This document discusses using digital storytelling tools in the K-8 world language classroom. It provides an overview of several free online tools students can use to create digital stories, including wikis, blogs, VoiceThread, Voki, and Story Jumper. It also describes resources like CARLA and CLEAR that offer professional development for teachers and allow students to submit audio and video assignments through digital dropboxes. The document emphasizes that digital storytelling promotes language skills while allowing for collaboration between students.

1. DIGITAL STORY TELLING IN THE K-8
WORLD LANGUAGE CLASSROOM
Alexandra Shourds
Spanish Teacher K-4, 7-8, Powhatan School Boyce, VA
Adjunct Professor of Spanish, Patrick Henry College

2. OBJECTIVES:
 Discuss how to choose between a wiki or a
blog.
 Look at my example class wiki and see
student projects and work.
 Explore several resources online for
students to use technology to tell their story.
 Discuss how you could implement this into
your world language classroom and ideas
for assessment.

3. CARLA: CENTER FOR ADVANCED RESEARCH
ON LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
 http://www.carla.umn.edu/
 Professional Development
 Summer Institute For Teachers: Week long
sessions throughout the summer.

4. ACTFL 21ST CENTURY SKILLS MAP
Students as productive global citizens use
appropriate technologies when interpreting
messages, interacting with others, and producing
written, oral, and visual messages.
(Source ACTFL, 21st Century Skills Map)

5. TECHNOLOGY LITERACY
 Using digital technology, communication tools
and/or networks appropriately to
access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and create
information in order to function in a knowledge
economy.
(Source ACTFL, 21st Century Skills Map)

6. STORY TELLING: THINK, PAIR, SHARE!
 Why do we tell stories?
 What are the elements of a story?
 What types of stories or narrations do we
use for language learning purposes?

7. WIKI: A SPACE TO SHARE
Wiki spaces are made for collaboration!
What is a wiki?  A place to share! It
allows users to add, modify, or delete
content.
What is the difference between a wiki and
a blog?

8. Wikis allow students to be part of the
collaborative process and students can
organize by a specific scheme. (Ex:
folders and pages)
Blogs are a series of chronologically
organized entries that are published on
the internet at a specific URL.

9. HOW TO CHOOSE
 Decide whether you want to emphasize the
end product (Blog post) or the process (wiki
development).

10. BENEFITS OF A WIKI:
 Students build online formatting tools as
they create pages and folders.
 Wikis allow for multiple authors.
 Students share their work with a larger
audience.
 Collaboration is EASY when students can
access each others work, peer edit, and
comment.
 Students use less paper.

11. HOW TO: WIKI
 PB Works- it’s as easy as making a peanut
butter sandwich!
 Students do not need to use their e-mail
addresses to sign up.
 Students are issued a log in and password
that are easy to administer as the teacher.

12. MY WIKI
 http://senoritashourds.pbworks.com
 Easy to create student folders and pages.
 Use the navigator to jump to each students’
page.

14. BRAINSTORM ACTIVITY
 https://bubbl.us
 Make a free account!
 You can add collaborators when you press
the Add Contacts button.
 Share by posting on the wiki.
 Example bubbl.us on Wiki under Emy F.

17. VOICETHREAD:
 VoiceThread is a free and easy to use tool
to present with voice, text, and even
doodles online.
 Students can create a free account which
allows them to make up to 5 VoiceThreads.
 Students upload photos and graphics to
create their story.
 Comments can be recorded digitally, typed
in, or drawn on the VoiceThread.

18. VOKI: ONLINE AVATAR
 Students can create online avatars
(animated characters)!
 Students create character, clothes, eye
color, hair, skin, eyes, background, etc.
 Students record their own voice with a mic
or by phone!
 Students don’t need an account but may
want one to be able to edit the Vokis they
create.

19. STORY JUMPER!
 http://www.storyjumper.com
 Create a free account under Classroom
Edition
 Set up your class (5 minutes!)
 When your students are present and ready
to log in click START!
 Students will enter classroom code (7 digit
number) and log in under their name you
created for them.

20. STORY JUMPER!
 Students can add props, create scenes and
backgrounds, and type text in the target
language.
 At the end there is a hand out you can print
for parents so students can log in from
home.

25. CLEAR: RICH INTERNET APPLICATIONS
 Center for Language Education and
Research at Michigan State University
 Allows you to record video/audio to share
with your students.
 Creates audio and video dropboxes for
students to submit work to you
automatically.

26. CLEAR
 Go to: clear.msu.edu/teaching/online/ria
 Create a free account
 Explore the Rich Internet Applications Page
 Click on Viewpoint.

27. CLEAR: VIEWPOINT
 Viewpoint allows you to create simple video
or audio clips.
 Gives you a free place to store them.
 Allows you to use the embeddable codes
and share them with students!

28. CLEAR: AUDIO DROPBOXES
 A dropbox for a paper assignment is when
students submit a document for a teacher to
read and a teacher can access it at any
time.
 An audio drop box is a tool that allows
students to record themselves and submit a
recording to a teacher’s dropbox
automatically.

31. CLEAR: VIDEO DROPBOXES
 Video dropboxes allow students to record a
video of themselves speaking.
 Students can respond to open-ended
questions, narrate a short story, or describe
pictures you provide on the web.
 The videos are automatically submitted into
the teacher’s dropbox for review.

32. ASSESSMENT: BREAK OUT SESSION
 In groups: We will discuss the various tools
and assessment ideas. How can you use
these tools in your classroom? What can we
use to access?

33. shourdsa@powhatans.org