Introductions

 My name is J. Lawrence Carter. I'm currently finishing my final seven week block of my graduate program to earn my Masters of Education Curriculum & Instruction. I earned my undergraduate degree from Southeastern Oklahoma State University for Art Studio Art in 2018. At some point in the future I would like to earn my Masters and Doctorate in Library Sciences. At present I do not teach in a classroom, I work in a group home for adults with disabilities. After graduation in December I had been planning on developing a children's book featuring a classroom full of children who are all monsters who are all different. In it we would explore ideas such as manners, ethics, respecting our differences, kindness, and universal morals. The primary creation and design of these characters can be done digitally with the end result produced on thick heavy toothed paper with ink and water color or even soft pastels. There may be a way that they could be crudely animated through a program such as Procreate and Keynote/Powerpoint. Using these tools they could potentially even be voiced. In this format the books could be made available digitally as well, which could expand access and availability to children, educators, and parents for early educational reading instruction. I look forward to getting to assimilate my artistic background into this courses work and sharing that creativity with all of you. 

    Going through this weeks reading I could see how it somewhat exposes how some students feel about the college progression, and their views on the benefits of school or lack thereof. Some of their criticisms were on the inclusion of "fun" or the cost of lunches. It illustrated how they feel about the quality of their education "But for the most part they would have a 10th grade education level by the time they graduated" (Staley & Freeman, 2017). Many of the participants showed they do care about the education they are receiving but the lack of day to day usefulness was an irritant. Digital storytelling provided students regarded as "disengaged" an outlet asking for education to have relevance to their own lives because they would not be going to university. Digital storytelling does provide an opportunity for connection between student and teacher. Then the teacher is provided with the opportunity to differentiate their approach with the individual student. Digital storytelling provides an additional tool for both educators and students to exchange information and knowledge. The ability to "download, upload, rip, burn, chat, save, blog, Skype, IM, and share" (Digital Storytelling Revisited.pdf, 2019) were not skills I personally gained in school, but they were vital skills I developed after school before college without instruction. These skills I may possibly take for granted sometimes as not everyone has them, and I may not be familiar with the modern methods for achieving the same results. The definition of literacy has evolved from just having the skills needed to read written words and comprehend what they say. If the ability to read and write is already proficient then using digital storytelling as a tool for student expression and engagement with the material seems like a plus. We come back to the Digital Divide where the implementation of additional technologies like the ones used in digital storytelling may be the only access some students ever get to technologies outside of their day to day lives which may be minimal. This sets up "those who know and those who know not" divides amongst students. Technology can be intimidating especially newer technologies educators may have little to no experience with. Humans tend to naturally gravitate to stories, most have a constant inner monologue which are stories we tell to ourselves, sometimes those stories are shared, by adding a digital format we have another way to receive a story. Personal stories resonate with adults, so they will naturally resonate with the children in our care. I can see the inherent value in that interest motivating students and developing critical thinking skills. Defining digital storytelling as being one of three things helps to provide guidelines when implementing into your pedagogy personal narratives, historical documentaries, and stories that inform or instruct. The opportunity to create and encourage creativity for students is always my initial inclination. Artistic endeavors are a form of nonverbal communication. The number of thoughts, emotions, and events that can be told visually within a single image are limited only by what its creator puts into it. A single image can convey the best and worst moment of ones life even if they occurred simultaneously. 

Sources:

Staley, B., & Freeman, L. A. (2017). Digital storytelling as student-centred pedagogy: empowering high school students to frame their futures. Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41039-017-0061-9

Digital Storytelling Revisited.pdf. (2019). Digital Storytelling Revisited.pdf. Google Docs. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JC5z8wJ8hRMaOm_WYcvZ0HcG66QUCYX-/view

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