The Effectiveness of Digital Storytelling in the Classroom

Jonathan P. Bell
INFO 266
April 15, 2016

Smeda, N., Dakich, E. & Sharda, N. (2014). The effectiveness of digital storytelling in the classroom: A comprehensive study. Smart Learning Environment, 1(6). http://link.springer.com/

article/10.1186%2Fs40561-014-0006-3

The article evaluates digital storytelling as an education tool. Storytelling has been a method of knowledge transference since humans developed language, and the advent of digital storytelling takes this communication method to the logical next step. Using now readily available and cutting-edge new media, students learn to be tech-savvy while telling stories digitally and more vividly than we ever did in oral cultures. The authors set out to determine the degree of effectiveness of digital storytelling by “explor[ing] the impact of digital storytelling on student engagement and learning outcomes.”

The authors approach digital storytelling through a theoretical framework of constructivism. In the constructivist framework, students learn best through collaborative and constructive instruction, through which they construct their own perspectives on the world. The learner should take an active role in student-led instruction. Student-centered digital storytelling provides an ideal platform for facilitating constructivist learning environments.

This study sought to determine the effectiveness of digital storytelling on student engagement and educational outcomes. Research was conducted in several grade levels at one school in Australia. The research employed the case study method. Using pre-observation forms and in situ field notes, the authors collected qualitative observational data on classroom interactions with digital storytelling. A quantitative component enabled data collection on timed use of technologies in the classroom. An evaluation rubric was developed to grade students’ digital stories on categories including Plot, Pacing, Technology Competence, Emotional Content. The authors interviewed teachers about their perceptions of digital storytelling in classrooms.

The authors confirmed that digital storytelling enhanced student engagement and improved educational outcomes. Digital storytelling was found to produce these five core findings:

• Enhanced engagement -- Digital storytelling got students engaged in technology and new media. The authors found that student engagement fluctuated between moderate and high when they used technology tools to tell stories. Whether they were the story creators or the audience, students’ interest and participation was observably better.
• Improved collaboration -- Students collaborated effectively when working on digital storytelling projects. They engaged with technology extensively, and worked together to complete the digital stories. Greater shared problem-solving and peer assistance was observed as compared to traditional classroom assignments.
• Transformed learning -- Digital storytelling supported constructivist learning by placing the responsibility of design and delivery into students’ hands. The teacher shifted to a facilitator role while students took up the mantle of educator in student-led classrooms.
• Improve digital literacy -- Digital storytelling resulted in increased capability with new media tools and techniques, thereby improving digital literacy. Because technology capacity varied among participants, some students became tutors who taught classmates with lesser developed skills how to use technologies. This was especially beneficial to immigrant students.
• Personalized learning experience -- Digital storytelling supported the benefit of personalized learning. Because learning styles vary among students, a one-size-fits-all approach is not an effective teaching method. Personalized learning through digital storytelling accommodated different learning styles and built confidence in students.

Evaluation

It was reassuring to learn that digital storytelling produced a more engaging learning environment. The one-directional, top-down approach that I know from my U.S. public school K-12 education has many flaws that I now see, in hindsight, in adulthood. Chief among these flaws is the assumption that the teacher always knows more than the students, and that the student simply does not teach. While such a perspective may be true for elementary school environments (where I’d argue exceptions still exist), this perspective becomes increasingly untrue as grade levels approach adulthood. By the time students are in early adolescent years around high school, many of them have lived experiences that can be instructive. Some have faced hardships and loss, some have triumphed, many have travelled and so forth. While students may not be polished lecturers at the head of the class, they can nonetheless be effective educators through digital storytelling. Students and teachers can learn from their lived experiences rendered through new media technologies.

The authors point out that the results of the study are exploratory because they tested their theories in one school in the Australian educational system. It’s wise for them to acknowledge that limitation and to suggest further research. Still, I think the study’s core findings are broadly applicable and affirm that digital storytelling improves student engagement and learning outcomes beyond the Australian environment.

But I hasten to point out that the benefits of digital storytelling hinge on students having access to the tools and skills to tell digital stories. The authors note that digital storytelling helped build digital literacy among students, especially immigrants. This is great news. Of course it’s difficult to build digital literacies when digital divide keeps new media technology out of students’ hands. That digital divide persists globally, in developed and developing countries. We need to find ways to get these new media technologies into educational environments in marginalized communities, whose stories need to be told.

Approaches to Selection, Access, and Collection Development in the Web World: A Case Study with Fugitive Literature

Schmidt, K., Shelburne, W. A., & Vess, D. S. (2008). Approaches to selection, access, and collection development in the web world: a case study with fugitive literature. Library Resources & Technical Services, 52(3), 184-191.

In this highly fascinating article, the authors discuss the challenges of collection development from the Internet.  They address the application of existing skills and knowledge to collect materials from the Web, and in particular focused on the topic of hate literature.  Such fugitive literature, the authors state, “contains important manifestations of present day social and political history, art, and literature, and primary cultural output” (p. 184).  This topic had relevance to special collections already at the university where the authors work, and thus could be used to enhance these collections.  The central questions they wanted to answer were: how to locate this material; and how it might enrich an existing collection (either print or electronic).  The authors targeted Internet hate literature on websites that came from Illinois or surrounding Midwestern states (Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, and Indiana).  An overwhelming number of sites were found, but eight websites/groups were eventually chosen for the study.  Some included the usual suspects such as Ku Klux Klan websites, or other white supremacist websites/groups, but some of the others were somewhat surprising, such as the Nation of Islam, Jewish Defense League, and the New Black Panthers.  The authors found that building a sustained collection of primary source materials from the web was very labor-intensive.  Various tools, programs, and webcrawlers were used, such as the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, and Archive-It.  A number of lessons learned from their project were provided to those interested in this work, and the authors write that “a powerful symmetry exists between the process of developing print collections and that of developing digital collections from the Internet” (p. 189).  And that this work is very accessible to subject bibliographers and specialists in research libraries.  Lastly, the authors argue that it’s the duty of librarians to collect and preserve such digital material, as they our part of our cultural heritage, which librarians have done with other types of material.  Print items in current collections may have appeared to be fringe back when they were collected, but are considered to have rich research value today.  This article was very interesting because it explores the issues of collecting from the Web (and thus very relevant to librarians today), but equally interesting was the fact that they chose hate literature as the focus.  I highly recommend this article.

Development of a Regional Musical Collection

Wanser, J. (2014). Collecting and Collaborating to Build Community: The Evolution of a Local Music Collection at a Small Liberal Arts College Library. Technical Services Quarterly, 31(4), 332-357.

Summary

This article tracks the recent development (from 2005 to 2013) of a regional music collection.  A small college in a small rural area develops and implements plans to create a collection of Northeast Ohio music to provide education and recreation, and to create more ties to the local community.

In 2005, the Hiram College library had a sizeable music collection alongside a music department.  Listed are the goals created by these librarians to build this specialized regional collection. Then, the construction of the program is described.  The decision was made to focus on collecting recordings rather than other ephemera.  An acquisition plan had to be established:  $2,500 a year was allocated which bought 150 titles a year, exchanging t-shirts for recordings brought recordings in, by searching through shops, flea markets, garage sales more recordings were found.  Continuing the project at the library, the librarians have had a task to find and connect with knowledgeable people.  And aside from funding, cataloging has been the other greatest challenge.

During the almost ten years of this projects, alongside other means, the librarians used social media, as it continued to change during this time, to find music and promote the collection.   Analyses of circulation and development is included, as well as tracking numbers of different kinds of musicians, and how their positions and numbers affect costs of works and development.  Doing this work, Hiram has constructed a unique collection that larger institutions around them do not have.  In conclusion after evaluating the original goals the author states further publicity is needed to increase public visibility.

Comments

This project is a great example of collection and connections development.  Even though the author writes of modest success as he evaluates his goals, I view this collection development project as admirable and inspirational.

Build Reading Enthusiasm with Student Book Awards

Amy Jessica McMillan

INFO 266

April 4, 2016

McCormack, J. J. (2014). Rock self-directed reading with student book awards. Library media connection, 32(4), 48-49.

Summary: McCormack is a K-6 librarian who runs an academy-awards-style book contest every year in her school library. Kids read as the spirit moves them--with guidance but not requirements from the teacher librarian and classroom teachers. Classes nominate favorite books, and the at the end of the year there is a special ceremony for winners. Students are the emcees. Winning books are stamped with a "Kids Choice" sticker and placed in prominent locations around the library.

Evaluation and Analysis: I think this plan would be a great way to build school-wide enthusiasm for reading with the caveat that the whole staff is on board to help. The secondary version would probably only require that the English department help with nominations and voting. Maybe each English class could nominate two titles and then there could be a school-wide vote using a Google form. I also like that students can read and nominate whatever they want. Teachers are not allowed to make value judgments about what students like to read. The students are in charge of what gets nominated and selected.

Modern Special Collections: Embracing the Future While Taking Care of the Past

Evans, M. R. (2015). Modern special collections: Embracing the future while taking care of the past. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 21(2), 116-128.

This article was highly informative because it addressed special collections, which I know very little about.  Evans, a librarian at Washington University in St. Louis, provides a very good primer and background on special collections, and in addition, offers a framework to archivists to ensure continued collection development and access for the next generation of users.  This strategy for modern special collections includes: collecting, connecting, collaborating, and community.  The bulk of the article goes in-depth into each concept, but Evans provides an overview, stating: “Collecting content from the past and the present and preparing for the future; Connecting with people through events, exhibits, and use of technology; Collaborating with immediate constituents and external entities such as other cultural institutions; Community: engaging the community that owns, supports, or serves the repository or creating a new community that will advocate for and donate to the repository” (p. 117).  Insofar as collecting, Evans advocates that archivists think in innovative ways, outside the box, that the materials include both physical and digital, and that collecting should be “in the now.”  The author acknowledges that special collections are the least understood and most overlooked part of a library, yet too can be the most valuable due to the rarity or uniqueness of the collection.  Unique entities in their own right, special collections are considered “microcosms of a library.”  If anyone has an interest in special collections, I highly recommend this article, for it articulates a vision of “managing forward,” which is about preserving the past, but also championing the future.

The Art of Change: The Impact of Place and the Future of Academic Art Library Collections

Falls, S., & Hatheway, H. (2015). The art of change: The impact of place and the future of academic art library collections. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 21(2), 185-195.

I found this to be an interesting article because it addresses art libraries, which are a subset of the larger libraries we study.  From my experience, they are rarely, if often, discussed.  This article explores two art libraries, the Fine Arts Library of the Ohio State University, and the Haas Arts Library at Yale University, and how over time the architecturally significant spaces they occupy have changed, and how this has impacted their collections.  The authors state that, “as subject specific collecting on campuses has been decentralized by collaborative collection development, consortial borrowing, and the quick availability of materials in both digital and print formats” (p. 185), the need for a physical space for research in the library has diminished.  Circulation at the Fine Arts Library has decreased over the years, in addition to less use by patrons.  One way the space has been repurposed is using it as an exhibit space.  A series of successful art exhibits were displayed in the library as a way to engage users.  The Haas Arts Library experienced the reverse, where because study space is at a premium on campus, the library has been inundated with students.  The library itself is not able to accommodate more materials, but having a study space for patrons, and providing specialized assistance to them, is deemed more important.  As both libraries are in a state of flux, there are no guaranteed answers, in regards to their collections, and their space.  The authors conclude that they “are further challenged to promote our space as one of many options to study for all disciplines, and remain the principle location to receive specialized help and guidance for arts research…In the future, at both institutions, a service model that balances the needs of the general library user with those of the special subject user is being investigated” (p. 193).

OERs and You

Amy Jessica McMillan

INFO 266

March 29, 2016

Valenza, J. (2016, Feb. 28). OER and you: The curation mandate. Neverending search. Retrieved from http://blogs.slj.com/neverendingsearch/2016/02/28/oer-and-you-the-curation-mandate/

Summary: In this short blog post, Valenza gives an overview of #GoOpen, a U.S. Department of Education-endorsed initiative in favor of open education resources, and explains what this means for school librarians. According to OER Commons, "Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials that you may freely use and reuse at no cost" (qtd. in Valenza). Valenza challenges librarians to prepare themselves for this movement and to enhance it by curating quality OER collections in our schools. In other words, teacher librarians need to make OERs discoverable, select and curate appropriate resources, promote inquiry using OERs and preexisting purchases, and educate people about Creative Commons.

Evaluation and Analysis: OERs have the potential to make up the majority of our "connections" as school librarians, and possibly for other types of librarians as well. As noted by Valenza, OERs might be the "game changers" or our profession. Through OERs, students might really be able to access multiple perspectives and unlimited content without worrying about textbook biases or payment. I am particularly interested in Amazon Education's initiative to provide teachers with a database in which they can upload, search, and manage educational resources for free. Right now the #GoOpen initiative feels a bit disorganized and overwhelming, but the movement shows no signs of going away. In fact, it seems to be growing In her blog, Valenza writes, "It's our gig," when explaining why OERs need to be curated by librarians. I agree. School librarians can start now by adding OERs to their virtual learning commons and by publishing the best ones to staff and students.

Next Steps: I have already created a short list of OERs relevant to my K-12 school district. Click the link OER Source Page to see what I have so far. If you know of any I missed, please add to the comments below.