Blog 2 (Unit 5)

It is perfect timing that the content of next week’s unit is Digital Storytelling, and my Google alert came up with an informative article from Education Technology called “Boosting Literacy Through Edtech Storytelling”. The author, Charlotte Krzanicki, is a senior education advisor at Greenwood Academies Trust (GAT), a not for profit organization consisting of 35 academies in England. In an effort to boost creativity and encourage students to “fall in love with reading and writing”, the team of educators at GAT came up with an idea for a storytelling competition across all the schools (academies) in their organization which incorporated technology with literacy skills. The motivation for students to do their best was that it was presented as a competition. This activity was accomplished using Flipgrid as the digital storytelling tool, which I have used on numerous occasions in my German classroom. Flipgrid is a video-sharing platform which allows students to not only practice their writing skills, but also share knowledge and use communication skills. According to Krzanicki (2020), one of the greatest impacts of this competition was being able to engage primary age boys in particular, since this activity allowed them to share ideas, talk, and be physically active using educational technology. Krzanicki adds that the competition has been an outstanding success for the organization, reminding them that students will become active participants in their learning if it is presented in a fun manner. They are eager to use more digital storytelling approaches in the future to keep students engaged in innovative ways.
I have used several digital storytelling platforms already in my classroom. Flipgrid is one of the easiest video tools to use with students. I have used Flipgrid for presentational speaking and interpersonal speaking assessments. I can share the Flipgrid link to our LMS of Schoology, and students go directly to our class account to record their videos and record responses to each other. The pause button is especially comforting to students who may need a couple seconds to gather their thoughts before they move on and record more. This is one reason why I like using Flipgrid over the recording function in Schoology. The pause button helps to lower the affective filter for second language learners who feel stressed and anxious over speaking assessments. After all, as Krzanicki summarized, students will feel engaged in the assignment if it is entertaining and they can take control of their learning experiences.

Krzanicki, C. (2020, February 14). Retrieved from https://edtechnology.co.uk/Blog/boosting-literacy-rates-schools-digital-storytelling/