USING DIGITAL STORY PROJECTS TO HELP STUDENTSIMPROVE IN READING AND WRITING

HANI MORGAN

The University of Southern Mississippi

Today's students live in a world that has been transformed by technol-ogy, and they are often referred to as "digital natives" because theirexposure to digital resources begins at birth. The increased exposureto technology has changed the way students respond to instruction andhas led to a new need for teachers to integrate digital resources in thecurriculum. Unfortunately, some teachers do not use enough digital re-sources for students to derive the full benefits of technology. One easyway to avoid this problem is hy assigning students projects requiringthe creation of digital stories. This article discusses why it is importantfor teachers to use digital resources and how digital storytelling proj-ects can be used to help students improve in reading and writing. Re-sources are included to help instructors implement digital storytellingprojects, and the article discusses how to overcome common obstacleswhen using this teaching strategy.

Today's students live in a world that hasbeen transformed by technology, and they areoften referred to as "digital natives" becausetheir exposure to electronic resources beginsat birth. The technological tools they areexposed to include the Internet, cell phones,iPods, iPads, Facebook, and Twitter, andmore of these resources will soon emerge.The increased exposure to technology haschanged the way students respond to instruc-tion and has led to a new need for teachers tointegrate digital resources in the curriculum.Prensky (2013) contends that today technol-ogy is so important that it has replaced read-ing as the number one skill students need toleam in school to succeed in the 21 st century.Although many reading specialists wouldprobably argue that reading is still the mostimportant skill students need to develop, theneed to integrate technology into the schoolcurriculum has led numerous organizationslike the Intemational Reading Association(IRA) and the National Council of Teachersof English (NCTE) to add standards empha-sizing the need for teachers to prepare stu-dents to leam with technology.

Using technology effectively in schoolhas many benefits. It keeps students motivat-ed, helps them function well in their digitalworld, promotes academic gains in literacy,and facilitates the leaming of a subject matterbecause technological tools allow students toperceive and create content through variousformats including graphic images, audio, vid-eo, music, etc.

Unfortunately, for various reasons, someteachers do not use enough digital resourcesfor students to derive any benefits (Hicks,2011; Starr, 2012). One way to use technol-ogy in the classroom is to assign studentsprojects requhing the creation of digital sto-ries. Although these types of projects lead tomany academic benefits and are relativelysimple to implement, instmctors may face afew obstacles when attempting to use a digitalstory project with their students. However,teachers can use a few strategies to circum-vent common problems with technology tohelp students gain the numerous benefits ofstimulating technology projects.

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Using Digital Story Projects to Help Students Improve in Reading and Writing / 21

The Importance of Technology

Students need to be prepared to functionwell in the digital world they live in, and ifteachers refrain from implementing technol-ogy effectively, their students will likely faceproblems later in life. Preparing students tobe adept with digital resources, however, isonly one of the many reasons for them to usedigital storytelling in school.

As a result of constant exposure to technol-ogy, today's students are extremely tech savvy,and even very young children can manipulatetechnology (Hicks, 2011). Thus, when teachersimplement lesson plans requiring the use oftechnology, such as the creation of a digitalstory, they teach in a mamier that matchesstudents' environment and often their preferredway to learn. Hicks (2011) states that "thesaturation of technology in students' lives hasproduced an entirely different type of student,shaping the way they think, learn, and experi-ence the world around them" (p. 188).

Furthermore, instruction devoid of digitalresources increases chances of student bore-dom. Prensky (2001) says that the constantexposure to technological resources leadstoday's students to develop hypertext mindsthat are physiologically different fVom theminds of students fi-om previous generations,which often leads them to unpleasant experi-ences when teachers eschew digital resources.He argues that today's students are habituatedto a graphic-first, multitasking way of gettinginformation digitally that leads them to befhistrated with many of their teachers' ap-proach of instruction.

Neuroscientific studies of the brain supportthe idea that digital natives tend to be moreresponsive to digital resources than to printformat. A recent study, for example, done atUCLA's Semel Institute for Neuroscience andHuman Behavior revealed that when digitalnatives were reading a print text, their brainswere less engaged than while navigating aweb page (Herther, 2009).

Although effective use of technology canbenefit students in various ways, some teach-ers avoid it out of fear of appearing unpre-pared in fiont of their students (Starr, 2012).Their lack of confidence is often caused byinsufficient professional development and alack of support for troubleshooting problems,and this problem leads many of today's stu-dents to know more about digital resourcesthan their teachers (Hicks, 2011).

Although technology implementation issometimes intimidating for some teachers,once they gain awareness of the multitude offree resources available for guidance, theywül likely be more open to using more digitalresotirces in school. Some of these resourcesare listed in this article to help teachers learnto start a digital storytelling project with stu-dents ranging from primary school to highschool.

What is Digital Storytelling?

While all cultures have used tradition-al storytelling, digital storytelling is a newmethod teachers can use to motivate students,promote learning, and encourage them todevelop 21st century skills. When studentscreate digital stories, they first proceed thetraditional way by writing using pencil andpaper. However, in the final phase, their com-position becomes digitized and can includeimages, photographs, music, narration, andtext that are integrated into a movie.

Between these steps, students combine thetext from their stories with technological fea-tures that complement the words. Sylvesterand Greenidge (2009) indicate that the stepsfor creating a digital story include:

1. Writing a story.

2. Sketching scenes to match the narra-tion on a storyboard.

3. Numbering sections of text to corre-spond with scenes on the storyboard.

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4. Collecting graphics that complementthe scenes, such as photographs andclip art.

5. Recording the narration.

6. Combining the files into a movie witha video-editing program such as MovieMaker or iMovie.

7. Adding a title frame.

Sylvester and Greenidge also recommendfor teachers to use Lambert's (2002) modelfor creating effective digital stories, which isbased on the following seven elements:

1. Point of view—The author'sperspective.

2. Dramatic question—A question thatwill capttire the viewer's attention.

3. Emotional content—^Effective storiesdeal with serious issues involvingpowerful emotions.

4. The gift of your voice—^Using one'sown voice to personalize the story.

5. Soundtrack— Using music that is con-gruent with the story.

6. Economy—Using the right amotint ofinformation without overloading theviewer.

7. Pacing—^Progressing at the right pacein order to maintain the audience'sinterest.

When instructors use digital storytellingfollowing these guidelines, students oftenmake progress in various ways.

Improvement in Writing, Creativity, andMotivation

In addition to helping students gain 21stcentury skills, the process of creating digitalstories leads students to a plethora of academicbenefits. Mullen and Wedwick (2008), for ex-ample, found that a digital storytelling project

with eighth grade students helped students tocreate a customized product, think critically,and use programs that encourage creativify.Creating digital stories also helps studentsmake content relevant, adds meaning to theirschoolwork (Dreon, Kerper, & Landis, 2011),allows students to express themselves throughan alternate format, promotes confidence, andmotivates and engages students (Sylvester &Greenidge, 2009).

These types of projects also help strug-gling writers in several ways. When strug-gling writers create a storyboard, they gaina better understanding of the story sequence,which helps them realize parts of the storythey may have omitted in the traditional draft(Sylvester & Greenidge, 2009). This realiza-tion allows them to add missing componentsof the story before including the narration.Additionally, the process of narration helpsstruggling writers in spelling and capitaliza-tion, and the use of graphics and photographsallows students to express themselves moreeasily by allowing them to use visual detail toconvey ideas often omitted when writing thetraditional way. Students also gain an aware-ness of purpose and form because an audienceusually views the digital story upon comple-tion. These components of digital storj^ellingmotivate struggling writers and create oppor-tunities for them to become competent writers(Sylvester & Greenidge, 2009).

Improvement in Reading

Digital storytelling also helps studentsimprove in reading. One of the ways teach-ers can use this teaching method for thispurpose is by using digital storytelling cir-cles (DSCs). Traditional literature circlespromote reading improvement because theyencourage dialogue and discussion, crucialaspects of comprehension instruction (Re-utzel & Cooter, 2012). DSCs also providethis support and help students enhance theirreading knowledge and skills by allowing

Using Digitai Story Projects to Help Students Improve in Reading and Writing / 23

them opportunities to share information (To-bin, 2012). When teachers use DSCs, theybreak students in small groups (three to fivestudents per group) to read the same text, andthen students create a digital story ofthe text.After all the students in the DSC have finishedreading, the teacher assigns group membersspecific roles (director, producer, and editor),and students benefit because they exchangeideas, decide on the purpose ofthe story, andgain or improve the skills needed for digitalmoviemaking (Tobin, 2012).

Additionally, teachers can use digital sto-ries to help students improve in other import-ant components of reading such as fluencyand vocabulary. Fluency—^the ability to readexpressively with accuracy and speed—isdeveloped if instructors assign students towork one-on-one with peers to rehearse theirnarratives until they can read them well, andstudents can enhance their vocabulary whenteachers encourage them to use new, accurate,and powerful words in their stories (Royer &Richards, 2008).

Digital storytelling can also be used to helpreluctant readers become excited about litera-cy. When students lack motivation to read as aresult of being poor readers, they often avoidreading and consequently fail to improve asmuch as those who read more. This phenome-non, often referred to as the "Matthew effect,"increases the gap between good readers andpoor readers on various components of read-ing (Cain & Oakhill, 2011; Pfost, Dorfler, &Artelt, 2012). To avoid this negative trend thatpoor and reluctant readers may experience,educators can implement digital storytellingas an intervention strategy to get studentsexcited about literacy and encourage them toread more often.

Kajder (2008) used book trailers success-fully to motivate reluctant readers to read.Book trailers are two-to three-minute digitalstories designed to persuade viewers to reada text. The trailers need to include the title

and author of a book, and students are alsorequired to analyze the book. The process ofmaking book trailers requires students to readand reread a text, select images representingthe content of the book, and write a scriptreflecting the content of the book and themessage students want to convey (Young &Kajder, 2009). Teachers can also use digitalstories to help students understand content.

Improvement in Understanding DifTerentSubjects

In addition to assigning students to createdigital stories, teachers can show digital sto-ries to teach content to students and capturetheir attention (Robin, 2008). This form ofinstruction is beneficial because integratingimages with text improves student compre-hension. Some teachers have even createdtheir own digital stories in an effort to engagestudents and make content more understand-able. For example, Tyler Binley, a teacherat Palmyra Middle School, in Pennsylvania,uses digital storytelling to capitalize on hisstudents' interest in digital video to teachmath concepts, and his students find this strat-egy very helpfiil and go to his YouTube sitewhen they struggle with a math task (Dreon,Kerper, & Landis, 2011).

Viewing digital stories created by othersalso helps teachers who want to implementdigital story projects, and the websites listedin the following section can be used for thispurpose. After gaining familiarity with howgood digital stories appear, teachers can usethe strategies discussed in the section entitled"Getting Started" to begin a project with theirstudents.

Websites with Examples of Digital Stories

• Educational Uses of DigitalStorytelling

(http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu)

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This website was designed to serve asa useful resource for educators and stu-dents who are interested in integratingdigital storytelling with educationalactivities. It was created in 2004 at theUniversity of Houston College of Ed-ucation and includes numerous digitalstories on various topics.

• Creative Narrations

(http://www.creativenarrations.net/stories)

Creative Narrations is an organizationthat uses storytelling for self-discov-ery and strengthening relationships.It was founded in 2001 to support or-ganizations with multimedia tools todocument perspectives of change andincludes a gallery of digital stories.

• The East of England BroadbandNetwork

(http://clips.e2bn.org/browse)

The East of England Broadband Net-work (E2BN) is organized by thegovemment of England to improveteaching and leaming by the use ofbroadband technology. Numerous dig-ital stories produced by children can beviewed on this website.

Getting Started

Digital stories can be very simple in de-sign, consisting only of photographs, text, andnarration, or they can be much more elaborateand include more content including video,music, and special effects. Therefore, teacherswho have limited technology skills may wishto start a project with their students by mod-eling how to create a simple story using a fewtools and then include more digital resourcesas they increase their proficiency.

Another strategy teachers can use is tomodel a simple digital story but to encourage

students to explore and create their own ver-sion using more sophisticated methods. Asstudents create their projects, teachers canobserve how students are using technologyto leam from their students. This method pro-motes creativity, encourages a student-cen-tered approach, and also helps teachers im-prove their proficiency in technology. Hicks(2011) mentions that this method is valuablebecause many students are more tech savvythan their teachers.

In order to encourage creativity, teacherscan offer students a variety of topics to choosefor their projects, but instmctors need to re-member that the digital story needs to matchspecific concepts and skills students need toleam. Gabel (2011) recommends the follow-ing choices:

• Advertisement

• Personal narrative

• Short story

• Summary

• How-to directions

• Historical events

• Biography

• Parody

For teachers who have technological dif-ficulties or need guidance on how to makedigital stories, a variety of websites and vid-eos available on the Intemet offer informationand step-by-step directions. A list of usefultutorials is included in the following section.Educators can also search YouTube to findadditional tutorials on specific aspects of cre-ating digital stories.

Tutorials

• How to Create a Digital Story iniMovie

(ht tp: / /www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBaLjtRwca4)

Using Digital Story Projects to Help Students Improve in Reading and Writing / 25

In this short video, instmctors or stu-dents can view the basics of creatinga digital story using iMovie. The vid-eo contains information on openingiPhoto and iMovie, importing photos,adding narration, fixing mistakes, andexporting and saving the movie.

Atomic Learning

(http ://w ww. atomicleaming. com/k 12/moviemaker2)

Atomic Leaming is a website pro-viding technological support to helpeducators to integrate technology andincludes numerous short clips on howto use Windows Movie Maker 2. Theclips include guidance on getting start-ed, applying video effects, and work-mg with clips.

How to Create a Digital Story inPhoto Story 3

( h t t p : / / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=c6-NuHdpC4Q)

This tutorial explains how to create adigital story using Microsoft's PhotoStory 3 software. The tutorial explainshow to download Microsoft's PhotoStory 3 for free from the Intemet andincludes information on uploading im-ages, cropping pictures, using specialeffects, adding titles to pictures, chang-ing font of text, and more.

Kids'Vid

(http://kidsvid.4teachers.org)

Kids' Vid is an instmctional websitethat gives teachers and students thetools necessary to implement videoproduction in the classroom. The web-site includes information regardingscripting, editing, video shooting, andshowing a movie.

Obstacles with Digital Storytelling

One reason teachers will resist imple-menting a digital story project is fear of theunknown and unfamiliarity with technolo-gy. This fear is often unwarranted, and thetechnology needed to create this excitingapproach is available on most computers inschools. Most PCs and Macs are now madewith their own video-editing software. PCsgenerally come with Windows Movie Maker,and Macs with iMovie. The problem of inad-equate training with technology can be mini-mized through practice. Teachers can practiceby using the aforementioned resources tobecome proficient in creating digital stories,and they can find more free guidance on theIntemet, especially by using YouTube, to helpthem with specific areas that may be difficult.

Additionally, teachers should not be afraidto rely on students for help. Allowing studentsto explore and use their expertise in technol-ogy will promote creativity, and teachers canleam from students by asking about aspects ofdigital storytelling they may not be aware of

This strategy frequently leads to a positiveclassroom climate and often makes studentsfeel important (Hicks, 2011). Instmctors canalso rely on experts at their schools who areskillful in technology. By taking advantageof media experts, who often enjoy helpingstudents with these types of projects, anypotential obstacles will be reduced (Sylvester& Greenidge, 2009). Teachers can set up anappointment in a computer center or lab forguidance.

Conclusion

Assigning students digital story projectscan be beneficial for various reasons. Suchprojects are motivating and often help stu-dents improve in writing because this processencourages them to think about how storiesare created. Students also hnprove in readingwhen teachers use DSCs, book trailers, and

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other strategies designed to enhance import-ant components of literacy. Additionally, theseprojects provide students with an opportunityto gain more awareness of many elements ofthe media that surround them (Wawro, 2012).

Although effective implementation of dig-ital stoty projects will provide students withmultiple benefits, some teachers avoid thembecause they Eire afraid they lack proficiencyin technology. However, such projects canbe relatively simple to implement when freeInternet tools are used for guidance. Further-more, many teachers are tmaware that thetechnology needed for digital storytelling isah-eady on their computers, and their studentsfrequently know how to use it and enjoy shar-ing this knowledge.

Certain uncontrollable circumstances,however, make technology projects diflScultfor teachers to implement. One of these, andprobably the most important reason, is lackof administrative endorsement. In an age ofaccountability, when district persormel oftenvisit schools to observe that teachers adhereto scripted programs, many teachers have lit-tle, if any, freedom to decide on using such astrategy to help students.

For those teachers who enjoy this fi^ee-dom, implementing digital projects can makean important difference for today's tech savvystudents. These students often feel frustratedwhen teachers avoid the use of technologybecause instruction without it frequentlylacks the stimulation they need to work totheir potential. If more teachers or administra-tors integrate technology into the curriculumthrough the use of creative projects such asdigital storytelling, the end result should ben-efit many students.

References

Cain, K., & Oakhill, J. (2011). Matthew effects in youngreaders: Reading comprehension and reading ex-perience aid vocabulary development. Joumal ofLearning Disabilities, 44{5), 431-443.

Dreon, O., Kerper, R, M., & Landis, J. (2011). Digitalstorytelling: A tool for teaching and learning in theYouTube generation. Middle Schoot Joumal, 42(5),4-9.

Gabel, D. (2011). Down to earth digital storytelling.Library Media Connection, 30(\), 24-27.

Herther, N. K. (2009). Digital natives and immigrants.Online, 33(6), 14^21.

Hicks, S. D. (2011). Technology in today's classroom:Are you a tech-sawy teacher? The Clearing Hotise,5^188-91.

Kajder, S. (2008). 77K book trailer: Engaging teensthrough technologies. Retrieved August 17, 2013,from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educa-tional-leadership/mar08/vol65/num06/The-Book-Trailer@-Engaging-Teens-Through-Technologies.aspx

Lambert, J. (2002). Digital storytelling: Capturing lives,creating community. Berkeley, CA: Digital Diner.

Mullen, R., & Wedwick, L. (2008). Avoiding the dig-ital abyss: Getting started in the classroom withYouTube, digital stories, and blogs. The ClearingHouse, 82(2), 66-69.

Pfost, M., Dorfler, T., Artelt, C. (2012). Reading com-petence development of poor readers in a Germanelementary school sample: An empirical examinationof the Matthew effect model. Joumal of Research inReading, 35(4), 411-426.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants,part n: Do they really think differently? On theHorizon, 9(6), 1 9 .

Prensky, M. (2013). Our brains extended. EducationalLeadership, 70(6), 22-27.

Reutzcl, R., & Cooter. R. B. (2012). Teaching children toread: The teacher makes the difference. New York:Pearson.

Robin, B. R. (2008). Digital storytelling: A powerfulteehnology tool for the 21st century Classroom.Theory Into Practice, 47(3), 220-228.

Royer, R., & Richards, P (2008). Digital storytelling.Learning & Leading with Technology, 36(3), 29-31.

Starr, L. (2012). Encouraging teacher technology use.Retrieved August 17, 2013, from http://www.educa-tionworld.eom/a tech/tech 159.shtml

Sylvester, R., & Greenidge, W. (2009). Digital storytell-ing: Extending the potential for struggling writers.The Reading Teacher, 63(4), 284-295.

Tobin, M. T. (2012). Digital storytelling: Reinventing lit-erature circles. Voices from the Middle, 20(2), 40^8.

Wawro, L. (2012). Digital storytelling: More than thesum of its parts. Children & Libraries, 10(1), 50-52.

Young, C, & Kajder, S. (2009). Telling stories with vid-eo. Learning & Leading with Technology, 56(8), 38.

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