Digital storytelling refers to the notion of telling stories using computer-based tools, engaging a variety of multimedia to enhance the experience (University of Houston, 2013a, para. 1). This resource tells the story of ‘Fish in a Tree’ by Lynda Mullaly Hunt (2015) using animation, images and hyperlinks. Following the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), only Chapter 6 of the text is retold in this digital format. This digital storytelling resource is aimed at Stage 3 (NSW) students who are fluent or almost fluent readers. It has been created to align with NSW English K-10 Syllabus outcomes EN3-3A and EN3-7C (NSW Education Standards Authority, 2012, p.15).
This resource has been designed to provide a student-centred learning activity that can be used independently during a reading groups session, as a whole-class modelled reading lesson on an Interactive Whiteboard or as an independent activity to be completed by students at home. By Stage 3, it becomes apparent that the majority of students are learning about reading rather than to read. Therefore, it is critical that teachers consider the gradual release of responsibility model when planning reading group sessions (Nicholas, 2018).
Fig. 1 The Gradual Release of Responsibility model (Nicholas, 2018)
Whilst the teacher leads a small group, teaching them at their level (guided reading), the rest of the class must have activities to complete that inspire their learning, can be completed independently and are engaging. This digital storytelling resource can be used for this purpose. Furthermore, it could also be displayed on an Interactive Whiteboard to stimulate class discussion during a modelled reading lesson, leading into a writing lesson.
The lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the need for innovative methods of teaching that met the relevant syllabus outcomes whilst motivating students to complete tasks independently, with minimal instruction. Learning resources also needed to be easily transmittable and easy to use despite technological ability. Prior to the COVID-19 lockdowns, learning resources such as this were also required for students with complex medical needs who required long absences from school. The use of Sway for this digital story negates the needs for anything to be transmitted apart from a URL. Through the use of Google Classroom (or email if necessary), the URL can be easily shared with students. The use of the slide setting within Sway allows the digital story to progress logically with a click of a button, reducing the need for complex technological skills.
To support students with diverse learning needs, the animations have been broken up into sections. This provides the opportunity for small sections to be discussed at a time rather than waiting until the end of the chapter to have a discussion. Also, images of the coins mentioned in the chapters have been used to assist learners to connect their learning. The mention of the 1933 Walking Liberty half dollar and the Mercury dime (Mullaly Hunt, 2015, pp.31-33) would be appropriate for an American audience; however, given the Australian-based audience, the use of the images assists all students to develop their understanding of the objects being discussed in the text.
During the interactive, “choose an option” section of the learning resource, users are able to use hyperlinks to connect to definitions of words that may be new knowledge for the learner. This allows the students to access the options regardless of their vocabulary knowledge whilst at the same time building their vocabulary further.
Given the increasing population of students with English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D), a future direction of this digital learning resource would be to create additional versions in a number of languages, beginning with Mandarin. As Handayani, et al. (2020, p.65) proved, digital literature is a key motivator of students who are learning English. By creating a resource that could be accessed in their home language as well as in English, students with an EAL/D background could access the same learning as their peers whilst also developing their English skills.
Further to the use of this digital learning resource in the classroom, it could also be used in the wider community. Firstly, subsequent digital stories and learning activities could be created in the same manner as this resource, based on other chapters of the novel (subject to copyright approvals) to be used as independent learning tasks in virtual classrooms as well as brick and mortar classrooms. This learning resource, with activities removed, could also be loaned out of public libraries to any member of the public as a digital story to be read for enjoyment. As mentioned above, the digital aspect of the resource coupled with its potential to be translated easily, makes it beneficial to anyone who is from an EAL/D background who is trying to learn English. The ease with which it can be easily navigated makes it a great resource to be used by independent learners.
Reference List
Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), pt. 3 div. 3 s. 40, 5 (2019). https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
Handayani, S., Youlia, L., Febriani, R. B. & Syafryadin. (2020). The use of digital literature in teaching reading narrative text. Journal of English Teaching, Applied Linguistics and Literatures, 3(2), 65-74.
http://dx.doi.org/10.20527/jetall.v3i2.8445
Mullaly Hunt, L. (2015). Fish in a tree. Penguin Random House.
Nicholas, M. (2018). Teaching approaches and the gradual release of responsibility framework. [Video] YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=974dcaZdjLs.
NSW Education Standards Authority. (2012). English K-10 syllabus. NSW Education Standards Authority.
https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/wcm/connect/50f52d0c-175d-4a8b-a01d-a34f9aa089ce/D2022+570709++watermark_English-k-10-syllabus-2012.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=
University of Houston. (2013a). Educational uses of digital storytelling: What is digital storytelling?
http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/page.cfm?id=27&cid=27
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