the art of digital storytelling

This week's lesson on digital storytelling was actually quite a challenge for me. While this is a very useful tool to use in the classroom, I had a difficult time trying to think of a story. I used the "get started" tools on the wiki but still spent most of my time trying to think of a story. I feel that in a classroom this would be much more useful.

In the classroom, when students have their thoughts and ideas in their heads, this will be more useful. For students, it is a more fun, innovative way to tell a story, rather than to write down words and draw pictures. It is useful because it also can be an assistive technology for special education students. Perhaps students who have difficulties writing or difficulties with their fine motor skills will prefer this over the more conventional way of telling a story.

This would also be useful for myself as a teacher to use. It is an unconventional way of reading a story (because in some cases the story reads itself). I feel that this is a more advanced version of the audio book.

I chose to use VoiceThread and I am mostly a fan. I like that the "editor" can comment in different ways, such as through audio and typing. I also like that the editor can draw on the picture to highlight specific things. It is also a benefit that multiple others can comment as well.

The only disadvantage to VoiceThread is that you must stay within the VoiceThread page to display the show. The comments are always visible, which is something that I did not like.

Overall, I enjoyed using VoiceThread and can see it as something I would like to use in the future.