Digital Inquiry: Making a Documentary Jon Orech English Department Curricular Technology Consultant Downers Grove South High School Downers Grove, Illinois

Essential Question: How can inquiry learning and digital storytelling be combined to create a meaningful learning experience?

Inquiry-based Project (Jakes, Pennington, Knodle) Essential question Foundation questions Develop a search strategy Locate information Filter, distill, and cross reference Evaluate amount of information Develop answer to question Create product to represent answer

Digital Storytelling Digital Storytelling (Lambert) Digital Storytelling Point (of View) Dramatic Question Economy Emotional Content Soundtrack Gift of your Voice Pacing

“Digital Inquiry” Inquiry Project Digital Story- telling

Prior to the Project Practice with Inquiry model (Mini inquiry)(Mini inquiry) – Essential/Foundation questions – Keywords – Internet Research Creation of a “pure” digital storydigital story – 7 elements – Editing software

Step 1: Writing the inquiry paper Design topic that accommodates inquiry. Adapt “scaffolding” to student ability and experience. Require a wide variety of types of sources. – On line – Print – Interviews Promote ethical research. Consider collaborative writing. Collect paper as a self-contained assignment.

Step 2: Adapting the Text Length: 2 pages, double spaced Documentation – Oral citations – Works cited Consider audience familiarity Master pronunciation

Step 3: Collecting Images (USE STILLS) Where? – Google, altavista, flickr.comaltavistaflickr.com Image size: 640x480 pixels Copyrights Consistency Consider symbolic representations

Step 4: Create Storyboard “Movie Outline” Visually “syncs” words to images Encourages editing Reveals “holes” Aids in creation of documentary TTemplate

Step 5: Create Documentary (Digital editing software) Drop images Record voice over Synchronize images to audio Add effects Add soundtrack Titles, text, and transitions Polish and burn

Drop images Begin with black, title, black Place in order from story board Conclude with black,title, black

Voice over Pacing Articulation, pronunciation Tone

Sync images to sound 1+1=3 Image before words Give audience time to digest Coordinating audio with transitions – V.O. through cut – V.O. stop at dissolve – V.O. stop at fade

Effects “Less is more” Movement – Zoom – Pan Using text Color/lighting – Sepia – B/W vs. color – Contrast

Soundtrack Volume Mood/tone Instrumental vs. lyrics

Titles and transitions Titles – Sans serif – Appropriate to topic Transitions: “less is more” – Cut – Dissolve – Fade – Other…

A “cut” = no punctiation or

A comma. Think of a dissolve as a period.

After the dissolve, we start another, related thought. A fade is like an “enter” that implies a new topic of thought.

Assessment Inqury written assignment – Content – Documentation – Mechanics Prep steps (storyboard) Documentary – Content (images, adaptations) – Presentation (7 elements)

Why Digital Inquiry? Adaptable to student ability and subject Performance assessment (P.B.L.) Wide variety of assessment possibilities Multiple intelligences Student ownership Student motivation

What are the obstacles? Time Technology Training “Selectively abandon” Studio 9, iMovie, Photo Story 3 CALL ME!

I am available for workshops, in-service for: Digital storytelling: art and craft Software training: PhotoStory 3 Pinnacle Studio 9,™ Digital inquiry Adapting DST/ DI to low-achieving students