Digital Storytelling: An Effective

Mechanism in Foreign Language

Acquisition

Professional Development Workshop Project

Natalia Bukharova

Brandman University College

Goals and Measurable Objectives

Digital storytelling mechanism will improve student speaking proficiency

The school academic results for 2010 in Oral Proficiency Tests (OPI) were: 95 % - level 1+

The school goal for 2013: 100 % - level 2

Skills and conditions needed to close the gap:

Effective use of technology tools by teachers and students

Continuous professional development

Increase of speaking sessions per week

Goals and Measurable Objectives

(cont.)

This training will improve teacher effectiveness

Teachers will help students progress in the speaking skill

Since the digital storytelling mechanism is implemented, the OPI results will have risen

This training will increase teacher awareness about the necessity of technology application

Speaking Proficiency: Mapping

the Route to Success

Effective use of technology tools by teachers and students

Continuous professionaldevelopment

Modern infrastructure, hardware, technical support, and software

Sufficient funding and budget

Effective monitoring and evaluation

Today1+

95%

2013Level 2100%

Needs Assessment

Determine gaps in student performance

Compare the OPI results of the team/department with the results of other teams/departments

Compare the OPI results of the team with the DLI goal for 2013 (100 % - level 2)

Determine gaps in teacher performance

Conduct the “Foreign Language Teacher Survey: Use of Technology in Practicing the Speaking Skill” http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8QTPHBM

Preview of Learning Activities

In order to enhance speaking lessons and improve students’ performance at OPI, the team needs:

to integrate digital storytelling on the daily basis in class and outside class using the Sakai Learning Environment or other cloud computing tools

to organize workshops and/or tutoring on digital storytelling tools

to organize team meetings and conferences in order to monitor the implementation of the digital storytelling mechanism

to conduct demo classes and activities for sharing the best practices

Research and Resources

Useful resources for creating digital stories:

Storybird. Home page: http://storybird.com/

The Center for Digital Storytelling. Home page: http://www.storycenter.org/index1.html

The Digital Storytelling Association. Home page: http://www.storycenter.org/index1.html

University of Huston. The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling. Home page: http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/

Research and Resources (cont.)

Research articles on digital storytelling:

Sadik, A. (2008). Digital storytelling: a meaningful technology-integrated approach for engaged student learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 56, 487-506. doi: 10.1007/s11423-008-9091-8

Varona A. Digital storytelling. Retrieved from http://beyondwebct.wetpaint.com/page/Digital+Storytelling

Fascinating examples of digital stories can be found at

http://www.storycenter.org/stories/

Evaluation Plan

Compare the OPI scores before the training (2010-2011) with the scores after implementation of the digital storytelling mechanism into the curriculum (2012-2013)

Conduct frequent team-level peer and and self-evaluation using student results at monthly oral exams

Study periodic (twice a year) student evaluation of teachers

Conduct annual “needs assessment survey”

Thank You!