Digital Storytelling - Cheryl E

After using iMovie, SnapZ Pro, and Garageband for the first time in class, I see how useful digital storytelling could be in the classroom. Creating a video using iMovie is a great way to take a class on a field trip without even having to leave the classroom. If there were not funds available or time available to take a class trip, the teacher could put together a video of the important points and show it in class. Garageband is a very easy way to assemble a podcast. I think this would come in handy in the classroom. A recording could be made of a teacher's lecture and then added to a powerpoint presentation using Garageband. Therefore, students that miss class could view the podcast and it would be just like they had been in class. This also allows students to go back and listen to a lecture a second time if they didn't completely understand everything the first time. SnapZ Pro is also a great mode of digital storytelling. When using a new program or trying to explain to the class how to do something on the computer, SnapZ Pro can be used to exactly show them what their computer screen will look like and the steps that need to be taken. Since SnapZ Pro also picks up audio, you can verbally walk the students through a tough process while showing them on the screen. I think this would be a great program to use when I am teaching because I could show students how to put equations into an excel worksheet, or teach them how to use a math program on the computer. Digital storytelling I think will become a lot more common as classes, especially college level classes, start to be delivered more online. Using all three of these programs would make it possible to deliver almost any class online. Lectures can be recorded and made into videos, powerpoints can have audio added to them to make a podcast, and computer work can be captured to make a screen tutorial.