Digital Storytelling: Opportunities for Increasing Critical Thinking Skills in a 21 st Century Classroom Timothy B. Hoisington July 9, 2011 A Masters Research Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree, Masters in Arts of Secondary Schools, at The Colorado College
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Digital Storytelling: Opportunities for Increasing Critical Thinking Skills in a 21st Century Classroom
Timothy B. Hoisington
July 9, 2011
A Masters Research Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree, Masters in Arts of Secondary Schools, at The Colorado College
to get into the program, so the students in the 21st century program had a tendency to be
more motivated than the students in the regular education programs.
2 8
30
40
32
Team 21 Demographic Information
1 - American Indian/Alaskan Na-tive2 - Asian3 - Black/African American4 - Hispanic5 - White
Introduction
21st century class periods were 49 minutes long except for Mondays in which they
were 42 minutes long. The science classroom could hold up to 26 students. The
classroom was fairly small, which made it difficult to run labs effectively. There were no
windows in the classroom. The room was equipped with a Smartboard, two whiteboards,
and a projector. There was a sink located in the back of the room, which could be used
for labs. The students sat at tables with two students per table. The tables were often
connected in clusters throughout the room so that 4-6 students sat together. There was not
enough space in the room to fit an additional table for students to sit, so there could not
be more than 26 students. One of the 8th grade classes had 20 students, and the other class
had 26 students. These classes were tiered depending on student math scores for tracking
Figure 4: Demographic information for the 21st Century Program
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purposes. The students that were placed in the lower math classes tended to struggle with
science in addition to math. The students spent the entire day with each other except
during “exploratories” in which they went to different elective classes. The students in
the lower math class tended to be more disruptive, and required a more structured
environment.
The study group consisted of two 8th grade classes in a 21st Century Program. The
program was first implemented four years before. Each student was supplied with a Dell
laptop with a restricted take home policy. The only day students were allowed to take the
computers home was Wednesdays. The students were able to connect wirelessly to the
schools wireless internet. The students did not have restrictions on the websites that they
could access, however if a teacher caught them off task on the computer they took the
computer away from the student. Within the program there were two 6th grade classes,
two 7th grade classes and two 8th grade classes, which were divided according to their
math CSAP scores. Many of the 8th grade students had been in the program since 6th and
7th grade. Out of the 46 students in the 8th grade, 35 of them were in the program the year
before. The 21st century program was not a “gifted” program and did not accept students
based on skill level. The only requirement to get into the program was that the students
score the equivalent of high partially proficient on the reading section of the Colorado
Student Assessment Program (CSAP).
There were 112 students enrolled in the program. The students in the 21st Century
program were primarily Hispanic students (35%), while Caucasian students (28%) and
African American students (26%) made up the other large populations of students. There
were only two Native American students and seven Asian students in the program. The
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Figure 5: Student reported computer use
study was conducted on the two 8th grade classes. There were 15 boys and 21 girls in the
class. Demographic information for the 8th grade is displayed in table 1:
Some of the
students had never used
a computer before
coming to the school
(7.5%) (Figure 5). At the
end of the unit students
were given a survey in
which they answered questions regarding how long they had used computers and how
often they used computers after school (Figure 5). The majority (37.5%) of the students
had been using computers for seven or more years, but many of the students began using
computers upon entering the program.
Many of
the students were
familiar with the
process of digital
storytelling,
because they had
created a digital
story the previous
year on mitosis.
0 --> 1 1 --> 2 3 --> 4 5 --> 6 7 or more05
10152025303540
7.55
25 25
37.5
Student Computer Use
Years using a computer
Precent
29
8th grade Number of students
American Indian/Alaskan Native 1
Asian 2
Black/African American 10
Hispanic 13
White 20
Table 1: 21st Century demographic information for 8th grade
However, some of the students were new to the program, and were relatively new to
using computers. There was a wide range of students within the 8th grade classes. Many
of the students were high achievers and there were six gifted students in the 8th grade.
Many of the students who were not motivated were in the lower math class. The reading,
writing and math scores of the 8th grades previous year’s CSAP scores showed that the
students were fairly representative of the levels of achievement in the state of Colorado.
In the graphs, the 21st century program is represented by the green columns (figures 6, 7,
8). Due to personal property rights the name of the school and the district that the
research was done has been blacked out.
The eighth graders were chosen for the project because they were the most mature
class, and were most suitable for a technology driven classroom. Many eighth grade
students have a tendency to lose focus as they look towards high school, so digital
storytelling provided them with an exciting project in which they could express
themselves and be motivated to learn the material. The eighth grade classes were the last
two periods of the day, which allowed for reflection on the classes after school.
Reflecting on the classes helped with observations made during the class which was
important information for the qualitative data in the study. Since both classes were
required to learn the same material, digital storytelling was implemented in both
classrooms.
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Figure 7: 8th grade CSAP writing scores from the previous year. “U” means unsatisfactory, “PP” means partially proficient, “P” means proficient, “A” means advanced and “NS” means not scored
Figure 6: 8th grade CSAP reading scores from the previous year. “U” means unsatisfactory, “PP” means partially proficient, “P” means proficient, “A” means advanced and “NS” means not scored
Figure 8: 8th grade CSAP math scores from the previous year. “U” means unsatisfactory, “PP” means partially proficient, “P” means proficient, “A” means advanced and “NS” means not scored
Approach to MethodsThe digital story project was conducted in student pairs that were decided by the
teacher. Depending on the class there were ten or thirteen topic questions assigned
throughout the class (appendix C). The topics were based around the district standard in
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which students must “identify tools and technologies that are needed to explore space.”
Topic questions were based around astronomy issues in which space technologies were
needed to find out more about it. The groups were given a week to create a digital story
relating to an astronomy topic. Before students were allowed to start researching, the
teacher gave the students a brief explanation of what a digital story is. It was also
explained that they would be creating a documentary of their topic so that they knew how
the story should be narrated. Using www.youtube.com the teacher showed students video
clips that helped students distinguish between a documentary and an advertisement.
Students commenced by researching their topic; primarily using websites
provided by the teacher. Next, they were provided instruction in developing a script to be
organized into their documentary. The script was organized into a story storyboard,
which outlined how their documentary was going to be structured. A storyboard as
defined by Ohier (2006) is “is an ordered presentation of drawings or photos that each
summarize a major story event.” The storyboard summarized each of drawings and
content that they were going to discuss in the digital story. The storyboard helped them
organize their information so that it connected the different pieces of information that
they had researched.
The students used Dell laptop computers to create their digital story. They used a
program that worked with Windows called Microsoft MovieMaker to create their digital
stories. Students were familiar with MovieMaker since many of them had done projects
the year before. However, as the students proceeded, many of them faced problems with
the MovieMaker software, and some groups were permitted to switch to an interactive
PowerPoint. As students demonstrated that they had sufficiently researched their topics,
32
and provided and developed an organized storyboard, they were allowed to begin putting
everything together with their computers.
Shortly after giving the students the project it became apparent that students were
struggling with how to organize their digital stories. Students were simply told to create a
2-3 minute documentary based around their topic and the rubric, and it became clear that
they needed more structure in order to outline their story map. On the second day of the
project students were given an outline of how the story should be organized (Table 5).
The structure of the documentary was explained as a series of steps which were similar to
writing a short constructed response (paragraph) in the form of a video. Structuring the
documentary in this way helped students understand how the documentary was supposed
to be put together, and gave them clearer expectations of the project.
Documentary Section Time
Introduction 5-10 secondsEssential Question 1: What is the topic and what is its importance to the field of astronomy?
45 seconds
Notes, DiagramsEssential Question 2: How is the technology used to analyze your topic (How do we know about your topic)?
45 seconds
Notes, DiagramsEssential Question 3: What are some implications for further research into your topic?
45 seconds
Notes, DiagramsConclusion 5-10 secondsTable 5: Research outline for the students. Presentations were required to be 2-3 minutes in length
In order to integrate different types of narrative techniques, students were given
access to a digital cameras, camcorders, and microphones which they could share among
the class. They were also allowed to import music tracks into their digital stories as long
33
Figure 9: Modified from Robin (2005)
as it did not impede the narration of the story. The order in which students conducted
their storytelling methods was based around Robin (2005)’s four step approach to
integrating digital stories into learning (Figure 9). The teacher followed these steps when
establishing expectations for what needed to be accomplished for each day of the project.
Students were shown different sites on which they could access information for
could become familiar with it. The rubrics were modified from Sadik’s (2008) twelve
attribute scoring rubric for digital stories (Figure 10).
Students were given the entire week to complete the storytelling project and were
allowed to do extra work at home if they needed to. Because of the middle school
assessments every three and a half weeks, it was important that students completed the
documentaries in a timely manner. In order to complete the stories, deadlines were
created for finishing different parts of the assignment. Students were given two days to
conduct research, and at the end they were graded according to how much they had
completed. The research grade was worth 20 points and those who received less than 15
points were told to call home at the end of class to notify their parents that they were
falling behind on the assignment (Table 3). They were given a day to add the narration to
the story and two days to put everything into a movie.
Research Grading Rubric0 points Has not researched the topic5 points Minimal work and/or has copied and pasted
information10 points Notes were in own words BUT they did not
answer all 3 essential questions15 points Essential questions were answered however need
to include more detail and/or diagrams and picture20 points Sufficiently answered essential questions with
diagrams and picturesTable 3: Research grades given to the students to make sure they were using their time effectively. Anyone receiving below at 15 had to call home to notify their parents that they were falling behind
The attributes from Sadik’s (2008) rubric were integrated into a technology and a
content rubric (appendix B and C). The rubrics were used to produce a grade at the end of
35
Figure 10: Modified from Sadik (2008) grading rubric for digital stories
the week for the projects. In addition, students were assessed on the effects of digital
storytelling on their 21st century skills – specifically their ability to collaborate, reflect on
the material, and problem solve.
In order to track gains in knowledge related to the astronomy topics the students
were given clicker tests to test their knowledge at the beginning and the end of the digital
storytelling process. There was a clicker question for each topic, and the clicker tests
were administered the day before students researched the topics, and the day after
students finished presented their stories. The questions on the clicker tests were multiple
choice questions that challenged students’ ability to comprehend the material in a more
critical way (Appendix D).
At the end of the year students were given a survey using
www.surveymonkey.com (appendix E) to test how much content they learned.
Additionally, the survey sought to compare how much students learned from a
traditionally taught astronomy unit compared to the digital story unit. The survey
lower group received a 77% on their digital stories. Additionally, when looking at their
assessments the higher math group scored 61% on astronomy related questions while the
lower math group scored 43% on astronomy related questions. For the purpose of the
study, data from both classes were combined into one data set.
Quantitative Data Analysis
The trends from the overall data were convincing and were supported by the
quantitative data that was gathered throughout the study. At the beginning of the project,
students scored an average of 38% on the astronomy clicker test. By the end of the study,
they scored 57% on the clicker test. Compared to the regular physics unit that was taught
afterwards, these gains were 14% higher (Figure 11). What was even more encouraging
was the fact that 53% of the students who initially got their topic question wrong during
the pre test got their questions correct during the post test (Figure 12). Although students
scored only 57% on the entire post test, 80% of them got their topic questions correct on
the post test.
Comparing the astronomy unit taught traditionally to the unit that was taught
using the digital story the data also showed that students gained more knowledge from
the digital story unit. The questions that covered standards which asked students to use
higher level thinking such as “describe, design, research, or develop” were categorized as
topics learned in the digital story unit while other questions which required students to,
“construct a model, use models, or recognize” were categorized as questions addressed in
the traditionally taught astronomy unit (see appendix F). When comparing student scores
on the two types of questions students scored higher on the questions that were covered
40
in the digital story part of the unit (55%) compared to the unit taught without a digital
story (50%) (Figure 13).
In order to analyze if the digital stories were helping students understand the
material, it was important to correlate the grades that they received from the teacher, to
how well they performed on their astronomy tests. The class average for the digital
stories was 81%. Students were then separated into those who received above and 81%
and those who received below an 81%. Both populations of students averaged 38-39% on
the astronomy pre test, however when analyzing post test scores, the students who
received above average grades on their digital story scored 9 points higher (Figure 14).
Additionally, district assessment scores were correlated to the students scoring above and
below 81% on their digital stories (Figure 15) and on average those scoring above 81%
scored an entire 13 points higher astronomy related questions in the district assessment.
Qualitative Data Analysis The qualitative data that was collected throughout the project supported the
quantitative results in the study. The qualitative data was collected through survey
responses as well as observations in the classroom. A lot of the observations will be
discussed in the next chapter. From observing the students throughout the week, it
became clear that students were thinking more critically about the information that they
were studying. Student questioning was a big indicator of higher level thinking and
student questions transformed from “what is this?” to “how does this work?” Students
were more engaged in the content they were learning compared to the regular astronomy
unit, and many of them created some impressive digital stories.
41
The survey responses showed that the students enjoy doing their own research in
a self guided way. Of the 40 students that participated in the survey 27 of them enjoyed
the freedom they had to do their own research (Figure 16). One of the students elaborated
on their answer saying, “I learn a lot more through serious individual research, the
productivity also depends on how much I already know about the topic and how
interesting it is.” Another student added, “Really like how the project was formed,
could've of used a little more organization though.” The negative opinions about the
documentary were usually because they did not like their topic or their partner, and they
felt like they had to do most of the work.
Students were also asked questions regarding what they learned from creating the
documentary and the majority (82.5%) agreed that they learned about their topic (Figure
17). Most of the students did not agree that they learned from other groups topics (55%).
At the end of the survey when students were asked about what they liked and what they
thought could have been improved, one student said, “I liked having the ability to create
such a unique project but I didn't really get much information out of other's videos.”
Another student added, “I would have given us more time to research ALL topics,
because I didn't learn much from the others' presentations.”
Students were also asked to compare the astronomy unit taught without the digital
story to the unit taught traditionally. Students clearly liked using the computers to learn
the material on their own. When asked to compare the two units one student said, “I got
to learn new things the teacher never taught us so that help me get a better perspective.”
Another student said, “I learned a lot more then because I got to learn things by going and
42
researching by myself.” Although many of the students preferred the astronomy unit over
the traditionally taught unit, the majority (65%) responded that the traditionally taught
unit prepared them better for the district assessments (Figure 18).
Of the 40 students who participated in the survey, 15 of the students spent time to
give feedback at the end of the survey on what they liked and disliked about creating the
documentary. The 15 responses were categorized into 7 different themes which can be
observed in table 4. Four of the students suggested using a different movie program, due
to the fact that MovieMaker did not work on some of the computers. One student liked
the fact that they didn’t have to personally speak when they presented what they found,
and that it made it easier for them to present on the material. The results indicate that the
students enjoy a student centered classroom in which they find the information on their
own. One student said, “I liked that it helped us learn without listening to a teacher talk
all day but it needed more organization.”
Student Examples
Many of the student presentations were well thought out and they used a variety
of different narration techniques. Some students used voice narration, some used text,
some used spliced video clips from the news and many combined several techniques
throughout the story. Many of the images used in their presentations did a great job of
complimenting what they were discussing in the documentary. Some examples of
students work are shown below:
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Essential Question: What is dark matter and why do scientists think it exists?
Essential Question: Does water exist on other planets/moons?
Essential Question: What is the threat of an asteroid hitting the earth and what scientists doing to predict it?
44
Physics Pre Test
Physics Post Test
Astronomy Pre Test
Astronomy Post T
est0
10
20
30
40
50
6051
56
38
57
Astronomy and Physics Pre and Post Tests
Perc
ent A
nsw
ered
Cor
rect
Figure 11: Comparison between the pre and post tests of the astronomy unit taught using a digital story and the physics unit taught without using a digital story
Pre Test CorrectPost Test Incorrect
Pre Test Incor-rect
Post Test In-correct
Pre Test Correct Post Test Cor-
rect
Pre Test In-correct
Post Test Cor-rect
% of Students Answering Topic Ques-tion Correct
4.44
15.56
26.67
53.33
Figure 12: Percent of the students who answered their topic questions correct pre and post. The green and purple represent the students who go their topic questions correct during the post test (80%)
45
Que
stion
s 14,
15,
29,
30
Que
stion
s 35
Que
stion
s 4, 6
, 18
Que
stion
33
Que
stion
31
Que
stion
38
Que
stion
s 21,
24,
25
Que
stion
20
0
20
40
60
80
100
45.556 55.5
84.468.9
48.9 43.760
Astronomy District Assessment Scores Categorized
Digital Storytelling Unit
Regular Unit
Questions on the District Assessment
Percent Correct
Figure 13: Percent of students answering the district assessment questions correct related to the regular astronomy unit (traditionally taught) and the digital storytelling part of the astronomy unit. Class average for the digital storytelling questions was 56% and 50% for the questions related to the traditionally taught astronomy unit
Figure 14: Pre and post test scores of the students who scored above and below 81% on their digital storytelling projects
46
Above 81% Below 81%0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70 66.6
48.4
56.9
48.6
Average District Assessment Scores for students receiving above and below an
81%
Digital Storytelling QuestionsRegular Astronomy Unit Ques-tions
Perc
ent C
orre
ct
Figure 15: Scores on the district assessment tests for students scoring below and above 81% on their digital story. Assessment scores are divided based on regular astronomy unit questions and digital storytelling unit questions. Students who scored above 81% on the digital story scored an average of 61% on astronomy related questions; students scoring below 81% scored an average of 48% on astronomy related questions
I learn
ed m
ore fro
m documen
tary
I was
more inter
ested
in th
e conten
t
I learn
ed m
ore rea
l world
applica
tion
I enjoye
d the f
reedom to
do my o
wn resea
rch0
5
10
15
20
25
Compared to the rest of the astronomy unit:
Strongly AgreeAgreeNeither disagree or agreeDisagreeStrongly Disagree
Num
ber o
f res
pons
es
Figure 16: Student survey responses comparing what they learned during the digital story astronomy unit compared to the regular astronomy unit
05
1015202530
From the documentary:
Strongly AgreeAgreeNeither agree or disagreeDisagreeStrongly Disagree
Num
ber
of r
espo
nses
47
Documentary
The rest of the astronomy unit
Haven't taken assessment0
5
10
15
20
25
30
10
26
4
What prepared you best for the district assessment tests?
Num
ber o
f res
pons
es
Feedback Number of ResponsesEnjoyed Research 7
Figure 17: Student responses regarding the digital storytelling astronomy unit
Figure 18: Student responses discussing what prepared them better for the district standardized tests
48
More Time 5Different Partners 5Different Movie Program 4More Structure 3Liked Topics 3Didn’t Learn From Other Presentations 2
Table 4: Free response feedback organized: “What did you like, what could be improved?”
Discussion
49
This paper offers a new way in which teachers can utilize technology to create a
student centered classroom that encourages students to understand information in a more
critical way. Digital storytelling offers a solution to the problems that many teachers face
in many 1:1 laptop initiatives in which the computers are used as the technological task,
rather than a tool help students access the information (Beatham, 2009). The results from
this paper show that students grew academically throughout the digital storytelling
process; however there are some improvements that could be made for in the future.
One of the biggest problems encountered during the digital storytelling process
was the software chosen for the digital story. MovieMaker is a great program that is
simple and easy to use; however many of the students that had received new computers
during that school year had a different “image” than the older computers. The new image
restricted the students’ ability to use several programs including MovieMaker. Many of
the students were unable to use the program and had difficulty finding free programs that
would allow them to accomplish a similar task. Several of the students resorted to
creating an interactive PowerPoint which served a similar purpose, but it lacked some of
the special effects that were available with MovieMaker.
Students also had a difficult time completing the digital story with the time
constraints of the project. The district had very strict standards on what needed to be
covered during each month, so students were on a tight schedule to finish their stories.
Some of the students processed information slower than other students, and although they
used their time effectively every day, it took them longer to put everything together. Of
the 15 students who gave feedback at the end of the survey, 5 of them wished they had
more time to create their stories (Table 4). Giving students more time to work on the
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digital stories would greatly enhance the work that the students produce, and it would
allow them to get deeper into the content that they research.
Although only two students gave feedback that they didn’t learn from others
presentations (Table 4), that was probably the weakest part of the project. During
presentations there was a lot of time wasted, which could have been put towards
producing their stories. The presentation format was not structured very well and it took
too long for all of the groups to present. When students were presenting their stories, the
rest of the class was evaluating the stories; however the format was not very engaging
allowing students to not pay attention. The advantage of a digital story is that students do
not need to be in front of the class to present what they learned. The stories can be
converted to windows media files, creating accessible video content to be shared at
stations around the room. The presentation format would have been much more effective
if all of the groups presented on the same day. Digital storytelling groups could open their
presentations on their computers and spread throughout the room. Since they do not need
to stand in front of their computer, they could evaluate other presentations while people
are evaluating theirs. If the presentations were structured this way, more time could have
been devoted to creating the stories, and it could make students more engaged in the
presentations, since they would be in control of starting and stopping the presentation.
In student centered projects such as a digital story it is very important to set clear
expectations of what the final product should look like. Several of the students who gave
feedback (3) believed that the project could have been organized more clearly (Table 4).
A day after giving the students their assignment, it became very clear that many of the
students had no idea how to structure a documentary. The next day an outline of how
51
long each section should be (Table 5) was given to the students, which helped the
students understand what they needed to accomplish, however even that was not enough
structure for many of the students. Students would have had a better understanding of
what the final product should look like if they were given several examples of
documentaries before letting them go. If the teacher had created their own documentary,
and shown it to them they would have had a better understanding of the expectations, and
how the documentary should be organized. Providing them with more background
information and guided websites before starting the project, would have also helped them
access and synthesize the information more quickly.
The way in which students were assessed could have been improved. While the
clicker tests provided good quantitative data, the questions were multiple choice which
restricted student answers. It would have been interesting to get free response answers to
different topic questions to get a broader understanding of how well they understood the
topics. It became difficult to assess whether the students understood different topics,
because some groups did not answer the clicker question in their digital stories. Clicker
questions sought to ask students important aspects of the different topics; however some
groups covered their topic thoroughly without addressing the clicker question. A solution
would be to let students create their own test questions surrounding their topic. The
drawback to this solution is there would be no pre test.
Throughout the project observations were made which allowed for a greater
understanding of the many different possibilities for future research for the project. The
most interesting observations I made during the project were of the gifted students in the
class. I gave those students the most difficult topic questions and it was fascinating
52
watching them construct their stories. While a lot of the other students needed structure
for their presentations, these students thrived without the structure, because it gave them
a lot of freedom to construct the story in their own unique way. The gifted students liked
the challenge of researching difficult topic questions and it was interesting watching them
construct their digital stories. While the other students in the class wanted to research
their projects in several steps, the gifted students didn’t write many things down the first
day, and simply familiarized themselves with the topic. Once they had gotten a grasp of
what they were going to talk about, they did lots of research about the entire topic and
broke it down into sections at the end. Future studies which look at how gifted students
tackle projects such as a digital story could be interesting.
Another interesting group of students were those who enjoy learning in more
traditional ways and thrive in very structured environment. One of the students in
particular was very goal driven and enjoyed structure in the classroom. When comparing
the traditionally taught part of the astronomy unit, to the digital story part of the
astronomy unit he wrote, “I typically learn more by teacher lectures than individual
projects.” Later on when asked what he liked and what could have been improved he
wrote, “It was not planned out as perfectly as it should have been.” These types of
students struggled in this type of environment. He had a lot of difficulty collaborating
with his partner throughout the project and coming up with a plan. Although he is one of
the top students in his class and usually turns in work on time, he turned the project in
three weeks late. It would be interesting to compare students who thrive in traditional
classroom settings, and get a better understanding of what makes this type of project so
difficult for them.
53
As I expected, many of the students thought that the astronomy unit that was
taught traditionally prepared them better for the district assessment (65%) (Figure 18).
The digital story project helped students develop a lot of high level thinking skills;
however the district assessments were testing students on how well they could recite the
astronomy content. Throughout their research, I witnessed students using high level
critical thinking skills to research and understand the concepts that were surrounding the
topic. The digital story project challenged students to create the meaning on their own,
which involved reading through different materials and finding the information that made
sense to them. Similar to the problem with the clicker tests, the district assessments asked
students questions that were very focused and did not allow students to expand on what
they knew about different topics. While the assessments successfully tested their
knowledge of what the district thought was important to know, it did not necessarily test
the full range of knowledge that they had gained from the astronomy unit.
Conclusion
54
Overall the digital storytelling project went well. The data supports the idea that
students grew throughout the project and learned the material as they completed their
digital stories. The topic questions were well thought out, and the majority of the students
enjoyed their topics. The rubric and topics questions were effective, because they were
formulated as essential questions which helped to guide students to the information that
they needed to find. While the project was successful, it is clear that there are many
things that could be improved in the future. In order to get more conclusive results, it
would be beneficial to test student knowledge in a traditional classroom compared to one
centered around a digital story. The major challenge is finding an assessment method that
allows students to expand on what they know. It becomes difficult to assess the extent of
student knowledge when students are asked specific multiple choice questions. Digital
storytelling helps students not only learn content, but it helps them develop 21st century
skills which are extremely difficult to measure. The skills that are developed such as
problem solving, teamwork, and researching material, can be nonexistent in a traditional
classroom. As classrooms become more complex, it becomes more difficult to evaluate,
and put a value on the learning that is happening in the classroom.
The data provided in this paper does not address all of the possible variables,
however it does provide some encouraging results that show that students can learn
content in a student guided classroom centered around digital stories. Computers are a
relatively new technology in today’s world, and teachers continue to find new ways of
teaching their students. Digital storytelling has tremendous possibilities in the classroom
today because the computer is used as tool to help students access the material (Beatham,
2009). The story helps students investigate the material on the computer and synthesize
55
the information into something that makes sense to them. In a world in which technology
has become prevalent in students lives, reading has taken a backseat to other forms of
media which do not allow students to reflect on what they are learning. Digital
storytelling gives students access to the technology that the students enjoy using, while it
also pushes them to reflect on the material, which is important in developing long term
memory. Digital stories allow today’s tech savvy students to utilize their technological
skills to construct a story that makes sense to them, and is fun for them. Education has
reached an interesting crossroads, because with the boom in technology in the last twenty
years, today’s students construct meaning in such different ways than the majority of the
people who are teaching them. The challenge that teachers face is how to teach students
the material in a way that engages the students in what they are learning, and makes sense
to them. One possibility is utilizing digital storytelling in the classroom.
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--Demonstrates a clear understanding of the topic--Connects the topic to the
scope of astronomy and how it is important
historically--Information is gathered and organized in a logical
progression--Provides reliable information from numerous sources
--Meets time requirement
--Demonstrates an understanding of topic
--Connects the topic to the scope of astronomy
--Information is gathered and organized in a
understandable progression--Provides reliable
information from several sources
--Meets time requirement
--Demonstrates a general understanding of the topic
--Connects the topic to related astronomy topics--Information is gathered and understandable but is
disconnected--Provides information
from sources but may not be reliable
--Does not meet the time requirement
--Demonstrates a lack of understanding of the
topic--Disconnected facts about the topic are
provided--Information is gathered, however it is difficult to
understand what the topic is
--Provides disconnected information from unreliable sources
--Significantly misses the time requirement
EQ 2: How is the technology used to analyze your topic (How do we know about
your topic)?
--Describes multiple technological evidence of the topic (space missions,
space stations…)--Explains how the
technology helps scientists understand the topic
--Provides many visuals to explain the technological
devices used--Makes it clear that
without the technology available the topic would
be nonexistent
--Describes technological evidence of the topic
(space missions, space stations…)
--Explains how technology helps us understand the
topic--Provides several visuals
to explain the technological devices used
--Makes it clear that the technology that is used
furthers our understanding of the topic
--Describes technology but the evidence is unrelated to
the topic--Explains how technology
is used in astronomy--Provides few visuals to
explain the technology that is used
--It is unclear what technologies further our
understanding of the topic
--Technological evidence is limited and unrelated to
the topic--Explains how
technology is used but it does not connect to the
topic--Provides no visuals to explain the technology
that is used--Provides no evidence
that the technology furthers our
understanding of the topic
EQ3: What are some
implications of further research into your topic?
--Describes several technologies scientists plan
to use in the future to increase knowledge of the
topic--Provides a timeline of
when the new technologies will be completed/used
(dates…)--Creativity makes
predictions on the impact of the topic on future
research--Discusses the feasibility of accomplishing future
technological advancements of the topic and its potential impact on
society
--Describes a technology scientists plan to use in the
future to increase knowledge of the topic
--Provides a general idea of when these technologies
will be completed/used--Creatively discusses
implications of the topic on today’s research
--Discusses the feasibility of accomplishing future
technological advancements with the
topic
--Describes technologies that scientists plan to use in the future in the field of
astronomy--Provides a vague idea of when these technologies will be completed/used
--Discusses implications of future research but it is off
topic--Discusses feasibility of
accomplishing future technological
advancements but it is off topic
--Describes technologies that will be used in the future but there is no
connection to the topic--Provides no reference to when these technologies will be completed/used
--Discusses no implications of future
research--There is no mention of
the feasibility if accomplishing future
technological advancements
Appendix A: Rubric used to grade the content the digital stories. Students were given 3 essential questions which they needed to answer in their stories.
60
61Technology
RubricMastery Proficient Emerging Novice
Hardware(digital
cameras, camcorders,
webcams, flip videos, etc…)
□Demonstrates use of equipment
properly.□Uses most
functions and keys of equipment
properly.□Operates and
positions equipment.
□Downloads footage or images in a timely manner.
□Incorporates many visual elements (point of views,
similarity, monochromatic).□Uses many or the
simple rules of composition (background, proximity).
□Mostly demonstrates use
of equipment properly.□Uses most
functions and keys of equipment
properly.□Operates and
positions equipment with some assistance□Downloads
footage or images in a somewhat timely manner.
□Incorporates some visual elements (point of views,
similarity, monochromatic).□Uses some of the
simple rules of composition (background, proximity).
□Somewhat demonstrates use
of equipment properly.
□Uses some functions and keys
of equipment properly.
□Operates and positions
equipment with lots of assistance.□Downloads
footage or images, but not in a timely
manner.□Incorporates few visual elements (point of views,
similarity, monochromatic).□Uses few of the simple rules of composition (background, proximity).
□Minimal understanding of
how to use equipment properly.□Lacks
understanding of the functions and
keys of equipment.□Minimal
awareness of how to operate and
position equipment.□Minimal
awareness of how to download
footage or images.□Lacks
understanding of how to incorporate
visual elements (point of views,
similarity, monochromatic).□ Lacks knowledge of how to use the
simple rules of composition (background, proximity).
Software(Power Point, MovieMaker,
Video editing)
□Demonstrates use of programs
properly.□Easily navigates programs using many features□Teaches
himself/herself and others many new elements of the
program.□Demonstrates a
clear understanding of the program
during presentations.□Uses many appropriate elements□Saves and
retrieves documents in an orderly, timely
fashion.□Uses creativity
□Effectively applies technology to demonstrate
learning.□Troubleshoots
without assistance.
□Demonstrates use of programs
properly, but may need help at times.□Navigates the program using some features□Teaches
himself/herself and others some new elements of the
program.□Demonstrates an understanding of
the program during presentations.□Uses some appropriate elements□Saves and
retrieves documents in a
somewhat orderly and timely fashion.
□Uses some creativity
□Applies some technology to demonstrate
learning.□Troubleshoots
with some assistance.
□Demonstrates use of programs
properly, but needs much assistance.□Navigates the
program using few features□Teaches
himself/herself and others few
elements of the program.
□Demonstrates somewhat of an understanding of
the program during presentations.□Uses few
appropriate elements□Saves and
retrieves documents in a
disorderly, untimely fashion.
□Uses little creativity
□Applies little technology to demonstrate
learning.□Troubleshoots
with a lot of assistance.
□Lacks understanding of
how to use programs properly.
□Minimal awareness of how
to navigate programs.□Lacks
understanding to teach
himself/herself and others any new elements of the
program.□Minimal
understanding of programs during presentations.□Uses minimal
appropriate elements□Lacks
understanding of how to save and
retrieve work in an timely fashion.□Lacks creative
awareness□Technology
awareness is not reflected in
learning□Lacks
understanding to troubleshoots
Appendix B: Rubric used to grade the technology use in the digital stories
Essential Questions:1. What is dark matter and why do scientists think it exists? 2. What is dark energy and why do scientists think it exists? 3. What is the evidence that black holes exist and how do they from? 4. What is the potential for space tourism in the future and what are some concerns? 5. How do solar flares affect the human population and what are ways that we can predict when
they are going to happen?6. What are some ways in which humans are trying to connect with distant civilizations and what
are the challenges of doing this? 7. Does water exist on other planets/moons? 8. One earth there are many environments in which we are finding living things where we didn’t
think life could exists – could life potentially live outside of “habitable zones” – where and how could life exist?
9. There is evidence that asteroids have hit the earth and had severe impacts on our climate. What is the threat of an asteroid hitting earth and what are scientists doing to predict it?
10. What are some ways in which scientists have learned about comets? Knowing what comets are made of how could humans utilize them?
11. What are some difficulties that we face when we try to land on other planets? How is technology used to gather data once landing on a planet and what precautions need to take place before sending a spaceship to another planet?
12. What are some ways in which space technologies impact our everyday lives? 13. Venus has a very thick atmosphere, how do we know its surface looks like, what are some
difficulties of landing on Venus and what are some ways in which scientists are going to find out more about Venus?
Appendix C: Essential questions for the astronomy research project
62
63
1) Dark matter is material that: a) doesn’t emit lightb) appears only in the shadow of the sunc) can only be seen from spaced) all of the above
2) How does dark energy affect how scientists see distant supernovae?a) appear darkerb) appear brighterc) appear smallerd) doesn’t affect
3) How do black holes form? a) a red dwarf explodesb) a medium mass star implodesc) a white dwarf explodesd) a supergiant star implodes
4) What are some ideas people have to help create space tourism?a) space stationsb) space elevatorsc) space hotelsd) all of the above
5) How can solar flares affect the human population?a) cause global warmingb) cause widespread firesc) disrupt radio communicationsd) destroy telescopes
6) How are humans trying to connect with distant civilizations? a) Televisionsb) broadcasting radio signalsc) sending flashes of lightd) sending astronauts to distant galaxies
7) What is the biggest factor that inhibits water from occurring on the surface of different planets?a) the soil/substrateb) atmospheric pressurec) geologic activityd) lack of hydrogen and oxygen
8) According to NASA what is/are the potential source(s) of colonization of living things outside of earth? a) Marsb) Europa (Jupiters moon)c) Titan (Saturns moon)d) all of the above
9) Asteroids have the potential to hit earth and cause significant changes to the earths climate. Of the 100,000 asteroids that scientists are currently tracking approximately how many orbit the inner solar system?
a) 50b) 200c) 20,000d) 50,000
10) Why do tails of comets always point away from the sun? a) the solar wind pushes the gas and dust awayb) the orbits are always away from the sunc) its gravity pushes the dust away from the sund) because the ice melts on only one side.
11) Which is NOT a difficulty to landing on other planets? a) descending toward the planetb) landing on the surfacec) obstacles on the surfaced) solar flares damaging electronics
12) Which of the following is not a space technology that impacts our everyday lives?a) weather forecastsb) cell phonec) hand held transceiver (walkie talkie)d) gps units
13) Venus is covered by a dense layer of clouds about 40 miles thick so how do we know what its surface looks like? a) only when the clouds clearb) radar mappingc) sent down rovers to explore the terraind) telescopes
Clicker Quiz
Appendix D: Clicker quiz – bolded questions are the answers
64
Student Survey1. Your name
2. I am A boy A girl3. I am in 8A 8B4. I would rate my technology skills
Novice Emerging Proficient Mastery
5. How many years have you used a computer
0-1 1-2 3-4 5-6 7 or more
6. Rate your knowledge of
Novice Emerging Proficient Mastery
Hardware Software
7. Outside of school I use the computer
0-1 hours per day
1-2 hours per day
2-3 hours per day
3-4 hours per day
4 or more hours per day
8. When I use a computer at home I most often
Play games
Do research
Do homework
Read the news
Chat online
Use social networks
9. From the astronomy documentary I:
Strongly disagree
Disagree Neither Agree Strongly Agree
Learned a lot about my topic
Learned a lot about the astronomy topics presented by other students
Learned a lot about astronomy
10. Compared to the rest of the astronomy unit that was taught without a digital story
Strongly disagree
Disagree Neither Agree Strongly Agree
I learned more from creating the astronomy documentary
I learned more applications of the material (how it related to the real world
I enjoyed the freedom to do my own research
11. What prepared you better for the science assessment sets?
The astronomy documentary The astronomy unit without the digital story
Appendix E: Questions that students answered through www.surveymonkey.com
District Standards Covered During the Astronomy UnitDigital Story
E.3: Evidence Outcome b - Describe methods and equipment used to explore the solar system and beyond Multiple Choice: 33
E.3: Evidence Outcome c - Design an investigation that involves direct observation of objects in the sky, and analyze and explain results Multiple Choice: 31
E.3: Evidence Outcome d - Research, critique, and communicate scientific theories that explain how the solar system was formed Multiple Choice: 38
E.4: Evidence Outcome a - Develop, communicate, and justify an evidence-based explanation using relative positions of Earth, Moon, and Sun to explain the following natural phenomenon: Multiple Choice: 21, 24, 25
E.4: Evidence Outcome b - Analyze and interpret data to explain why we have seasons Multiple Choice: 20
Regular Unit E.3: Evidence Outcome a - Construct a scale model of the solar system, and use it to
explain the motion of objects in the system such a planets, Sun, Moons, asteroids, comets, and dwarf planets Multiple Choice: 14, 15, 29, 30
E.4: Evidence Outcome c - Use models to explain the relative motions of Earth, Moon, and Sun over time Multiple Choice: 4, 6, 18
E.3: Evidence Outcome f - Recognize that mathematical models are used to predict orbital paths and events Multiple Choice: 35
Appendix F: District standards covered in the regular astronomy unit and the unit taught with the digital story