All I need is an assortment of glitter, some freshly sharpened pencils, a stash of sweet smelling markers, and a few sheets of glossy paper (maybe some embellishments too...) and I'm ready to get crafty! Our students, though, are more than just your typical "crafters;" try authors and composers, too! Hicks (2009) encourages educators to view students as multimedia authors who must consider how text, images, audio, and video come together to leave a lasting impression. And, yes, students are creating said digital products for genuine audiences!
Consider the sweet "MAPS" heuristic that Hicks shares with his readers -- mode/media, audience, purpose, and situation. These are the elements that our kiddos must reflect upon as they navigate new texts, select a presentation form, identify the needs/ characteristics of their audience, determine the underlying purpose of their piece, and examine the needs/strengths/weaknesses of the writer (themselves!) and any demands necessitated by the digital platform. Gets a little tricky, huh?
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| How I wish I could call this art closet mine... |
I had such fun exploring Flickr's Tell a Story in 5 Frames, in which participants are instructed to depict a story in 5 frames with only a title to aid in the interpretation. Group members might respond with poetry, suggestions on how to improve the ordering of photos, tips to support stylistic choices, or any other sort of constructive feedback. I got a good giggle out of this one, "The Daily Grind," with 5 different beverages documenting the course of one's day. A must see for any adult!
I'd imagine that our kiddos would have a blast creating said projects, but I think we'd really have to emphasize the underlying purpose. After all, it's not about choosing any random picture and tacking it up onto a story board for future publication. And just like other forms of online publication, the conversation only begins once the story is published. As authors, we can only seek to improve our craft by engaging in some peer feedback and self-reflection. Speaking of commentary, I highly recommend that anyone interested in annotating photos via recorded messages, heads on over to VoiceThread. For a helpful tutorial, make sure to read Judy Arzt's post on what makes VoiceThread unique! She has some fabulous examples of how this tool can be implemented in the classroom...
Here's the million dollar question: Can you see yourself making time in the classroom for a project of this nature? Or, is there even any extra time to be had?
photo credit: theperplexingparadox via photopin cc
photo credit: AForestFrolic via photopin cc
Andrea,
ReplyDeleteI also looked through Flickr's "Tell a Story in 5 Frames." There were some really cute ones, I liked "The Dog that Learned to Fly." While I was reading about this concept from Hicks' book, it made me think of an assessment we give to our ELL kids to assess their speaking abilities in English. They are given 4 (not 5) pictures and they have to tell the story. It would be really neat to have them come up with the images and then their peers could tell the story. Thanks for sharing!