This week I gained some very insightful knowledge on storytelling that I can’t wait to teach my classes, especially Jr. high. Finding the time to do it will be my biggest hurdle. I found the 7 elements of storytelling intriguing. There is so much I did not know. How does the director give emotion to the story using these elements? How can I get the most out of these techniques for my digital story? Experimentation will be the tell all here. I know my students will be the perfect guinea pigs for this learning adventure. They love to experiment and with 25 in a class times 4, I can learn a great deal from them in just 4- 50-minute periods. I find myself constantly stopping them to take a look at what their classmates discovered. Giving it to them in small bits and pieces works the best, as their attention spans (and my voice) only last for so long.
Simplicity is something that takes great restraint. Especially with grade school kids. They want to try everything and have it all on one slide, picture, video clip etc. Using Apple education’s website has been very helpful in showing good examples of simplicity in digital projects that rely more on dead space, black and white, and timing to relay the message. I can see my students improving their projects greatly by using these elements. It would take a lot more thought on their part, more problem solving and concentration to do the job successfully.
Recently I have been stressing what a bullet point is; two or three words to support the main idea. I have had to go to each student individually and make corrections. The concept is a hard one to grasp. They are so use to writing sentences, they are not sure how to use only a few words, to do it simply.
Teaching my students to create better presentations, to tell stories more effectively, will improve any lesson. No matter what the subject matter is, using the 7 elements will take them from just giving the facts with pictures and some music, to really thinking in terms of creating something of art. It will spark their creative sides and hopefully they will enjoy the lesson more and use more brain matter instead of just going through the motions to get the job done. Oh I can dream can’t I? I think I have my lessons for class Tuesday =)
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