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Digital storytelling is an art form conveying a message. It uses images and voice narration to convey emotion with the message, and to ignite empathy from the audience. It incorporates storyboarding and writing a script. It is created with digital tools and published on the Internet. I often think of digital storytelling as something done in first person because it creates that personal connection. Whereas, I think of a digital story as an anecdote or story typed or narrated in third person. Image attribution: Lyn Hilt's Slideshare , used with permission. Original work: "Writing- Pen & Paper" CC-by Laurie Richie Benefits Here are some of the many benefits of digital storytelling and digital stories: The 21st century skills and ISTE's Standards  applied are critical and creative thinking; written, oral, and digital communication; collaboration; authentic learning; digital fluency;...

One of my favorite conferences is ISTE Unplugged / Hack Education . The schedule of the discussions is decided the day of the conference based on the interests of the participants. What is appealing to me about Hack Education is the small group setting that fosters deep discussions, and the organic nature of the conversations that are completely based on the group's expertise and ability to ask probing questions. I always feel like I walk away smarter. My notes for some of the sessions are illustrated below as sketchnotes with thinglinks/interactive links, bullet points, or as the main points I Tweeted out. Personalized Learning - facilitated by Barbara Bray Click here to view above image with thinglink 1:1 Deployment Click here to view above image with thinglink Smackdown Official HackEd Smackdown sharing. Tracy's HackEd Smackdown notes. Community, Global Connections using tech to build relationships Click here to view abov...

Original Photo Credit: star5112 via Compfight cc Adapted by Tracy Watanabe Two heads are better than one.   October is Connected Educator's Month . Get connected, and move beyond connection to collaboration. Collaboration is key for this day and age in both face-to-face and virtual environments. One of my favorite collaborative tools include Google Apps for Education. The presentation below was created for a training I offered regarding collaborating in Google Apps and tips for management with those tools . What are ways you use Google Apps to collaborate with others? What management tips would you add to this? What thoughts or questions do you have about collaboration and management in Google Apps?

Digital storytelling is an art form conveying a message. It uses images and voice narration to convey emotion with the message, and to ignite empathy from the audience. It incorporates storyboarding and writing a script. It is created with digital tools and published on the Internet. I often think of digital storytelling as something done in first person because it creates that personal connection. Whereas, I think of a digital story as an anecdote or story typed or narrated in third person. Overview Click here to view the cube above on RVLIO. The art of digital storytelling I recently participated in an outstanding webinar by ISTE's Special Interest Group for Digital Storytelling , where Bernajean Porter shared about the " Art and Soul of Digital Storytelling ." After being inspired by the webinar, I created the following page summarizing some of my key take-aways: Click here to download PDF Explanations, prompts, and examples Click here to op...

Digital storytelling is a first person story, where the narrator is digitally sharing his or her story; while a digital story is narrated in third person and shared digitally. Both can include imagery, background music, or motion. They also incorporate storyboarding, writing a script, revising, and publishing (the elements of writing). Benefits Here are some of the many benefits of digital storytelling and digital stories: The 21st century skills and ISTE's NETS applied are critical and creative thinking; written, oral, and digital communication; collaboration; authentic learning; digital fluency; informational fluency; and project management. It is great differentiation for all students including ELL, gifted, and special needs. It increases student engagement in a meaningful and relevant task . It can be used as an authentic assessment. Common Core Standards Many specific content standards ca...

Research shows that vocabulary acquisition plays a huge role in student learning, therefore requires attention in the classroom. With the shifts of the Common Core , students need to spend time learning both Tier 2 and Tier 3 words in a variety of ways. Reading more text exposes students to more words and phrases. Students learn vocabulary in multiple contexts through multiple connections. By interacting with vocabulary, students absorb the word's meaning and learn to appropriately use it in a variety of contexts ( Common Core Appendix A ). Below are a few ways to promote active engagement while interacting with vocabulary. Increasing word choice or Tier 2 words with word clouds Word Clouds are fantastic for checking word choice and targeting Tier 2 words. Students can copy and paste their written work into a word cloud maker such as Wordle or Tagul . Words used most frequently are larger than words used less often.   ...

What is effective learning? Having a common understanding of effective learning is key. The research done by the Peer-Ed Team shows that “school-wide improvement in student achievement occurs only in schools where teachers and administrators have explicitly created a shared norm about effective learning." Effective student learning includes: critical and creative thinking; a student-centered task , that is clearly aligned with the objectives and a matching assessment that looks for evidence of learning from the task; communication of learning; collaboration (this does not need to be the entire time); an authentic, engaging problem; empowering and engaging students in their learning , thereby enabling them to own their learning; technology integration that enhances learning ( and teaching ) throughout the lesson ; creating meaning by connecting to what they already know (a constructivist approach ); receiving feedback; and, reflection . Some questions and disc...

The Internet is a key resource for text complexity. We are in a day and age where information and resources are at our fingertips. I frequently see people use the Internet to look up recipes, movie listings, and news; however, I still don't see it as a natural source for engaging rigorous learning in the classroom. Why? Maybe it's a matter of understanding what text complexity is really asking us, or how to create rigorous and deeper engaging tasks associated with the text. Those of us who are transitioning to Common Core standards know that text complexity will affect the rigor in our classrooms. The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) issued a letter informing us they will increase the text complexity as well as higher Lexile levels on the current AIMS test this year to help transition to the PARCC assessment. This means we need to understand what text complexity is and how to address it right now, regardless of what grade/subject we teach. What is Text Complexi...