1. S UPPORTING L ITERACY WITH T ECHNOLOGY AMS National Conference Saturday, March 26, 2011 1:30-3:00 Session Sharon Hundley & Donna Fohl

2. W ORKSHOP O VERVIEW Digital storytelling Technologies involved in digital storytelling Digital story development Digital storytelling integrated in the Montessori environment Digital storytelling connections to Montessori language/literacy areas and early childhood standards

3. D IGITAL S TORYTELLING http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/ University of Houston Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling Digital Storytelling is the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories Can focus on a specific topic May contain some mixture of computer-based images, text, recorded audio narration, video clips and/or music Will vary in length, but most digital stories last between two and ten minutes Topics could range from personal narratives to the retelling of stories, from exploring life in one's own community to the search for life in other corners of the world, and literally, everything in between

4. T ECHNOLOGIES INVOLVED IN DIGITAL STORYTELLING Digital camera and uploading pictures Recording devices-narration/singing Scanner – illustrations/text/backgrounds

5. P ROGRAMS AVAILABLE TO DEVELOP A DIGITAL STORY Microsoft Photo Story3 Apple iMovie Microsoft PowerPoint Adobe Photoshop Elements Others….

6. W HERE TO BEGIN WITH P HOTO S TORY 3 Surf the net looking for examples of digital stories others have created for inspiration Download Photo Story3 program for freePhoto Story3 Take digital pictures Upload pictures to your computer Open Photo Story Import Pictures Edit Pictures Remove Black Borders Add Text to Pictures Add Narration Customize Motion Add Music (if you choose) Save for Further Editing Save Final “Draft” Adapted from: Bernard Robin, Ph.D. Instructional Technology Program College of Education University of Houston

7. S TORY N ARRATIVES When creating digital stories, take the opportunity to work with children on the structure of telling a story. Have children: Arrange pictures in order of the story they want to tell (storyboarding) Use their “storyboard” to brainstorm narrative Identify beginning, middle, and end of their stories Allow children to spontaneously narrate their story; however, software allows for editing narrative and re-arranging pictures as desired.

8. S TORY N ARRATIVE P RACTICE

9. Y OUR TURN TO DEVELOP A DIGITAL STORY ! “The Seven Continents” Each group will take one (1) picture Upload all group pictures Review story mat with audience Whole group will determine sequence of pictures One person from each group will record narrative to their picture after listening to previous group’s narration (objective: to create a sequential story plot with a beginning, middle, and end) Record or add music Play digital story

10. A PPLICATION IN A M ONTESSORI L ITERACY ENVIRONMENT Spoken Language Development Concept → Comparisons → Superlatives → Games → Application to Environment Sensorial Math Science, Geography, History, Art, Music, Cooking... Writing –Communicating Personal Thoughts/Ideas Two Parallel Aspects 1. Creating – (Cognitive aspect) 2. Making Writing Visible – Technical (Physical aspect) Reading – Interpreting Visible Communication Sound/letter/object matching – beginning books Retelling own & favorite stories

11. A PPLICATION IN A M ONTESSORI ENVIRONMENT Electronic individual and class books Creating personal or fictional stories Adding narration to artwork Narrating explorations, field trips, experiments... Recipes, Food Preparation Documenting & assessing learning English Language Learners – Second Language Learners Special education applications Non-verbal, limited language, communication disorders Physical disabilities; speech/language disabilities Monitoring progress on IEP objectives & Response to Intervention

12. A CTIVITY Brainstorm – how does the digital story created tie into the Montessori Areas? I. Speaking-process of communicating; II. Listening/Observing-receptive; III. Reading; IV. Writing. Brainstorm – how does the digital story created connect to ECE English/Language Arts standards? Share ideas.

13. N OW YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO : Support literacy with technology Connect to language/literacy standards and tie into Montessori areas Create digital stories Use PhotoStory3 to develop digital stories Engage children in the use of technology Integrate a variety of technologies across curriculum Encourage creativity