Digital Storytelling: Empowering Pre-service Teachers

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Digital Storytelling Empowering Pre-service
Teachers Voices as Future Educators

• Dr. Pamela Morehead
• Dr. Ledong Li
• Barbara LaBeau
• Greg Gallup
• Oakland University

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Through flows in terms of stories - stories
about events, stories about people, and stories
about intentions and achievements. The best
teachers are the best story tellers. We learn in
the form of stories. - Frank Smith
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Research Questions

• Does digital storytelling enhance a teacher
  candidates self-efficacy?
• Does digital storytelling improve the teacher
  candidates knowledge and use of multimedia
  technology tools?

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Participants and Backgrounds

• 20 pre-service teachers participated in the study
  as volunteers
• Participants are from the school of education
  from a Midwest university
• Participants were asked to address professional
  issues, understanding, and beliefs as teachers
• Participants were encouraged to use digital
  storytelling as a new way to record their
  thoughts on the process and improvement of
  teaching

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Methodology / Data Collection

• Pre-survey general info, knowledge base,
  technology skills, reflections
• Online discussions
• Records of process and steps of digital story
  construction
• Post-survey knowledge base, technology skills,
  reflections
• Interviews
• Students projects (artifacts)

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Workshop Time Management

• Total of 6 workshops were offered on Saturdays
• Workshop was offered once a month, starting
  November 12, 2005
• 3 to 5 hours for each workshop
• Extra lab hours on Tuesday and Friday afternoons
  for the last month

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Digital Storytelling Process

• Each workshop was used to focus on a step toward
  creating the digital story
• project introduction
• concept mapping
• script writing, and artifacts collecting
• story boarding, and digital story drafting
• digital story revising and editing
• digital story publishing

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Artifacts Collection

• Pictures (printouts to be scanned)
• Digital pictures
• Pictures downloaded off the Internet
• Drawings and illustrations
• Digital video clips
• Music (from CDs / mp3s)
• Voiceover (self-recorded)

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Technology Tools Used

• Word-processing
• WebCT discussion board
• PowerPoint
• iPhoto
• iTunes
• iMovie
• Voiceover tools

• Digital cameras
• Scanners
• Headsets
• Mac computers
• PC laptops
• Jump-drives
• External hard-drives
• CD DVD (blank)

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Educational Impact

• Balancing traditional methods with new teaching
  approaches
• Finding a new way of creating educational
  portfolio
• Enhancing language literacy, visual literacy, and
  media literacy
• Meeting up-to-date educational standards

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Student Examples

• Wayne understanding of education
• Mary technology and new learners
• Rob Why do I want to be a teacher?
• Orsola personal reflections
• Doris beliefs in classroom teaching
• Alisa Why do I want to be a teacher?
• Kristin and April reflective portfolio