I love the idea of using this in a class. I think it's a wonderful opportunity to engage and challenge students. I know several people who have recently started school - Freshman comp for all. Write 5 essays this quarter. Write another 5 essays next quarter. Boring. While I believe competent writing is one of the most important skills that a person should acquire, I also believe it's not just about writing. It's also the ability to express your thoughts clearly and meaningfully, and that can be accomplished without having points taken off for a misplaced comma.
I created a digital story for a lit project last spring. I don't know if "story" is the right word - I read a cummings poem and put it with some pictures and videos. The poem was about love. Most of the students viewed it as romantic love. The poem doesn't really specify that, though, and I kept thinking of my son and my love for him when I read it. So I used pictures of him. Here's the point I am (and was) trying to make - literature is such a subjective experience. You can take any piece of literature and make it your own in some way, without a professor telling you the "right" way to interpret it. I think, then, that something like this is a wonderful way to see (literally) all of the various ways in which a piece can be viewed (literally).
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I love this idea! You've made poetry more meaningful using pictures and videos! I agree that bringing the digital story portion into the assignment also gives students the opportunity to use digital skills needed that are used in other areas of their lives.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a digital storytelling video would be an excellent replacement for an essay (as a supplement along with other essays for plenty of solid writing practice). Students would have a greater sense of ownership over the assignment, thus have more of a commitment to the work, ultimately leading to an increased learning value.
ReplyDeleteI am also a huge fan of e.e. cummings so I was curious, which poem did you use?
I used "somewhere i have never travelled" for the project. I may try to get the video up on here. It's pretty hokey, so I'm iffy on posting it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I absolutely agree with both of you on both points. I think most students would invest more of themselves in a project like this. Everyone learns better when they actually like what they're doing. My friends and family that have recently taken Comp 101 haven't complained much, but I'm sure a project like this would really pique their interest.
I know that at Sinclair, students are required to write several types of essays. (Reflective and persuasive are the two that stick out the most to me right now.) The students could be offered the choice of which essay they wanted to use with digital storytelling. I think persuasive could be useful. I've been taking some business writing classes, writing proposals and such. What's a proposal other than an attempt to persuade? And wouldn't that proposal be more persuasive if there was a video to back it up? In what other ways could digital storytelling be useful in a future career? I'll keep thinking about that one...