Digital Storytelling

When it came time to put together my digital storytelling project, I found the idea of telling the story of myself evolving from a daughter to a mother as a the perfect topic. My adventure started on my desktop Mac at home. When I went onto iMovie I discovered that I had done a digital story six years ago about how I wanted to be remembered. It was extremely inspirational to watch the story as it was from my point of view shortly out of undergraduate school. Wow, I’ve learned so much since then! I quickly remembered how iMovie worked and was easily able to put together the digital story. Unfortunately, I had some issues due to the age of the computer and after working late into the night trying to get it on YouTube, I copied it onto a DVD just in case and called it a night. (The lesson learned was make sure your equipment is updated and is compatibly before starting a project.) I ended up making a new digital story with more current pictures and with a more updated computer. I learned how to use GarageBand and was able to easily narrate my favorite story to my pictures. Once my story was done I found embedding took a little bit of time but it was awesome to see it pop up on YouTube and have the control of who views it. I look forward to adding on to it and sending it to my family for the holiday season! 

I could see myself using digital storytelling with my students with the support of my technology specialist. I think it could be useful for retelling stories using their own drawings. I I also think it would be neat to have my class help me make the end of year DVD by narrating what’s going on in the pictures. Digital storytelling is not only a great way to incorporate technology it is a great way to capture your ideas, experiences and share it with others over and over again!

My Growing Family

The PLN Experience

My experience with a Professional Learning Network has been engaging and powerful. At the start of my journey on Twitter, I have found some wonderful groups and educators to follow. It is so inspiring to see what other educators are doing in their classroom not only in my district but in schools all over. 

On Thursday, September 29th I set out to try my first #EDChat as @ZikaA27.  I decided to try my luck at the #ICEILchat. I felt a bit nervous mainly because I was unsure of the speed in which I would need to respond. Luckily to my surprise, I found that the pace with not as difficult to keep up with as I thought. I liked that the discussion started off with a introduction and that there was a presentation of all the questions to preview and refer to  (courtesy of @amber_heffner). 

Since technology is not my area of expertise, I learned many interesting pieces of information. It was cool to see how some participants knew each other, yet the vibe overall was one that was welcoming and accepting. It was fascinating to be able to observe and interact with such a large group of people at one time from the comforts of my couch! At times I felt that I didn't have a great deal to contribute to the conversation because I did not have the same background knowledge as all the participants. Therefore, there were questions that I needed to do some research around to be able to respond with some insight. I did learn a great deal and feel that I will definitely participate in another #EdChat soon! 

Professional Learning Networks are a great way to get inspired by other professional and collaborate on your time. My favorite http://www.theprimarypeach.com/ is a wonderful network that I have found some wonderful resources in multiple areas. I have found some great reading ideas and technology use idea for my classroom. Check it out!!