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Children and Families as Digital Storytellers

  • 1.  Children and Families as Digital Storytellers

    Posted 03-05-2020 01:15 PM
    How can digital storytelling be used to enhance early literacy with children and families? What apps are you using for digital storytelling.  Please share your experiences.

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    Kelly Dalsemer
    Resource Teacher, Early Childhood Services
    Orange County Public Schools
    Orlando FL
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  • 2.  RE: Children and Families as Digital Storytellers

    Posted 03-09-2020 06:33 AM
    Hi Kelly,

    Am very interested in ways digital storytelling/creation tools can help us better understand children's ideas/thinking as they create/share using digital tools. Put links to some apps we have used to support digital storytelling and authorship (writing name,etc) incorporating digital photography and drawing tools in this link collection.

    In the blog post "A Spring Time Photo Walk",  Marc Faulder makes the point "Photography gives the children ownership of their learning and greater opportunities for talk after the activity" and can also be used to reinforce writing. With spring coming, enjoyed his suggestions for helping children get started as digital photographers and using their own images to explain their observations/thinking. (Also found his recent Connecting with Emotions post intriguing- asking children to consider how they felt when using devices to consume or create and using digital drawing tools to create an emoji /spark discussion about their device use at home and at school…)

     Look forward to hearing from others using digital tools with children/families to support digital storytelling/creation- are children take photos to spark conversation or writing? Using drawing/other creation tools/apps?

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    Bonnie Blagojevic
    Morningtown Consulting
    Orono ME
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  • 3.  RE: Children and Families as Digital Storytellers

    Posted 03-13-2020 01:42 PM
    Hi Kelly,

    Fun topic and I look forward to learning from you and the others. To me digital storytelling has many benefits including that parents and teachers have familiar tolls for capturing stories with them in their pocket - Help parents know the smartphone in their hand is a storytelling tool and has many benefits for their child and them:
    • The child is in control
    • Already familiar with the affordances of digital devices (smartphone, tablet)
    • Can be used alone or together (child-child, adult-child)
    • Child is a content creator not just a consumer - an author!
    • For inquiry, investigation, research, representation
    • Search, collect, curate and save artifacts
    • Document learning in multiple ways 
    • Show you what they know and how they learn
    • Share their learning
    • Save and revisit… and revisit again
    I've highlighted the last bullets because for me this is where the magic happens. I look forward to digital storytelling ideas from others.

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    Chip Donohue
    Founding Director, TEC Center at Erikson Institute
    Donohue & Associates
    Park City UT
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  • 4.  RE: Children and Families as Digital Storytellers

    Posted 03-18-2020 08:59 AM
    Chip- so true, that many families have a wonderful tool for story creation in their pockets. As educators consider how to support families with learning at home, this can be important to consider, how to use these tools to enjoy and learn together, combine hands-on and digital experiences.

    Reading a book in the home, or looking at or listening together to one of the many stories becoming available online, families might discuss if the child enjoyed the story (why or why not) and/or invite the child to draw a favorite part of the story using drawing materials they may have at home, or digital drawing tools available (see apps mentioned above) and record what they liked about the story. These can be sent to family members remotely (or perhaps can invite grandparents/other family members to do the same-providing each other with book talks about favorite books discovered:^)

    As Chip mentioned, other benefits are available when phones/devices are used for "inquiry, investigation, research, representation". Can use features of a phone, such as the zoom feature to magnify, so a child can take close up photos of things in the world around them they are interested in learning more about, be it a bug that appears (if can go outside or perhaps an indoor spider), or seeds in a fruit or vegetable, to support spring studies/stories of growth and change. Children can be supported to use the device to document questions and comments using photo or video recording and other features such as slow motion, photo markup to support these kinds of science studies. With open-ended apps, or sometimes just features of the phone available and some imagination, can find opportunities to learn and children to share their thoughts/create, in all subject areas.

    With many families together at home for extended periods, may also be a good time to consider when and how to have conversations about media use. There are an increasing number of online resources becoming available (Can use tech tools to make your own collections, such as this one https://wke.lt/w/s/SNyMmt) which can provide rich learning opportunities, but also invite conversations about consuming and creating (as mentioned in Marc's blog post mentioned above) and why it is important to consider media diet and balance.

    Look forward to hearing other ideas as we explore new ways to learn at home and how we can use a variety of tools available, including digital options, to support and celebrate creativity.

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    Bonnie Blagojevic
    Morningtown Consulting
    Orono ME
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  • 5.  RE: Children and Families as Digital Storytellers

    Posted 03-19-2020 10:34 AM
    Hello Chip,

    Love your list of benefits for parents and young children.  Concern and considerations about CONVID19 and caring for their young child are currently uppermost in the minds of many parents. Digital storytelling is accessible and easy with a smartphone.  For example, when your child builds a structure, take pictures or use video and use the microphone to record the story.  And yes, save and revisit again and again!

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    Donna Karno
    Associate Professor
    University of Maine, Farmington
    Farmington ME
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  • 6.  RE: Children and Families as Digital Storytellers

    Posted 03-20-2020 02:08 PM
    Hello Kelly,
     
    I am adding to the materials Bonnie has provided, focusing on resources teachers and parents can use to promote digital literacy.  This Padlet site was put together by Cara Furman for her early literacy class.  These resources can be used by parents and early educators as they connect digitally during this period of disruption due to Coronavirus and beyond.

    The posts by Chip and Bonnie do a wonderful job describing the importance of digital literacy - I am wondering if anyone else has apps or other digital storytelling tools to pass on?

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    Donna Karno
    Associate Professor
    University of Maine, Farmington
    Farmington ME
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  • 7.  RE: Children and Families as Digital Storytellers

    Posted 03-25-2020 02:45 PM

    The NAEYC Technology & Young Children Interest Forum would like to invite you to join a FREE webinar "Children and Families as Creators and Storytellers: new Digital Directions for Learning at Home."  In this webinar, presenters will share anecdotes from their experiences working with children and families creating and sharing stories using technology, and discuss how this might happen at home. The webinar will take place on Mar 30, 2020 at 6:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada).

    Join Juana Rodriguez-Vazquez, Migrant Education Regional Coordinator, Mano en Mano, Milbridge, ME and Katie Gardner, Kindergarten ESL teacher, Knollwood Elementary, Salisbury, NC  (NBCT, ADE '17, PBS Digital Innovator '16, LEGO Master Educator, National Geographic Certified Educator, Writereader / Seesaw / Buncee Ambassador) 

    Register in advance for this meeting at https://bit.ly/3br1Y5H.

    After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. We hope to see you there! (If you are unable to attend, the webinar will be recorded and a link will be able for you to watch at your convenience.)

    Hope to see you on this important webinar next week.

    Diane Bales and Kelly Dalsemer
    Technology and Young Children Interest Forum Facilitators



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    Kelly Dalsemer
    Resource Teacher, Early Childhood Services
    Orange County Public Schools
    Oviedo FL
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  • 8.  RE: Children and Families as Digital Storytellers

    Posted 03-26-2020 10:45 AM
    I would like to be apart of this training, thank you!





  • 9.  RE: Children and Families as Digital Storytellers

    Posted 04-08-2020 07:54 AM
    Thanks to presenters Juana Rodriguez Vazquez and Katie Gardner and the over 200 participants who joined the recent webinar Children and Families as Creators & Storytellers: New Digital Directions for Learning at Home and shared ideas for the great suggestions. (If you were not able to attend, the webinar and chat notes are available here: https://bit.ly/TechYCDigitalStoryTellers )

    One of the participants mentioned that parents were sending in pictures of children in nature and what they were discovering-so great to hear families are sharing in that way.

    Many programs often focus on 'growing things/life cycles"- planting seeds, etc and other nature studies at this time of year. During the webinar, it was mentioned that families can help children use digital photography to magnify using the zoom feature, or document nature discoveries (bugs of interest) using video (slow motion) and/or children can use simple drawing apps (like Draw and Tell) or mark up features to add details to nature photos they may take of discoveries that interest them. Free online book collections such as Epic can be used to find books and learn more about what children notice/high interest topics (such as snails..)

    While some teachers use KWL charts (to document what children know, want to know and have learned) wondering what kind of resources/suggestions are being shared to support families/children with thinking about spring/growth/life cycles and their child's interests/science inquiry projects at home. And what creative ideas families may be coming up with/how the work is being shared back with the teacher/others in the community.

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    Bonnie Blagojevic
    Morningtown Consulting
    Orono ME
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  • 10.  RE: Children and Families as Digital Storytellers

    Posted 04-08-2020 10:52 AM
    In my class I am having virtual dress up days! I allow my students to share their experiences on a Flipgrid that I have built into my Canvas course for them to use. My students will write books, go outside or share what they have found around the house that matches the dress up days. One of our dress up days was green day, so one of my students went around the house and gathered green items! This student's favorite item was a green Frisbee so he took his family outside and played Frisbee and posted it to the Flipgrid assignment in Canvas so his other classmates can see what he was doing and where he found the item. 

    In the spring time I was planning to hatch chicken eggs, but this year since we are home for distance learning I decided to get Caterpillars instead. I have also set my students up on Seesaw and I am allowing students to post daily news reports on how the caterpillars are growing. I have just started having them create news reports on Seesaw so I am excited to see what they will create! We meet at 9:30 on zoom for our morning meeting and the students are able to see the caterpillars and see how they are growing. I also read books to them through a digital platform about caterpillars. One of my students made the caterpillars a card to show them how they are going to change in the coming weeks. He shared this at our zoom meeting when we had share time, and he also added a video of himself on our Seesaw blog. This student wanted to make sure the caterpillars knew what was going to happen to them. 

    Through our district my students also have access to online books! Students will post their book reviews in Seesaw as well. I've had students read books about Legos, the solar system and rabbits. They love being able to share their experiences and new information they learn about. I do recommend creating a Seesaw blog because if you are using Seesaw with home learning codes the students are unable to see their classmates work. You will still need to approve the work that goes into the Seesaw blog but this way the students can see each other's work.

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    Kelsey MacLeod
    Teacher
    Winter Garden FL
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