digital storytelling tasks for language classrooms

Digital Storytelling Tasks for Language Classrooms

Donna Shelton, Megan Anderson, Tina Ferguson, Katrina Gragg, Tina Van Brunt

Northeastern State University

SWCOLT April 2009 Norman, Oklahoma

For more information, contact Donna Shelton at [email protected].

mailto:[email protected]

1

Presenter: Megan Anderson Task Title: La era de Trujillo, part of a unit covering the Julia Álvarez novel Antes de ser libres Created using iMovie Image Sources: Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, everystockphoto.com Music File Source: musopen.com, retrieved from Wikimedia Commons Level/Grade: Advanced High School Spanish Course Rationale: Language classes should provide students with an opportunity to practice presenting information. Through this assignment you will get the chance to present information to your classmates and to your teacher both orally and in writing. The following ACTFL standards will be met upon completion of this project: Goal One: Communicate in Spanish Standard 1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas in Spanish to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics. Goal Two: Gain Knowledge and Understanding of the Cultures of the World Standard 2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of Hispanic cultures. Goal Three: Connect with Other Disciplines and Acquire Information Standard 3.1: Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through Spanish. Task Learning Objectives: Language Objectives:

• Students will be able to demonstrate mastery on correct use of the imperfect and preterit forms. • Students will be able to organize information clearly to make a presentation.

Content Objectives:

• Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the causes of the political revolution of the Dominican Republic during the 1960s.

• Students will be able to identify key individuals of the Trujillo Era. Task Instructions: Task: You will create a Digital Story to present to the class, outlining the findings of your research. While reading the novel Antes de ser libres as a class, you were introduced to the political revolution of the Dominican Republic of the 1950s and 60s. Because the novel was written from a young girl’s point of view, many of the details in the book are vague and personal to the young girl’s experience. In order to get a broader understanding of that period of Dominican history, you will now complete a research project to present to the class.

2

You will begin this task by selecting one of the important figures of the Trujillo Era, or you may select one of the minor characters from the novel and tell the story from his or her point of view. This project will begin as any other research project; you will need to find many reliable sources to gather information on your chosen topic. You will then draft a “script” for your presentation, detailing the findings of your research. You may write your script from your subject’s point of view, or you may write the script as a narrator. Once you have compiled your information, you will start collecting images that are representative of the information you will present. You will then draft a storyboard, matching up your script and your images. You will submit your rough draft storyboard to your teacher and once you have received a corrected version you may go on to the final step. You will digitally record your script, and compile your images to coincide with your words. Task Requirements: *You must submit a rough draft storyboard. *Your story must be 4 to 7 minutes in length. *You must use 10 to 15 images in the creation of your story. *You must use a digital platform to tell your story, such as VoiceThread, iMovie, or Movie Maker. (There are others besides what are listed here.) Task Suggestions: *Remember that when writing about the past, you will use both imperfect and preterit tenses (and will be evaluated on how well you employ them). *Work should be done neatly and evidence of time and effort spent should be apparent. *Speak slowly and clearly when recording your script. *Time images to coincide with your script. Be cautious of leaving one image on the screen for too long, or of flying through the images. *Use internet sources as well as books or videos for your research. *Always use images from public domain websites and include the source of your images at the end of your Digital Story under Works Cited. (You may also use your own images.) Task Evaluation: See the attached rubric. Students may seek assistance from the teacher at any time during the project.

3

Grading Rubric for “La Era de Trujillo”

Criteria Needs Improvement Approaches Target Meets Target Quality of Content The story does not address the

assigned topic. The story includes inaccurate information.

The story addresses the topic but does not fully develop the idea. The story may meet the required length, but may include some inaccurate information.

The story addresses the topic and meets the minimum length requirement. The story is well developed and contains accurate information.

Quality of Presentation The story does not meet the required length and/or does not include a sufficient number of images. Images are not properly cited or may be ordered illogically.

The story contains the required number of images, but they may not coincide with the script. Images are properly cited.

Story contains a sufficient number of images. The images are properly cited.

Comprehensibility Not comprehensible to an empathetic listener or a listener not accustomed to the speech of the learner. The listener would be confused.

Comprehensible to an empathetic listener, and mostly comprehensible to a listener not accustomed to the speech of the learner. May be some confusion.

Comprehensible to an empathetic listener and generally to a listener not accustomed to the speech of the learner.

Language Control Incorrect use of the preterit and imperfect verb forms. Poor vocabulary selection.

Inconsistent control of the use of the preterit and imperfect verb forms. Sufficient vocabulary selection.

Generally accurate use of the preterit and imperfect verb forms. Good vocabulary selection.

Discourse Information is not presented in a logical order. Little to no use of transition words and/or phrases. Little to no paragraph-length discourse.

Information is presented in a logical order. Some use of transition words and/or phrases. Some paragraph-length discourse.

Information is presented in a logical order. Consistent use of transition words and/or phrases. Some use of paragraph-length discourse.

Tina Ferguson Task Title: Culture Quest Created using Photo Story Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons and Flickr (example photos are by Tina Ferguson) Level/Grade: Secondary Intermediate Spanish ACTFL Standards: Standard 1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics. Standard 1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics. Standard 2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied. Standard 2.2: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of the culture studied. Standard 3.1: Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language. Specific Task Objectives 1. Students will research the culture and history of a Hispanic country using print and Internet sources in

the target language. 2. Students will find photographs and other images related to the culture of the country. 3. Students will write a biographical script narrating the experiences in the country. 4. Students will use PhotoStory to create a digital story with digital photographs and narration. Introduction You will be assigned to a team of four persons for this project. Each member will be assigned a role. You are going to take an imaginary trip to another country and report back to the class about your experiences. The purpose for the trip is to tell the other students about your experiences, what you learned about the country or the people, and to convince them of the benefits of visiting there. Here are some things you could include: What things did you see? How did the people dress? Did you visit a cultural site? If so, what were you able to learn about its history? What kind of food did they eat? What was the landscape like? What did you enjoy most? Task Instructions Select one of the following Hispanic countries for your trip: Mexico, Peru, Chile, Venezuela, Guatemala, Spain, El Salvador, Dominican Republic. You will research websites to find information about your country or images about your country. You will then write a narration and produce the story using PhotoStory. Each person in the group will narrate a portion of the story. Your team will present this story to the class. The class will vote to decide which place they would like to visit and why.

4

The presentation should be about 4-6 minutes long, using 8-10 slides. Include a list of references for the photographs. Use Flickr.com or Wikimedia Commons for photographs, and choose only photographs with a Creative Commons license. It is acceptable to use the present tense for descriptive purposes, but primarily you will use the past tense to tell about your experiences. (Example: Here you see two women who are dressed in traditional, colorful clothing. One of the women is carrying a baby on her back. We saw these two women outside of our hotel one day. They were selling things that they had made.) Include a beginning for your story, where you introduce the group and tell where you went. Include an ending, which sums up your experience and states why you think it is a good place to visit. Task Assessment: You will be graded both individually and as a group. See the attached rubrics.

5

Culture Quest Group Presentation Rubric 50 points possible

Team members: _________________________________________

Criteria Needs improvement 0-6 points

Approaches Target 8 points

Meets Target 10 points

Total Points Earned

CONTENT REQUIRE- MENTS

Missing two or more of the required elements listed in instructions.

Included four of the five required elements listed in instructions.

Met all requirements including length, number of slides, beginning, ending and works cited.


Approaches Target 7-8 points

Meets Target 9-10 points

Total Points Earned

GRAMMAR/ COMPREHEN-SION

Repeated errors in grammar and usage which detracted from story.

There were a few errors in grammar and usage, but did not detract from story.

Grammar and usage were typically correct and contributed to clarity.




Total Points Earned

IMAGES Images did not contribute or detracted from the tone or atmosphere of the presentation

An attempt was made to match images to the tone and atmosphere of the presentation.

Images contributed to the tone and atmosphere of the presentation.




Score/ Comments

POINT OF VIEW-PURPOSE

The point of view is not clear. There are a few lapses in focus, but the purpose is fairly clear.

Establishes a purpose early on and maintains a clear focus throughout the presentation.




Score/ Comments

SUMMARY POSITION

No summary given or summary was poorly developed.

Summary not fully developed or lacked a persuasive argument.

Group presented a well-developed, persuasive summary to the presentation.

6

Culture Quest Individual Rubric

50 points possible

Team member _______________________ Criteria Needs improvement

0-7 points Approaches Target 8-9 points


Total Points Earned

COMPLETED ROLE TASKS

Other team members had to complete some or all of the tasks.

Completed tasks with coaxing of other team members.

Completed fully and willingly all assigned tasks for role.

Criteria Needs improvement 0 points

Approaches Target 5 points


Total Points Earned

INSERTED PICTURES AND NARRATED STORY

Did not complete either task.

Partially completed tasks. Completed both tasks.




Total Points Earned

INVESTIGATED WEBSITES FOR PICTURES AND INFORMATION

Little or no participation. Partial participation or had to be asked or coaxed.

Fully and willingly participated




Score/ Comments

ASSISTED WITH WRITING NARRATION






Score/ Comments

CONTRIBUTED INPUT IN GROUP DISCUSSIONS AND DECISIONS



7

Katrina Gragg Task Title: Un viaje por la ciudad Created using Windows Movie Maker Image Sources: Flickr.com (example photos are by Katrina Gragg) Level/Grade: 5th and 6th grade Spanish Objectives: Goal 1: Students listen and understand the teacher-made digital story.

1.1: Students will fill out a worksheet using what they hear from the story with the vocabulary words we have covered for this chapter.

1.2: Students will make their own digital story about another Spanish-speaking country. (This will be done in groups)

Goal 2: Students will learn about different Spanish-speaking cities through the teacher-made story and their research/story. 2.1: Students will be able to compare some aspects of their culture to that of the Spanish-speaking

countries they research. 2.2: Students will learn about cultural products through the use of maps of the cities.

Standards: ACTFL: Goal 1.1—Standard 1.2 Goal 1.2—Standard 1.3 Goal 2.1—Standard 4.2 Goal 2.2—Standard 2.2 PASS: Goal 1.1—Standard 1.1 Goal 1.2—Standard 1.3 Goal 2.1—Standard 4.2 Goal 2.2—Standard 2.2 Instructions:

After viewing and finishing worksheet over the teacher-made digital story over a tour of Santiago, students will make their own story. Students will be placed in groups of three to four. Each group will receive a different city to research. They will also be given pictures that they will use. NOTE: no other pictures will be used other than the ones the teacher provides the group. Students are to use at least five pictures for their story. Students will then use Windows Movie Maker to make their story.

Students will create their tour of their assigned city by using the vocabulary they have learned in this chapter. Their tour will be a lot like the teacher-made one. NOTE: Students will need to focus on the uses of ser and estar in their stories.

8

9

Student Worksheet over Teacher’s Digital Story Listen carefully to the story about a tour through Santiago. Fill in the missing words as you hear them. The missing words will be your vocabulary and the verbs we have been working on in class. ¡Hola, clase! (1) _____________ en la ciudad de Santiago, Chile. Visito a un amigo, Cliff. Hacemos un

viaje por (2) __________________.

Este (3) ____________________ es rosado. Está en una parte antigua de la ciudad. Muchos de los

edificios son muy antiguos.

Esos edificios están muy (4) __________________ la calle y hay árboles delante de los edificios. Los

árboles no (5) _______________ verdes ahora porque está en la estación de invierno.

Esta (6) ________________ está en el centro de la ciudad de Santiago. Es muy antigua. La calle esta a lo

largo de la iglesia.

Este edificio (7) _______ el capitolio de Chile. Hay personas (8) ______________ del capitolio.

Hay una estatua en (9) ________________. Los peatones están en la calle y en la esquina. Esta esquina

(10) _______________ cerca del capitolio.

La ciudad de Santiago está en las montañas Andes. Esas montañas están muy (11) _______________ la

carretera. Hay muchas señales en esta foto.

Ahora, (12) ____________ el fin del día en Santiago. Vamos al aeropuerto para mi vuelo a los Estados

Unidos. ¡Hasta luego!

10

5th and 6th grade Spanish Location Total points 75 points Student earned:_________ Student-made Digital Story: Students will make their own story/tour of an assigned Spanish-speaking city. This project will be done in groups of three to four students. Students will use pictures that the teacher has provided them. Criteria Needs Work Getting Close You’re There! Using Vocabulary: How well did you use the vocabulary words we have learned?

0 to 5 points What did you say?

6 to 10 points Some of the words you used are not correct.

11 to 15 points Sounds good to me.

Comments: Comprehensibility: How well are you understood?

0 to 5 points It is hard to understand you, please repeat.

6 to 10 points You have some difficulty making yourself understood

11 to 15 points You can be understood pretty well.

Comments: Accuracy: How well you are able to make sentences in Spanish?

0 to 5 points You are having trouble with the formation of sentences.

6 to 10 points Some items out of place.

11 to 15 points Few to no items out of place.

Comments: Correct use of ser and estar: How well did you use these two verbs?

0 to 5 points You still need a little work.

6 to 10 points You are having a little trouble still but you are very close.

11 to 15 points You have few errors. Good job.

Comments: Presentation: How well is your project is put together?

0 to 5 points Your group did not spend very much time on this.

6 to 10 points Looks pretty good.

11 to 15 points Looks great. Great job.

Comments:

Name: Tina Van Brunt Title of Task: Mi ciudad Created using Windows Movie Maker Image sources: Flickr.com (example photos are by Tina Van Brunt) Level/Grade: Novice, 5th and 6th grades ACTFL Standards:

Communication: Standard 1.3 Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics. Cultures: Standard 2.1 Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied. Cultures: Standard 2.2 Students demonstrate and understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of the culture studied.

Oklahoma PASS standards: Communication: 1.3 Students will present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics. Cultures: 2.1 Students will demonstrate and understanding of the relationship between the practice and perspectives of the culture(s) studied. Cultures: 2.2 Students will demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of the culture(s) studied.

Specific Task Objectives: Students will be able to write a story that describes people and activities in Guanajuato, Mexico. Students use Windows Movie Maker to make a digital story that describes different places of cultural interest in Guanajuato, Mexico. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the culture of Guanajuato by choosing

pictures that represent important activities and buildings in the city. Task Introduction Pretend you live in Mexico, and you are preparing a video postcard for your cousin who lives in the United States. He wants to know what it is like where you live. 1. Choose five pictures from the ones provided that represent the things or places you have chosen to tell him about. The presentation should have five slides. 1. Title and name on a picture 2. Picture 3. Picture 4. Picture 5. Picture 6. Credits (source of pictures). 2. Write a story, and tell him about a typical Sunday—the things you do, places you go, and things you might see. You will need at least two sentences for each picture. 3. Open Windows Movie Maker. Acquire pictures from designated file. Pull photos unto the story timeline. Using a microphone, read your story slowly while recording. Adjust the length of time each picture is displayed to match your description on the recording. Add slide transitions. Preview. Adjust timing on

11

pictures if necessary. Save to computer. (For best resolution, save to recommended setting for your computer.) Burn to CD and turn in to the teacher. Task Assessment: Checklist Yes No Inconsistent

1. Does the story match the pictures? ________ ________ ________ 2. Comprehensibility

--pronunciation ________ ________ ________ --vocabulary correct ________ ________ ________

3. Length --opening slide with title and name ________ ________ ________ --four pictures ________ ________ ________ --two sentences per photo ________ ________ ________ --credits ________ ________ ________ 4. Used technology correctly ________ ________ ________

12

Donna Shelton Task Title: Los personajes históricos de España Created using VoiceThread, http://voicethread.com Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons and Flickr.com Level/Grade: University-level Spanish civilization or culture course ACTFL Standards: Standard 1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics. Standard 1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics. Standard 2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied. Standard 2.2: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of the culture studied. Standard 3.1: Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language. Specific Task Objectives: 1. Students will research the events associated with an important figure from Spanish history before the

year 1700 using print and Internet sources in the target language. 2. Students will find photographs and other images related to the historical figure and the events and

places associated with the figure. 3. Students will write a biographical or autobiographical script narrating the events of the life of the

historical figure to be researched. 4. Students will use VoiceThread to create a digital story incorporating photographs and images and a

narration using the prepared script. Task Instructions: Select one of the following figures from Spanish history. Isabel la Católica Alfonso X el Sabio Cristóbal Colón

Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar Miguel de Cervantes Diego de Velázquez

Felipe II Santa Teresa de Ávila El Greco

You will begin this task by researching the life of the historical figure you have chosen, the places associated with the person, the events in which he or she participated, and any literary or artistic works he or she created. You will then locate photographs, maps, and other images related to the person, places, and works involved. Using VoiceThread, create a digital story in which you play the role of the historical figure or a witness to the events of his or her life. You will narrate the historical figure’s life story from this point of view, using the images to illustrate your narration. You must tell the story using the appropriate past tenses. Your story must be 4 to 6 minutes in length, and you must use between 7 and 10 images. Task Assessment: See the attached rubric.

13

http://voicethread.com/

14

Grading Rubric for “Los personajes históricos”

Criteria Needs Improvement Approaches Target Meets Target

Content and Length The story of the historical figure does not meet the length requirement and/or it is incomplete and/or inaccurate and does not hold the listener’s attention.

The story of the historical figure is the appropriate length, but it lacks development or contains inaccurate information and/or does not consistently hold the listener’s attention.

The story of the historical figure is the appropriate length. It is well developed and accurate and provides the listener with an interesting perspective on historical and cultural events during the person’s lifetime.

Point of View The point of view is not identified and/or is very inconsistent

The point of view is identified but is inconsistently developed throughout the story.

The point of view is clearly identified and is consistently and creatively developed throughout the story.

Images Images may not be logically arranged or they may not be of sufficient number, or they may not support the narration.

Images may not be appropriately licensed or sources may be missing.

Images are logically arranged and are of sufficient number, but a few may not support the narration.

Images are appropriately licensed and sources are provided but there may be inaccuracies.

All images support the narration, are logically arranged, are of sufficient number, and are varied in type.

Images are appropriately licensed and sources are accurately provided.

Comprehensibility Not comprehensible to a native speaker not accustomed to the speech of a language learner; the listener would be frustrated or confused.

Mostly comprehensible to a native speaker not accustomed to the speech of a language learner, but there may be some confusion.

Comprehensible to a native speaker not accustomed to the speech of a language learner.

Language Control Narration is not consistently in the past tenses or there is a low level of grammatical accuracy.

Inadequate vocabulary for the story, with several errors.

Several pronunciation errors.

Past tense narration with an inconsistent level of grammatical accuracy.

Adequate vocabulary for the story, but there may be a few errors.

A few pronunciation errors.

Past tense narration with a good level of grammatical accuracy.

Appropriate vocabulary for the story.

Accurate pronunciation and fluid speech.

Discourse Complete sentences, but inconsistent connection between sentences. Little evidence of paragraph-length discourse.

Consistently connected sentences and some evidence of paragraph-length discourse.

Consistent paragraph-or near paragraph-length discourse with connected sentences and some cohesive devices.

digital storytelling tasks for language classrooms

Education