Lights, Camera, Integration!

So far, I have explored the development of technology within the realm of education and what tools are available to me as an educator to make use of said technology. Digital storytelling is a wonderful element that can be used in just about every classroom environment, as well as beyond the classroom for professional development and in the world of corporate training. However, ideas are all well and good, but without a good strategy of integration they are mere playthings instead of useful tools. As noted in our textbook, “The key to successful technology integration is identifying what you are trying to accomplish within your curriculum” (Shelley & Gunter, 2010). In other words, having the fancy software programs is all well and good, but what on earth do you mean to do with them? Now, even though I am not currently in a classroom, this is still a very important question and this week’s assignment was a wonderful way for me to explore this concept. Once more, I get to work through what I have learned in my readings and apply it to a hypothetical classroom. However, unlike the last time, I think I will go a different track a little more suited to my aspirations. 

The setting is an online high-school level institution (like Florida Virtual School), wherein I am running a course on the creation, publishing and marketing of ePub books for the growing eBook market. My students are in the 11^th-12^th grade level with previous education in Language & Composition. The end-goal of the class is to create a complete, edited and marketed eBook that can be listed for sale with available eBook retailers. One requirement of the class would entail that the students each have at least one complete novel, novella or collection of short stories/poems already written to use as their model for the class activities (although public domain items would be chosen for the practice activities to introduce new ideas/technologies). All works would be worked on within the realm of Google Docs and therefore all changes would be recorded to allow for review and reflection of learning.

• What kind of digital storytelling project do you wish that one of your (current or future) students would be able to turn in as part of your curriculum?

Students would be able to create a digital storytelling project along the lines of a “book pitch” wherein they not only describe their book, but also include a marketing angle. This would be similar to a Digital Book Talk, wherein they are describing and selling their title at the same time, which demonstrating their familiarity with the technology to create it in the first place.  

• Describe the digital storytelling project. What media elements does it include? How would this project relate to your curriculum?

The project would be created over the course of 4 weeks, during which time the students will explore examples of published ebooks, completed book trailers, and engage in discussions of how a book is marketed and appreciated. Producing a film with a run time of no more than 5 minutes, students will use multimedia presentation software, choosing either Prezi-style wherein the student would go from point to point on a visual map and explain externally or more movie-style using software like Camtasia where the pitch is encapsulated in a trailer-like film. Either way, students would be required to focus on 3 elements for this project: brief summary of book (doesn’t have to show the end, but can’t just be a vague tease), target audience, and a one distinct marketing hook (visual or verbal) to help capture attention. These pitches would be presented to me as a Pretend Publisher, as well as to the rest of the students acting as a Focus Group, which their reactions taken into consideration but not actually holding the final say. This would not be a stand-alone project, and extensive discussion and drafts would be created in the run-up to the presentation of this project. This project would be essential to my curriculum because as modern writers, these students would have to understand that you simply cannot just write a book and hand it off to a big publishing company to handle all the pesky little details for you. In this day and digital age, one must be able to not only understand what it takes to create a great book, but what you have to do to get it noticed, read and loved. As an author, you must understand who you are writing for, and how you can get it to them. Self-publishing (or working with online retailers) is the wave of the future, so to speak, and for any book to succeed in the vast sea of options, students will have to understand the complexities of not only writing, but publishing and marketing.

• Brainstorm the kinds of Web resources that you would need to have your students review in order to produce the digital storytelling project that you've imagined. Summarize the types of Web (and other) resources you would assign for students to access (you can list one or two specific sites if you'd like) and any learning activities that you think you might associate with these resources.

The web resources provided to my students would cover a wide range of topics. Not only would they be given links to pages on how to create their eBooks (including video tutorials from places like Adobe), but also creative and marketing advice from professionals and novices alike.

eBook Creation:

·         http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Main_Page This extensive resource for the whats, hows and whys of eBooks is a must-bookmark for anyone looking to understand eBooks and even create their own.

·         http://tv.adobe.com/watch/csinsider-design/using-indesign-to-create-digital-books-part-1/ Part 1 of 3, this exceptionally educational video series from Adobe is a must-see for those looking to make their ePub books and do them right.

·         http://www.jedisaber.com/eBooks/tutorial.asp & http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/experimenting-with-epub-creation/ Definitely more on the technical side, these two sites are very handy tools for the nitty gritty of programming eBooks if you’re not using software like Adobe InDesign.

Publishing:

·         http://reviews.cnet.com/how-to-self-publish-an-e-book CNET is a trusted source on the web for technological reviews, so their outline of how and where to publish eBooks is essential for first-time publishers.

·         http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com/pubit_app/bn?t=pi_reg_home A wonderful resource for publishing a completed eBook to sell in Barnes & Noble’s eBook store. Pub It! Provides step-by-step instruction and assistance from uploading to getting royalties.

Marketing:

·         http://www.howtosellyourebook.com/ Simple and straight to the point, this page is chock full of wonderful tips and ideas for students.

·         http://tribalauthor.com/blog/ This is an innovative author with a very fresh look on the topic which would provide some new and interesting ideas for students to consider.

·         http://bookmarketingbuzz.com/ A site for professionals, amateurs and lovers of books, these posts about what’s new, hot and upcoming would provide amble inspiration for students.

Pitch Examples:

·         http://digitalbooktalk.com/ A great resource for examples of book trailers that inform and excite readers. Students can use the many wonderful examples to get points for their own work.

·         http://www.book-trailers.net/ Another great repository for book trailers that can inspire students to be creative and informative at the same time.

• In order to get students to produce the kind of digital storytelling project you've envisioned, are there any resources that you would need to create in addition to existing resources you hope to find on the Web? Briefly tell us about any such teacher-created resources.

The parameters of this project are loose enough to allow for students to choose the multimedia software they want to create their pitch. The examples provided from Digital Book Talk and Book-Trailers.net would be the first line of inspiration for students, but I would also create a few examples of pitches using the same programs the students would be using. Specifically, I would utilize the following programs: Prezi, Animoto and Camtasia. These would be simple, but presentable models for the students to show the range of possibilities. Also, I would create a webinar for students to show how I put the pieces together and how each program can be used.  

Now that I’ve expounded, what does all this mean? Well, the real inspiration for the project idea is from a really amazing passage in the textbook.

When students play a more active role in the learning process, the teacher’s role must change. Teachers need to transition from the conventional lecture-practice-recall teaching methods — often called the sage on the stage — to a classroom in which teachers engage students in activities that allow them opportunities to construct knowledge — a new role called the guide on the side. That is, teachers should shift from being the dispenser of knowledge to being the facilitator of learning. Rather than dictating a learning process, a facilitator of learning motivates students to want to learn, guides the student learning process, and promotes a learning atmosphere and an appreciation for the subject. (Shelley & Gunter, 2010).

Even in the massive swell of technological advances in the education world, this shift is still in progress. While the tools are there, the training may not be necessarily present, and time is always a factor. However, I feel that the ability to integrate technology into any curriculum is now easier than ever. If any teacher ever hopes to become the “guide on the side”, they must embrace any resources available to them, be they websites, videos or software programs.  It is this sort of call to action that I embraced for this week. I did my best to make the most use of any tools I could find that would not only allow for learning of my make-believe students, but also allow them to take the active learning role that is so desperately needed in modern students. In fact, there is no such thing as too many resources. One of my personal mottos is “it is better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.” What I have compiled here is just a start, and if I were to embark on this curriculum, I would find still more examples and discussions. To integrate technology into a curriculum is simply not a “throw a video here and wipe your hands”, and I feel that I have gained a fairly good understanding of how to give my students a thoroughly rich learning experience.

References:

Shelly, G.B., & Gunter, G. (2010). Teachers discovering computers. Boston, MA: Cenage Learning.