The Five Main Steps of the Innovation-Decision Process Will Be Used to Implement Future Storytelling (FS) at Spring Grove Area High

School (SGHS)

1)  Knowledge FS will be introduced to the decision-makers of SGHS and they will gain

anunderstanding of how it functions.

2)  Persuasion Any uncertainties that the decision-makers of SGHS have about FS’sexpected consequences will be reduced and they will form a favorable orunfavorable attitude towards it.

3)  Decision The decision-makers of SGHS will engage in activities that lead to achoice to adopt or reject FS.

4)  Implementation The decision-makers of SGHS will put FS to use.

5)  Confirmation The decision-makers of SGHS will seek reinforcement of the innovationdecision they made (Rogers, 2003, p. 169).

CORA M. ROUSH

Implementation of An Emerging Technology: Future

Storytelling

"Storytelling is at the very root of what makes us

uniquely human… It is how we share our experiences, learn from our past, and

imagine our future.”- Frank Moss, MIT Media Lab Director

Overview: What is Future Storytelling? (TechTalk: Serving the MIT Community , 2008, p. 4)

David Kirkpatrick (left), Chairman of Plymouth Rock Studios, Cynthia Breazeal, co-director of Media Lab's Center for Future Storytelling, and Frank Moss, director of the MIT Media Lab, with Nexi, a mobile, dexterous social robot developed by Breazeal's Personal Robots research group.

Overview, continued

On November 12, 2008 the MIT Media Laboratory announced the creation of the Center for Future Storytelling.

This was made possible through a seven-year, $25 million commitment from Plymouth Rock Studios, a major motion picture and television studio that is expected to open in 2010 in Plymouth, Massachusetts (p. 4)

Overview, continued

The MIT Media Lab and Plymouth Rock Studios have been collaborating to revolutionize how we tell our stories, from major motion pictures to peer-to-peer multimedia sharing (p. 4).

Overview, continued

By applying leading-edge technologies to make stories more interactive, improvisational and social, researchers have been seeking to transform audiences into active participants in the storytelling process, bridging the real and virtual worlds, and allowing everyone to make their own unique stories with user-generated content on the Web (p. 4).

“…but how we tell our stories depends on another uniquely human characteristic --

our ability to invent and harness technology. From the printing press to the Internet, technology has given people new ways to tell their stories, allowing them to reach new levels of creativity and personal

fulfillment. The shared vision of the MIT Media Lab and Plymouth Rock Studios

allows us to take the next quantum leap in storytelling, empowering ordinary people to

connect in extraordinary ways.”- Frank Moss, MIT Media Lab Director

The Purpose of FS

To provide a 21st century teaching and learning tool that will enhance today’s digitally-inclined students’ learning and improve their overall skills

Advantages of FS

The use of FS will improve students’ skills: Technology Skills Research Skills Interview Skills Writing Skills Editing Skills Organization Skills Interpersonal Skills Presentation Skills

Personal NarrativesPersonal Narratives Instructional StoriesInstructional Stories

Fiction or NonfictionBoost students’

creativity and the use of their imaginations with storytelling using, for example, the target grammar, vocabulary, or language

Measure students’ learning through storytelling

Students can demonstrate their knowledge, research, findings, etc. with storytelling

Educational Uses of FS

Anticipated Timeframe for Development

Month 1 Technology specialists install FS software on high school

computers

Month 2 Instructional coaches trained on the uses, benefits and

advantages, possible instructional techniques, etc. of FS

Months 3 & 4 Teachers trained by the instructional coaches (workshops,

practice sessions, brainstorming & lesson planning sessions)

Month 5 Implementation Begins! Support and training by the

instructional coaches are available whenever necessary.

Costs of FS

When the FS software is produced, a more detailed cost evaluation will be provided and will include the exact amounts of: Software Software installation Instructional coaches training Teachers training

Expectations

The high school students will be excited to learn about and use a new technology.

They will be more motivated to learn and more enthusiastic about presenting what they have learned because FS will enable them to do things they enjoy and are comfortable with – telling stories using technology.

The high school teachers will not only appreciate inspired and energetic students, but they will value the more adequate feedback about their students’ learning.

References

Rogers, E. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th edition). New York: Free Press.

TechTalk: Serving the MIT Community, 53(9), 1-8.