Educational Communities

As I've talked about before, technology is a big deal in the world of education.  One company that took this idea and ran with it is ePals.  You can find their website here: www.epals.com.  It's dedicated to creating educational communities and promoting collaborative learning.  They offer a whole slew of resources for teachers and students, including my personal favorite: Global Community, which allows teachers to join forces from across the world, bringing their students together to work on shared projects in an enriching experience for both groups.  American students learning Mandarin could connect with students learning English in China, for example.  Teachers who sign up simply need to enter their class's age group and languages, which other teachers looking for collaborative opportunities can search by, as well as information regarding the nature of the desired interaction.



Global Community is a wonderful opportunity for teachers to create authentic experiences for their students.  In this regard, it is unmatched by other resources.  Students will also get practice using technology and participating in the global community, which is an end unto itself.  As mentioned earlier, this would be an excellent tool in a language learning classroom, and is one I would definitely consider for my own.

Digital Storytelling Forever

I found another one.  GoAnimate.com allows users to create a sort of living comic strip.  The free version is limited to 30-second presentations, just like Animoto, but it offers a very high degree of flexibility.  Users can choose from a variety of styles, like comedy or anime, then select pre-made characters and backgrounds to fill a scene.  Characters can be posed and made to move around; you can record sound bites to make them speak, or use the text-to-speech generator.  Here's an example video I made, in which two ninjas discuss the subjunctive mood:

Ninjas Argue Subjunctive by Dionaeus on GoAnimate

Students could obviously have a lot of fun using a program like this for projects.  In a language classroom, many assignments involve scripting conversations to a particular purpose; GoAnimate offers a fun, fresh way to liven that up.

More Digital Storytelling

My exploration of the world of digital storytelling continued this week as I discovered more video generating tools.  One site I really like is called Animoto.com, which allows users to make beautiful videos with hardly any work at all.  They have a number of pre-made show styles available; all you have to do is select text and upload a few images or short video clips.  Unfortunately, you have to pay for the full version.  I found, however, that the 30-second time limit on shows you can create in the free version might actually be the perfect size for small student projects.  Without having to spend too much time, they can create a very nice-looking video to show to the class.  It would be a great way to have students present small bites of information to each other, allowing them to take a teaching role for 30 seconds at a time.  Here's one I made in about ten minutes, demonstrating two easily-confused direction words in Spanish: derecho (straight) and derecha (right).


Derecho vs. Derecha

Digital Storytelling

Digital storytelling is a trending form of expression through video.  You can get a quick run-down of what it is and what it's all about here, courtesy of EDUCAUSE; or, you can stay right here and keep reading.

Narrative is the primary element of a digital story, and is usually used in conjunction with images, music, and other digital techniques.  Digital stories are catching on in the education world as instructional tools that teachers can use - multimedia teaching has been shown to promote student engagement.  They are also popular as learning tools for students.  EDUCAUSE gives the example of David, a computer science major who is inspired by the project to create a digital story about his love for blues guitar, surprising his classmates and professor with an unknown side of himself.  You can see some examples of both types at the University of Houston's home site for the educational uses of digital storytelling.

This is how I would use digital storytelling in my classroom.  While I recognize the potential of the medium as a tool for instruction, I also must admit that in a Spanish classroom, where much of the focus is on exploration of foreign cultures, my students would in most cases be better served by a higher degree of authenticity than I could provide on my own.  I would consider using "found" stories created by others for certain purposes, but digital stories will likely see more use in my class as a format for student projects.  My hope is that the freedom allowed by the digital story will encourage creativity and motivation, even from students who might not respond to other strategies.