September 27

Context for Digital Storytelling Project

The creation of an interactive version of Edgar Allen Poe’s poem ‘Annabel Lee’ is planned to assist in differentiating the Victorian Curriculum for level 9 English students with Specific Learning Disorders as they move from remote learning to on campus. The secondary school situated in regional Victoria has 200 year nine students enrolled, with approximately 20 students identified as having a diagnosed learning difficulty that impacts their reading. Remote Learning impacted these students significantly in term 3. Curriculum assigned texts that should have been able to be read together as a class were unable to be. As term 4 will see a return to remote learning for week one, having a text that the students can have read to them will hopefully reduce this impact.

In term 4 students in year nine will be studying poetry and in particular works by Poe. This is a follow up from Term 3 when students looked at Poe’s short stories. It was evident during this unit of work that students with Specific Learning Difficulties had trouble comprehending Poe’s original language and struggled to engage with the content. By creating a digital interactive book for the students, it is hoped they will gain a clearer understanding of the writing and therefore be able to participate fully with their peers.

Copyright of the original text was considered before the development of the poem. According to the United States (U.S) Copyright Office “[A]ll works published in the U.S. before January 1, 1923, are in the public domain” (United States Copyright Office, 2011). As Poe wrote this poem in 1849, Annabel Lee is considered to be in the public domain and therefore not subject to copyright (Law, 1922).

Researching an appropriate platform for delivering the interactive story was the next step. Adobe Spark, Loom, Book Creator and Microsoft Sway were considered and tested. Ultimately Microsoft’s Sway application was chosen to present this traditional learning activity redesigned with digital tools. The secondary school where this interactive story will be utilises the entire Microsoft suite of programs. It is an application the students and teachers are familiar with and will not require teaching on how to read this book. Familiarity played a role, as did Sway’s programming features. Sway is a cloud-based, story-telling application that is easier to use than PowerPoint and allows for more narrative devices, hyperlinks and audio features.

The interactive book will break the writing up, using a reading technique called chunking, where larger sections of text are ‘chucked’ to make the text more manageable (Facing History and Ourselves, 2020). This helps to ensure students are not overwhelmed by the number of words as well as make it easier for them to arrange and synthesise information. There will also be the option to have sections of text delivered audibly if required. Research shows that having a text read aloud helps the student develop their information processing skills, their vocabulary and comprehension (Center for Teaching, n.d.).  Also included in the interactive book will be hyperlinked to further information to assist comprehension. Links to have definitions and pronunciations along with clarification on meanings of phrases and additional images to aid connection to the setting.

Poe’s original poem has a reading score of 14, making it suitable for 19-20-year-olds—according to the Flesch Kincaid Reading Ease (WebFX, 2020). While some scaffolding will be required for all students to gain comprehension, the reading age of the students with Specific Learning Disorders in level 9 is significantly lower. The cohort includes students diagnosed with Dyslexia, processing difficulties and language disorders. Hazzard (2016) states that being read to increases, the comprehension attained for students. It is anticipated that having the poem read aloud to them as many times as they choose will achieve this comprehension increase.

This interactive story compliments Level 9 of the Victorian Curriculum F-10 for English which includes the descriptor VCELT438. ‘Analyse texts from familiar and unfamiliar contexts, and discuss and evaluate their content and the appeal of an individual author’s literary style (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority [VCAA], 2020).  Students will analyse Poe’s poem Annabel Lee and examine how he used devices such as imagery and symbolism and how that has an effect on audiences today. Another descriptor that will be linked to this unit is VCELA428. Investigate how evaluation can be expressed directly and indirectly using devices, including allusion, evocative vocabulary and metaphor (VCAA, 2020). Students will compare the language used in Annabel Lee to another text that uses evaluative language and how that comparison directs the views of the readers.

References

Center for Teaching. (n.d.). What are the benefits of reading aloud? https://teach.its.uiowa.edu/sites/teach.its.uiowa.edu/files/docs/docs/What_are_the_Benefits_of_Reading_Aloud_ed.pdf

Facing History and Ourselves. (2020). Teaching strategies: Chunking. https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/chunking#:~:text=%E2%80%9CChunking%20the%20text%E2%80%9D%20simply%20means,students%20have%20used%20this%20strategy.

Hazzard, K. (2016). The Effects of Read Alouds on Student Comprehension. Education Masters. 351. https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1360&context=education_ETD_masters

Law, R. (1922). A Source for Annabel Lee. The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 21(2), 341-346. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27702645

United States Copyright Office. (2011). Duration of Copyright. https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ15a.pdf

WebFX. (2020). Readability test tool. https://www.webfx.com/tools/read-able/flesch-kincaid.html

VCAA. (2020). Level 9, In Victorian Curriculum Foundation-10. https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/level9?layout=1&d=E

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September 4

Digital Storytelling Proposal

Proposal topic:

To create a digital version of Edgar Allen Poe’s poem ‘Annabel Lee’ and differentiate the level 9 English curriculum for students with Specific Learning Disorders.

Digital tools:

The story will use Microsoft’s Sway program as a base to allow for the inclusion of text, images, hyperlinks, narration and video. From there it is hoped to use video editing software such as Filmora9 to overlay the static background with animation and music. Before exporting as a MP4 file. The aim of using a MP4 file is to allow access from home in the advent of remote learning or at school.

 

Rationale:

The digital retelling of Edgar Allen Poe’s poem Annabel Lee is intended for students with Specific Learning Disorders in year 9 in a Victorian school. All students will be looking into Poe’s work and in particular, Annabel Lee, which has a readability score of 14—suitable for 19-20-year-olds—according to the Flesch Kincaid Reading Ease (WebFX, 2020). Scaffolding of tasks is required for these students, as all have a Personal Learning Plan. Their learning needs are varied, and the cohort includes students diagnosed with Dyslexia, processing difficulties and language disorders.

The learning needs of these year nine students vary, but their approximate reading age is around 13 years, making Annabel Lee extremely difficult for them to comprehend. Research does state, that being read to increases the comprehension attained for students (Hazzard, 2016). For this reason, this digital retelling will include the text alongside optional read aloud verses and imagery. There will be links for students to select to hear the verses audibly, hyperlinks throughout for word definitions and examples and a Dyslexia friendly font of Veranda will be used, along with images to aid connection to the setting.

Several storytelling digital tools were trialled before Sway was selected for use. Microsoft’s program Sway can be viewed on multiple devices and does not require students to sign in to view the contents once shared. The program allows integration of the necessary technology for this digital storytelling, with the ability to include narration, video and hyperlinks. The school also supports the Microsoft suite of programs, and all are installed on student devices for ease of access.

References

Hazzard, K. (2016). The Effects of Read Alouds on Student Comprehension. Education Masters. 351. https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1360&context=education_ETD_masters

WebFX. (2020). Readability test tool. https://www.webfx.com/tools/read-able/flesch-kincaid.html

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August 20

Critical Reflection of Digital Literature Experiences

It is fair to say I was filled with self-assurance when beginning my digital literature experience this semester. I was confident that I had a solid understanding of what a digital text was and its applied benefits in the field of education. I began perusing links and suggestions before discovering a wealth of various forms of digital literature, some that I struggled to comprehend and others that blew me away with their creativity and coding. It appears I had drastically underestimated my knowledge. Lamb’s (2011) definition of what constitutes a book assisted in my development, with a book being defined as ‘a published collection of related pages or screens’. With that definition and contemplating Walsh’s (2013) features of digital narratives, especially his point on ‘scrolling or ‘mouseover’ effects, I began to grasp how much scope was possible.

What stood out dramatically was the range in the quality of these digital texts. Students need to be engaged with their reading material if the quality of the writing is not evident; it will not matter if the version is digital with all the bells and whistles if the content is substandard. I love to read hard copy novels, the scent of the paper, the sound of turning pages, holding something substantial in my hands. That said, however, I read mostly in digital. Digital literature usually is cheaper, easier to access and are convenient to carry around. I like highlighting and accessing hyperlinks, and it is practical to jump from what is being read to researching words or definitions in another screen. I cannot imagine giving a hard copy away for good, but both have their place.

 

The cognitive research conducted by Gardner (as cited in Lane, n.d.) suggests that students have various ways of learning, remembering and understanding, so need to be taught in ways that support these differences. These multiple intelligences align well with the benefits of digital literature. As stated by Neumann, Finger and Neumann (2016), digital texts can stimulate visual, auditory, kinaesthetic and tactile senses. At the same time, Lamb (2011) explains that eBooks benefit children with learning difficulties and English as second language learners. Digital text provides learners with the ability to hear words and sentences pronounced out loud, read definitions, use digital sticky notes to annotate that display inferencing and analysis and as suggested by Scharaldi (2020) even change the font of the text to one such as Open Dyslexic typeface.

While discovering the diverse range of digital literature available, I came across a number that amazed me for their beauty, depth of story and integrated technology. The one that surprised me the most was Core Values, a digital poem written by Benjamin Laird (2017). This poem surrounds you, incorporates you into it and draws you into another world. The words to this poem scroll across your vision, ensuring that your gaze follows its movements. However, this piece raised in me a concern. It was hard to read; for all its attraction, it was challenging to follow. I realised that Core Values had a readability issue.  Bouchardon and Heckman (2012) believe that digital literature can present several problems, including readability, they suggest that hypertextual navigation contributes to disorientation and compromises the reading. This is significant and should be kept in mind by educators, a poem such as Core Values could be used in a senior classroom as a comparison piece. Still, the difficulty in reading should be highlighted as a potential issue.  

Ascent from Akeron does not have a readability this issue. There is an ease to reading it that differs substantially to Core Values. This interactive graphic novel, written by William Maher releases a frame only when clicked or mouseover’ed by the reader (Maher, 2019). This feature ensures that the reader is in complete control of the events unfolding and that they can read at a pace that suits them. Applications for this piece in the classroom are vast. I could easily see a unit of work built around this graphic novel for use in a year 9 or 10 classes.  An introduction to graphic novel features and metalanguage would begin the unit before reading the four episodes from Ascent from Akeron. This would start a building of knowledge that would include annotating frames, discussing literary devices and analysis of language before moving onto a creative writing piece where the students would write a fifth episode in the series. A unit such as this could assist the students in achieving outcomes for the Victorian Curriculum F-10 in year 9 English in VCELA429, VCELT447, VCELT448 and VCELY450 (VCAA, 2020d).

All I know at the moment is the world of digital literature is evolving and growing rapidly, and if I want to gain back my self-assurance on all things digital, I had better keep searching and reading.

 

References

Heckman, D. & Bourchardon, S. (2012). Digital manipulability and digital literature. Electronic Book Review. http://www.electronicbookreview.com/thread/electropoetics/heuristic

Lamb, A. (2011). Reading redefined for a transmedia universe. Learning and Leading with Technology, 39(3), 12-17. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=67371172&site=ehost-live

Laird, B. (2017). Core values [Digital literature]. https://poetry.codetext.net/core-values/

Lane, C. (n.d.). The distance learning technology resource guide. https://www.tecweb.org/styles/gardner.html

Maher, W. (Author), & Garcia, G. (Illustrator). (2019). Ascent from Akeron [Interactive graphic novel]. https://www.ascentfromakeron.com/   

Neumann, M., Finger, G., & Neumann, D. (2016). A conceptual framework for emergent digital literacy. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45(4), 471-479. doi: 10.1007/s10643-016-0792-z   

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2020d). Victorian Curriculum: Foundation-10; English: Level 9. https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/english/english/curriculum/f-10?layout=1&y=9&s=R&s=W&s=SL

Walsh, M. (2013). Literature in a digital environment (Ch. 13). In L. McDonald (Ed.), A literature companion for teachers. Marrickville, NSW: Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA).  https://doms.csu.edu.au/csu/file/863c5c8d-9f3f-439f-a7e3-2c2c67ddbfa8/1/ALiteratureCompanionforTeachers.pdf  

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August 20

Digital Literature Review: Dunggula

Dunggula is a digital touch book based on an Aboriginal creation story about the Murray River. It is a story that has been shared orally and passed down through the generations. This interpretation was a combined effort of primary students and the Sharing Stories Foundation. Dunggula is a curious mix of images. The children’s drawings are rudimentary but capture the essence of the story perfectly. They are then animated and move across the screen. Interspersed between this are aerial images of the land. The story is simplistic in nature but in listening to it in the language of its creation gives it true power to engage the listener and reader.

The story is spoken in part in the Aboriginal language of Bangerang and partly in English. Spoken by Roland Atkinson a member of the Bangerang community (Australian Government, 2019). His uncle Sandy Atkinson was considered the custodian of the story before his passing. Keeping this ancient and vanishing language alive is of vital importance to Atkinson and that emotion is in evidence in the recording of it for Dunggula. The creating of the story has now brought a new motivation to the community with a 700-word dictionary of Bangerang language being produced. Future generations will be able to learn this historic language thanks to Dunggula.

Dunggula uses student-created artworks, animations, sound designs and drone footage in its version. It tells the story of the creation of the Murray River and the journey of Gunyuk, a wise old Bangerang woman who meets with the god Baiami, to request water for her people. Baiami, sends the rainbow serpent to make a riverbed before delivering rain that fills the Dunggula (the Murray River).

Sharing Stories, the foundation behind Dunggula, works with multiple Aboriginal communities to help children and elders record ancient creation stories in various digital formats for use in their communities (Sharing Stories, 2020). With permission from the elders, some of those stories are then utilised for educational purposes. The books they produce, combine old and new effortlessly to create something that will help preserve the rich Aboriginal history for generations to come.

The making of Dunggula saw a lovely melding of cultures in which 12 Indigenous children chose 12 non-indigenous children to partner with. The children were then taken to key sites around the Murray River and immersed in the story by elders from the community (Bock, 2020). The students used a combination of old and new including drawing and painting, Photoshop and Garage Band to produce an imaginative multidimensional story.

While rudimentary, the artworks in Dunggula appear tactile and give the impression of paper rather than of a digital media. While current research suggests that there is little difference in comprehension between paper and screens, consumer reports do state that modern devices fail to recreate the tangible experience people enjoy (Jabr, 2013). Dunggula’s textured appearance goes a long way to connect with this experience.

Dunggula has a wealth of application potential for every classroom. The Victorian curriculum English strand for year 7 includes the descriptor VCELA370 (VCAA, 2020). This content descriptor requires the students to learn to analyse how point of view is generated in visual texts, comparing choices for point of view in animations and experimenting with digital storytelling. Tasks could be built around the students listening to and reading Dunggula. Before moving on to create a digital story themselves.

There are also a number of cross-curriculum priorities that can be met utilising Dunggula. In levels 7 and 8 alone, the book when built into a unit of work could assist in helping the students achieve outcomes in Media Arts, Visual Arts, and Civics and Citizenship (VCAA, 2020c). In Visual Arts at level 7 and 8, students could explore the techniques, technologies and processes used throughout Dunggula to meet the content descriptor VCAVAE034.

A digital touch book such as Dunggula definitely closes the gap between what is a book and what is an audio-visual resource. As defined by Lamb (2011) a book is a published collection of related pages or screens. Dunggula meets that criteria but how close to the line can other books go. Readers today want books that entertain them, that allow them to be immersed in the material in a similar way they are immersed in online gaming (Larson, 2009). Dunggula does this in a highly simplistic manner. With its childlike imagery and ideas, this books is produced by children, aimed at children and will help them all to context with the topic.

References

Australian Government. (2019). IY2019: Primary students bring Murray River story to life. Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications. https://www.arts.gov.au/departmental-news/iy2019-primary-students-bring-murray-river-story-life

Bock, A. (2020). Children and elders go digital to tell ancient Indigenous stories. https://www.smh.com.au/national/children-and-elders-go-digital-to-tell-ancient-indigenous-stories-20200120-p53t0g.html

Jabr, F. (2013). The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-screens/

Lamb, A. (2011). Reading redefined for a transmedia universe. Learning and Leading with Technology, 39(3), 12-17. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=67371172&site=ehost-live

Larson, L.C. (2009). Digital literacies. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 53(3), 255-258. http://newcenturynewreaders.pbworks.com/f/Digital+Literacies.pdf

Sharing Stories Foundation. (2020). About us. In Sharing Stories Foundation website. https://sharingstoriesfoundation.org/about-us/

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2020). Victorian Curriculum: Foundation-10; English: Level 10. https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/level10

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2020c). Victorian Curriculum: Foundation-10; Cross-curriculum priorities. https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/static/docs/Learning%20about%20Aboriginal%20and%20Torres%20Strait%20Islander%20histories%20and%20cultures.pdf

 

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April 10

Selection and acquistions

Morris and Silbert (2011), cover the issues around electronic resources quite extensively in Acquiring ebooks. From detailing the various types of e-resources available, to how to maintain an electronic collection. The area that intrigued me the most was the issue of choosing between the various access models. Naturally, when reading a chapter such as this, my mind turns to how I can apply that in the library where I work. We currently use e-textbooks and some e-reference books, but we have yet to make the move to e-books or traditional monographs, as they are referred to in the text. The reasons for not including e-books among our collection are long and varied. Thoughts of how to include them in the future, occupy my thinking. Simultaneous user access models as described by Morris and Silbert are one way to access e-books from a publisher. The multiple-user model allows a specified number of users to access the resource at one time, while single use access allows for one user to access at any one time (Morris & Silbert, 2011). Personally I would lean toward the single use access, mainly as this would mimic how libraries and their patrons have traditionally accessed their collection. E-books can be ‘checked out’  for a given amount of time, once that times expires, the book disappears from the users account. The multiple use model would have a higher cost per item, as much as 50% more (Morris & Silbert, 2011). It is worth considering, I think research into to existing user needs and their borrowing patterns would need to be considered first.

References

Morris, C. & Sibert, L. Chapter 6, Acquiring ebooks. In S. Polanka (Ed.), No shelf required: E-books in libraries [ALA Editions version] (Chapter 6, pp. 95-124). Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/lib/csuau/detail.action?docID=598919

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