Digital Storytelling

1) Below is my Toondoo Comics that I have created. My first comic strip is a story about when I was little I had asked for a puppy for Christmas.  To my surprise, Santa Claus left a little puppy under neath my tree.  I have had my dog for four years now and his name is Ryder!

My next comic strip is when I went to the beach with my older cousin.  I asked her to come swimming with me, and she said she would much rather lay out in the sun than be eaten by sharks! How rude, little did I know laying out was the "cool" thing to do when you are a teenage girl!

My last comic strip starts off with me as a student realizing I want to become a teacher when I grow up.  The middle comic is me thinking about my future as I student teach. The last comic is me graduating in May and starting my journey as a teacher!

2) Here is an example of my three other storytelling web tools 2.0 using the site, storyjumper.com This story is about a mermaid who swims throughout the see and explains to the reader what she sees.  It is a easy book for beginning readers!  I enjoyed creating this story and the website was very user friendly! Click the link to see my book and follow along as I read!

https://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cbXZfy2uq4

3) Here is another example of how I used a storytelling web tools 2.0. I decided to use the tool, storybird.com. This website was much like storyjumper.com which I really enjoyed! I had some difficulty understanding exactly how to create a full story with what the website had given me.  I played around with the website and still had some difficulties.  I would suggest watching some tutorials or maybe reading up on exactly how the tool works before creating a story!

https://storybird.com/books/pen-pal-2/?token=smhuvwv7gh

4) Here is my last example of my use of storytelling web tools 2.0.  I decided to use the tool, makebeliefscomix.com.  I did not like this web tool as much as ToonDoo, however it was easy to use.  The website had limited objects to create your comic.  The website is very self explanatory! I do not think I would use this web tool again after playing around with it.  The comic that is used below is that a girl is home alone when she hears a knock on the door.  Her friend Alan is at the door asking if she wants to watch some Tv.  The comic ends with the girl saying she is happy that Alan has come over! 

Storyjumper.com

Hello readers!  For this weeks smackdown assignment, I decided to show you all, storyjumper.com.  I am sure not many of you have heard of this website, unless you are in the education program! Storyjumper.com is a website where you can create your own books or stories. During my presentation, I first show you how to sign up for an account.  Signing up for an account is very easy and user friendly.  I will show you how to create your very own story and how easy this website is to really use.

I chose this tool to show to my readers and viewers because I find it very useful in many ways.  If you are a future educator this website can be very beneficial because you can create your own stories for your students based off of their reading level.  Also, you can have your students create their own stories and see their imaginations.  Any grade level can use this website and love it!  This tool can be used at Stockton in a few ways.  One way is that professors can create an assignment where you have to make your own mini book of what you have read from the following readings that they have assigned.  Another way this tool can be used by stockton is that students might be able to use this tool for presentations and show professors that you can think outside of the box!  Overall, I love this webtool and I hope you all do too!

Chapter 7 Review

After reading chapter 7 of, The Connected Educator, I feel that I have a better understanding of sustaining a momentum for my future communities.  One thing I have really taken away from this chapter is, learning communities, like gardens, flourish when they are cultivated, when they are nourished as they evolve and mature.  Neglected or taken for granted, they languish, losing their splendor and appeal.  It is hard to build a learning community, but it is very rewarding for every member in the end.  Their is always a leader in the group, but the leader needs to be receptive to new ideas and willing to do what is best for the group.  The book states this as, appreciative inquiry.  Appreciative inquiry is where it is a valuable approach to sustaining learning and change in communities and networks.  The book states, learners work from a "what if?" or strengths, perspective rather than a deficit perspective.  This idea starts with the idea of discovery.  Discovery is where people share their stories with one another that illustrate when they feel the group is at its best.  Next comes dream.  Dream is where the entire learning group envisions the future and the purpose they are trying to reach.  The third stage is design.  Design is where the community develops a design for its organization based on the dream stage.  The last stage is destiny.  Destiny is where the learning community implements the changes they have discussed.  Shared stories become the basis for envisioning the future.

For my readers, I am curious to know, would you share personal stories to your learning communities, or would you take the back seat and listen and learn from their stories?

The chapter went on to state how important it is to assess and evaluate your group.  How can groups assess their group? That is an easy answer! (Well after reading the chapter, it is an easy answer of course!) The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) is a basis for informal ways of assessing progress in both local and global communities.  It is always a good idea to make sure everyone in your group is on the same page or else that can lead to conflict.  One example of this is walkthroughs.  Walkthroughs provides teachers with feedback and they allow teachers to discuss opportunities for additional improvement.  It is important in communities to know their fellow members' concerns.  The book states a couple of different stages of concern that members can feel: awareness, personal, informational, management, consequence, collaboration, and refocusing.  After hearing how members are feeling, it is important to think of ways to move forward.  Sometimes, the group might not change anything due to the concerns, but other times the group has to come up with a whole new direction to move to.  The book states eight ways to help community members identify the level at which a new practice is being implemented.  The eight stages are: nonuse, orientation, preparation, mechanics, routine, refinement, integration, and renewal.  

All in all, it is hard to sustain a community, but it is very rewarding in the end.  To make a group work, you have to make sure that every member is on the same page and is expressing how they feel at all times.  Sustaining a learning community is very important in the field of education.  Educators have to work together with their co-teachers in their same grade level.  For people who are not education majors this means, that in one school all of the second grade teachers have to collaborate in many ways to make sure they are staying with the same curriculum.  This can be difficult because you did not have the ability to pick your group members.  This is where the assess and evaluate takes place, making sure that each members concerns and thoughts are being put out on the table.  In each grade level, their is a group leader, this leader needs to make sure that each teacher is feeling connected and is able to get their stories out there.  Sharing stories and experiences as a teacher is very important because it is important to always adapt new teaching ideas.  You can learn from one another in the group.  Make sure the whole group has one focus-being a better teacher to your students and how can you achieve that?  

Chapter Four Review

After reading chapter four of, "The Connected Educator", I have realized how important it is to build a collaboration with my future co-workers or even people in my field online.  Collaboration is sometimes a difficult thing to achieve in traditional environments.  While collaborating with others, it is important to focus on culture and the importance of shared ideals.  Culture has to deal with values, norms, and beliefs.  Sadly, most professional development opportunities fail to encourage collaborations.  Collaboration should be enforced in many career fields because of how easy it is to connect with others on the internet.  The book states, " Collaboration grows from relationships in which trust, collegiality, shared vision, and group development flourish."

The first way to create a positive collaboration is to put your relationships first.  Social interactions are key.  In social interactions you often begin with a greeting and some personal information about yourself.  These social interactions become the bases for getting to know each other and finding common perspectives and experiences.  Congeniality refers to the polite, friendly relationship we have with one another.  Being polite to people makes them feel comfortable around you.  They will want to talk to you more and collaborate on ideas.  Collegiality is a shared belief that none of us is as good as all of us, and we can all contribute to improved individual practice.  Be yourself and do not act like you are better than anyone else.  Every individual can learn more if they open up their mind.

The second way to create a positive collaboration is to establish trust.  Trust is where one individual is vulnerable to another because they have built the confidence that the other is reliable, honest, competent, and open.  Building trust does not have to only be defined as social interactions, you can also build trust with people online.  The willingness to be a transparent learner is also a trust-building factor.  If you say you are going to do something, stick with your word and complete it.  This will show your followers that you are a transparent leader and can be trusted.  It is easier to build trust in face to face interactions, but you can be transparent and sharing information about yourself allows people to trust you through a screen.

The third step to collaboration is very important in my eyes.  Once you have found trust with people, you need to create a shared vision.  The group as a whole needs to define what their vision is for their collaboration.  A shared vision that connects passion, day-to-day work, and school improvement is important in creating a collaboration.  The first step to create a shared vision is to ask your group simple questions: What are our guiding principles for how we should operate and work together? and What should school look like to support the needs of today's learners?

The final step is to know and understand the stages of collaboration.  The first stage is "forming".  Forming is where the individuals get to know one another and have meaningful interactions.  The second stage is "storming".  This is where collaboration can become tricky.  This is where the members of the group start to disagree and one individual needs to step up and guide their group in the right direction.  The third step is "norming".  This is where the members of the group will figure out who is to do what to meet deadlines.  The last stage is "performing".  This is where the group is achieving their goals.  This is when the collaboration takes place.

Collaboration is huge in the field of education.  Teachers have to work together in their grade level that they teach.  Usually their is one leader in the group and the others can chime in input when they feel it is needed.  Last year when I was completing my 90 hours, my co-teacher shared with me that their grade level leader was a new young teacher who was not eager to work and it created a bad dynamic for the group.  My co-teacher took it upon herself to start collaborating with other teachers in her grade level around the district to see what was or or was not working.  These collaborations are what she says leads to her success.  An educator is never done learning.  You have to keep up with the times and see what is fresh to benefit your student's needs.  Even as a student in the school of education, I have collaborated with many of my fellow students to see what lessons they are teaching, how are they disciplining their students, and other useful tips and tricks.  These collaborations can help me create new ideas and concepts for my students.  I never plan to stop collaborating with others, because I am never done learning.