Digital storytelling is using digital resources (video recording, audio recording, online book creation, etc.) to convey a story and share it with others.

2. List 2 reasons why using digital storytelling could be particularly beneficial for refugee students.

Digital storytelling offers many different ways to convey a story.  Refugee students could orally tell and record their stories which could be much more accessible for them than writing a story down.  Some digital storytelling tools offer pre-programmed pictures and icons that can make it easier to convey meaning. Students can also include music and other sounds to help provide context to the story.

3. Provide one idea for using digital storytelling in your classroom and include the grade level for which you teach.

I have wanted to do a digital storytelling unit for several years where students interview a relative or friend about their life experience and cultural practices (a la StoryCorps).  I teach high school and think this project would be so beneficial to students (and families), as well as for the school community.  Eventually, I would want students to record their own life story.  We would create an online collection of these stories so students and community members would always have access to them.

4. Choose one image that you would include in a digital story that clearly represents your classroom so far this year.

This is tough for me as I'm not currently teaching.  I picked an image I would use in digital storytelling, modeling my own story for students to see the process. 

5. Choose 1 song that you feel would also contribute to representing your classroom so far this year.

I would have to choose the song "Where I Belong" by Tori Kelly.  Again, I don't have a classroom this year, but this song is perfect for both teenagers and for my own feelings as I reevaluate my role in the classroom.  The song is angsty enough that teens will connect with it.  I like that it talks about having a story to tell, and I like that it ends with a positive message about belonging where you are.

1.) Digital storytelling is the practice of adapting traditional story through multi modal ways of communication. 

 2.) Digital storytelling can be useful for refugee students because it would be more meaningful as opposed to trying to tell their story in a language they have not learned yet. It gives them an opportunity to express their thoughts, feelings, and emotions in a way that is comfortable to them. I think a digital story would also be more effective for the other students in the class. They would be able to better connect to their new classmate and what they have gone through by being told a digital story firsthand. 

 3.) I teach 9th grade and we are currently discussing persuasion and practicing writing to persuade. I think adapting our persuasion pieces to a digital format after their initial write-up would be a beneficial way to practice their skills in persuasion. How can you utilize digital tools to persuade your reader further? 

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5.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm7WAQD-VAg&list=PLECDA1EC8F1CE7F19 
I would choose the song "We All Belong" by Dr. Dog. 
Dr. Dog is my favorite band, and of all their songs, I think this best fits. It's a simple message of unity that I try and emulate in my class day to day. 

Digital storytelling is the process by which individuals can share their stories through the use of digital tools, such as images, audio, and video.  

 

 2. List 2 reasons why using digital storytelling could be particularly beneficial for refugee students.

Digital storytelling is a beneficial strategy to use with refugee students because it provides them with an opportunity to showcase their academic strengths and makes deeper more meaningful connections with the new information they are learning.  It is also beneficial to use with them because it is a high-interest activity that engages students and helps them “envision their potential to excel academically” (Emert 2014).  These factors also may also help refugee students learn the new language faster.

3. Provide one idea for using digital storytelling in your classroom and include the grade level for which you teach. 

This year our primary focus during Language Arts has using been nonfiction texts to strengthen these skills.  We are just finishing up units on cause and effect and weather in my second grade classroom.  I think it might be fun to have the students document their week in terms of the weather and how it may have effected them in both positive (getting to play outside) and negative (baseball practice being canceled) ways.  

 4. Choose one image that you would include in a digital story that clearly represents your classroom so far this year.
Please see below.

5. Choose 1 song that you feel would also contribute to representing your classroom so far this year. 

The alarm on my teacher iPad is set to “Fight Song” by Rachel Platten.  It plays to remind me to send students to reading intervention and that it is time for recess and lunch.  This year we have adopted the growth mindset idea within my school.  I chose this song as the alarm because I like it, but now see that it fits very well with the idea of not giving up when things get hard and the power of positive thinking.