of free software. The suggestion enables clubs, classes, departments, and school groups to have a private place for networking and sharing and a public place, a website, for what they want the public to access.

So, social networking in schools and in the media center can go beyond 'friending' to create a learning environment that students can access at any time. It's a place they can share their work, comment on each others' work, plan for upcoming club meetings, create and add to a learning portfolio, just to name a few uses. And it's not just up to one person, such as the media specialist to add content. It is a school community project of connecting.