Throughout this project I have learned a lot about digital storytelling and how it is utilized to get students engaged and to become comfortable with technology. Digital Storytelling is a new fun way for students to create products. Digital Storytelling is a movie or video that includes photographs, videos, music, text, and audio. The uses of Digital Storytelling is endless. Students can learn new software, express themselves, and create meaningful content. Teachers need to learn how to effectively integrate technology into their classroom that will engage students, and digital storytelling is a great way that they can do it (Donohue, Schomburg, 2015). The need for teachers to be comfortable with technology tools are for their own personal and professional learning. Also technology is used for teaching assessment, classroom management, and to support children’s learning (Donohue, Schomburg, 2015). It is just as important for students to be taught how to use technology safety and effectively. Young children live in a world of interactive media. They are growing up at ease with digital devices that are quickly becoming the tools of the culture at home, at school, at work, and in the community (NAEYC, 2012). In my placement, I have had a first-hand experience learning how kindergarten teachers integrate technology into their classrooms. The teachers at my placement use ENO Boards, which are useful in many different ways. The ENO Board can be used to watch videos, write the morning message on, and used to teach lessons. My placement classroom also uses iPad’s for academic purposes. The students will play math games, scan QR codes, work on writing their letters, and take videos of each other meeting learning targets. “The active, appropriate use of technology and media can support and extend traditional materials in valuable ways. Research points to the positive effects of technology in children’s learning and development, both cognitive and social” (NAEYC, 2012, p. 7). Some people have concerns about technology and if it appropriate for young students to be using. “Professional judgment is required to determine if and when a specific use of technology or media is age appropriate, individually appropriate, and culturally and linguistically appropriate” (NAEYC, 2012, p. 6). Teachers put a lot of work into what technology their students are exposed to and are using. Developmentally appropriate teaching practices must always guide the selection of any classroom technology and interactive media. “Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) is an approach to teaching grounded in the research on how young children develop and learn and in what is known about effective early education” (NAEYC, 2012). Teachers use International Standards for Technology in Education (ISTE) to help guide their developmentally appropriate practices. An ISTE standard that complies with developmentally appropriate practices is, 5a which states, “Use technology to create, adapt and personalize learning experiences that foster independent learning and accommodate learner differences and needs” (2018). I have enjoyed this project because I explored digital storytelling, VoiceThread, and so much more. I would implement a digital storytelling project in my future classroom.
References: Copple, C., & S. Bredekamp, eds. (2009). Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth Through Age 8. 3rd ed. Washington, DC: NAEYC. Retrieved July 20, 2016 from http://www.naeyc.org/dap
Donohue, C. & Schomburg, R. (2015). Chapter 4. Teaching with Technology: Preparing Early Childhood Educators for the Digital Age. In C. Donohue (Ed.), Technology and Digital Media in the Early Years (p. 36-50). New York & London: Rougtledge.
ISTE, (2018). International Society for Technology in Education Standards for Educators. Retrieved April 6th, 2018 from www.iste.org/standards.aspx
National Association for the Education of Young Children [NAEYC] and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College. (2012, January). Technology and interactive media as tools for early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved April 6th, 2018 from http://www.naeyc.org/content/technology-and-young-children.
ISTE Standards
ISTE standard addressed, 5 Designer, Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and accommodate learner variability." 5a, "“Use technology to create, adapt and personalize learning experiences that foster independent learning and accommodate learner differences and needs.”