[MUSIC] We encourage students in our courses, and participants in our workshops, to think about a digital story, not as a single educational resource that others will view once or twice, but as a key component in a set of educational resources that can be used by people who view the story and then want to learn more about the topic. In some cases, these might include customary educational materials, such as lesson plans, classroom activity sheets, and glossaries of terms. In other cases, the resources may be a collection of PowerPoint slides, PDF files, journal articles, and links to external websites, blogs, or podcasts. The important concept to remember is that educational digital stories can be an excellent way to motivate viewers to seek new information and more in-depth instructional content. Since the digital story may be just first of many other resources that viewers will encounter in order to add depth, complexity and richness to their learning experience, students are encouraged to locate suitable support materials, as well as develop their own, as part of a comprehensive set of educational resources. In this example, a high school science teacher taught her students how to create digital stories on different aspects of the scientific method. She developed a series of instructional support materials for other science teachers who might also want to use digital story telling with their own students to reflect their understanding of the nature of science. The materials that were developed included lesson plans, digital story telling tutorials, PowerPoint presentations, and assessment information. She also included sample scripts, storyboards, and copies of the digital stories that her students created. Here is a brief excerpt of one of the digital stories created by a student. >> The scientific research and design class Is an avenue where a student can expand their horizons of learning and gain an educational experience. As opposed to a typical class, scientific research and design is a curriculum that you set based on your passions, so that each individual can gain an understanding of their own. >> Throughout the process of the class. >> Here are examples of some of the materials that were developed for other science teachers. Another student created a digital story about her grandmother who survived bladder cancer. Here's a brief portion of that digital story. >> Momo was accidentally diagnosed with bladder cancer during a surgical procedure meant to alleviate the persistent urinary or gynecological symptoms. She was very lucky in that she had the nonmuscle-invasive form of the disease, meaning the tumor had not invaded the bladder wall. She was able to keep her bladder, and now visits a urologist every three to six months to check for cancer recurrence. So, what can we do? >> To supplement the digital story, the student created a blog that could be used by others who might be looking for information about this disease. She also posted a copy of her digital story on the blog to make it easier for visitors to watch it. This digital story presents the history and meaning of a famous painting by Vincent Van Gogh, the Portrait of Dr. Gachet. Here's a short excerpt of the digital story. >> To make sense of the portrait, I must briefly describe what occurred in Van Gogh's life a year before the painting was created. In May, 1889, after cutting off a portion of his left ear, Van Gogh was admitted into a private asylum- St. Paul De Mausole. The literature is not clear on what drove him to cut off his ear, but it is thought that he suffered from epilepsy, melancholy, and, or manic depression. On May 16th, >> A series of educational materials, including lesson plans, videos and Power Point presentations were collected from the education departments at several art museums that deal with using art in the classroom. Here is a portion of one of the PowerPoint presentations narrated by the student to supplement her digital story >> This interactive activity presents images of nine artifacts from the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. >> Here is a portion of another PowerPoint presentation narrated by the student to provide more information that might be of interest to viewers. >> The Musicians' Brawl, a painting by Georges de La Tour, is used in this activity to explore how one artist emphasized the narrative in a work of art to depict a single moment from the history. >> In this digital story, a student tells of her family's survival during the Holocaust in Nazi Germany and other countries in Eastern Europe. [MUSIC] >> At the young age of 14, my grandmother and her twin sister left Austria on the Kindertransport. It was the last time my grandmother and her sister would see her mother, father, brother or sisters. The Kindertransport took the girls from- >> She also created a series of educational materials to support the historical significance of her story. For example, she created an historical overview of concentration camps, where millions were held during World War II. She also developed a writing assignment in which students are asked to find a concentration camp survivor, and compose an essay that recounts the personal experiences of that survivor. This PowerPoint presentation explores the concentration camps used during the Holocaust. In addition to exploring the types of camps, information regarding camp conditions and daily life is explored. If you would like to explore these educational materials in more detail, they can be viewed on the Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling website under the digital story that appears on the screen. [MUSIC]
