We were asked to create a digital story from a teacher's perspective (i.e., one a teacher could use in the L2 classroom). Perhaps I'm lacking creativity this week or perhaps for other reasons, but I really struggled with coming up with an idea for this assignment.
Here's a link to the final result: voicethread.com/share/4078766/
Yes, it's a vocabulary list based on daily routines. It has pictures of things people do to get ready and things they do during the day, and the text boxes include the matching infinitive verb forms. In my mind, a learner can look at this example and make a digital story in response. In this way, the digital story I made was merely an example for an activity the students can do, such as making a vocabulary study guide for words that they find difficult to remember. That is, if a student has problems with certain words, he/she can use Voice Thread to match up pictures (after Googling them) with the words. The student can later use it to study.
In reality, I think I struggled with a teacher's digital story because I feel like most of what can be done on the teacher's end with this technique is something that should be done in class and can be done in far simpler ways. Sure, the teacher can use a digital story to talk about his/her daily routines, but then that would be just be an example for what the students would probably use the technology for in a later assignment (such as making their own digital stories).
Again, I may just be lacking in creativity at the moment, but in my mind, the advantages of digital storytelling seem far greater when it is the students telling stories rather than the teacher.
I like the simplicity of your digital story. I, for one, am someone who likes to learn how to use these new tools one step at a time. I can see how your activity would work well with low proficiency students, and it might add some spice into the day to day task of providing students with vocabulary. Is vocabulary the first thing we provide low proficiency students with? I would think so. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alan.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your vocabulary question, I think so. At least, that's how I've been planning my activities for practicum... From a teaching standpoint, I would have a hard time teaching concepts and creating activities for students to practice them if they do not know the words to understand and use that concept. In my experience, when it comes to low level classes, there is always so much vocabulary, and it just comes down to memorization. What do you think is the best way to teach vocabulary to lower level students?