Children already have experience with 'reading' a wide range of digital texts via television, online through the Internet, and with CDs and DVDs, some of which accompany print-based texts they are familiar with. The work done in Australia by Nicola Yelland in mapping multi-literacies in 4-6 year old children highlights this. Teachers at The Pagoda are tapping into children's knowledge and experience as readers of digital texts and giving them the chance to tell stories in ways that they have not been able to until now.
Learning for children
- Children seeing themselves as authors. Digital technologies offer new opportunities to learn about how texts are made.
- Working in a multi-modal literacy environment (story telling and meaning-making that use a combination of written, visual, audio and gestural texts).
- Learning what it means to have an audience for their story and how to present to others.
- Widening ICT knowledge and skills in a personalised and purposeful context.
- Experiencing literacy as a pleasurable activity that is valued by others.
Digital storytelling example: Tommy's story
Tommy's digital story began with him drawing a series of pictures and telling a story to go with it. Bridget, his teacher, then took the opportunity to extend Tommy's storytelling experience by suggesting that he could also use a computer to create a story with pictures. Tommy was keen to try this.
Bridget showed Tommy how to insert a picture into a slide. Tommy then took over and created the rest of his story. He typed some of the words himself and, as he did, Bridget noticed the strategy he used, that is, sounding words out in order to write them. Bridget left the text as Tommy wrote it, but 'translated' for clarity, where necessary.
Bridget then took a further step and invited Tommy to tell his story to a large group, using the centre's LCD screen. This allowed Tommy to extend and experiment with his use of verbal language in a way he was comfortable with. It also provided a simple means for Tommy to access and revisit his work.
Looking at his digital story some weeks later, Tommy made a comment about every picture, remembering why he drew it and what it was about. He also realised that he could repeat this process and adapt it further.
Throughout this experience, Tommy was learning about ways in which print, voice and pictures can work together to tell a story. Tommy has since started to collect another file of pictures for his next project.
"The dinosaur could go on a plane instead. I could make another book ..."
"I drew all the stuff I liked. I liked doing it because I like drawing and I liked hearing my voice on there."
Tommy
Learning for teachers and families
A great deal of learning occurred for families of children who created digital stories, including:
- sharing a greater understanding of early literacy learning – more than just ABCs
- seeing teachers as professionals who know about ICT and literacy learning.
"This has promoted Tom's ability and interest in writing. He was able to 'sound out' his words so although the spelling is incorrect, one knows what he means. I feel Tommy has been allowed to gain confidence in his literacy skills without being hindered prematurely by its rules.”
Tommy's mother
Teachers, too, learned much from the digital storytelling process. They learned:
- that digital story telling has appealed to children not usually drawn to literacy activities
- the importance of keeping an open mind as to who might be interested! Quieter children have often found their 'voice' at the centre through using the microphone and presenting their stories to others.
"Arguably the most significant success was Tommy's huge surge in confidence, gained through recording, sharing and being in charge of his own work. Previously he had been hesitant to share in either a one-on-one or group situation but that all changed once he made and shared his digital story.”
Bridget, teacher