Tech Integration Idea #2

For my second chapter i chose Chapter 12 Social Studies.

I chose social studies for my second area because I see a lot of potential for crossover lessons with literature. Some works of literature need historical and political context to be properly evaluated and understood (ex. Gulliver's Travels - each of the peoples Gulliver meets actually represent political parties at the time). Also, because one of the primary responsibilities of  English is to teach the new literacy - which include evaluation of  information and it's source (like we talked about in class the student paper that used a website that advocated that the Holocaust was a hoax) a primary concern in the teaching of social science and technology.

I really liked the digital storytelling theme suggested in chapter 12. Most of our myths and legends were all oral stories for centuries before they were written down, and even for a long while after since most people weren't literate. It reminds me of the skalds and bards of old, but instead of the wandering minstrel spreading their story about the country, the story spreads via the web and the 'new bard' stays put.

You can see  some examples at The Oral History Society  and Voice Thread 

I can see this concept being used in an English for discussion of say Beowulf - an anonymous written poem that dates back a few centuries before it was finally written down in old English. Have students develop their own oral stories, perhaps even a digital version of the 'telephone game'. Students record their oral histories, listen to their fellows and then record their version. Students would get to see first hand how bards stories changed between tellers and iterations.

Other cool digital storytelling ideas come from  Center for Digital Storytelling & Digitales which focus on short films and videos.