Using Video in the Classroom

Digital Storytelling...what a fantastic way to accomplish so many things in the classroom.  It can help students master the multidimensional abilities required of them in the 21st century.  Digital storytelling is using computer based tools to tell stories.  What a change from just paper and pencil! A great article on using these 21st century technology  to teach 21t century literacies in  the classroom is:

 Brown, J., Bryan, J., & Brown, T. (2005). Twenty-first century literacy and technology in K-8 classrooms. Innovate, 1(3).
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.186.5118

These literacies for the 21st century include:

Digital Literacy -the ability to communicate with an ever-expanding community to discuss issues, gather information, and seek help;

Global Literacy -the capacity to read, interpret, respond, and contextualize messages from a global perspective;

Visual Literacy -the ability to understand, produce, and communicate through visual images;

Technology Literacy -the ability to use computers and other technology to improve learning, productivity, and performance;

Information Literacy -the ability to find, evaluate and synthesize information.

Benefits of Using Digital Technology in Our Classrooms

Teachers have so much on their plates already.  They certainly do not need ANOTHER thing to teach.  That is how some teachers view the push to use digital technology in their classrooms.  Some teachers fail to realize the potential that these digital technologies can provide. 


They can empower students by providing opportunities to adjust sizes and use text to speech functions and provide opportunities to engage with the text in a more ways than with traditional paper text.  Motivation and engagement are overwhelming benefits of the use of technology with struggling readers.  Greater engagement equals higher achievement.  Research shows that  experiences with technology can encourage reluctant readers to re-engage in a new and exciting way.  Also important, is the benefit that these technologies play in the development of reading comprehension through voice recordings.  Students that are otherwise disengaged when it comes to reading traditional print books are excited when the reading material is presented in electronic form.  

E-books offer an engaging option for struggling readers, are easy for teachers to implement, and offer opportunities for individual practice for students.  When using e-books, students tend to more naturally investigate words and images.  They can teach students early literacy skills including phonological awareness and vocabulary.  

 Teachers need to stay current with the most recent digital advances and determine how to implement them into their curriculum.  Technology should not drive the curriculum nor determine its content.  However, technology should be integrated at every available opportunity in order to prepare our students for the 21st century.