Module 5 : Time for a story

Way before I became a savvy mac user I was introduced to Itunes with the purchase of my first ipod. It was an eye-opening experience. It was so different to any program I had ever used on a PC. But I soon realized it was more than just a way of loading my songs onto my Ipod. There were other options such as downloading music (legally!) not to mention “rereuns” of my favourite radio programs. It has to be my all time favourite program on my mac.

As a parent of a kindy child this year, I'm always on the search for ideas to help us through the journey of being a parent rather than a teacher. I always vowed I wouldn't be one of those teachers who teaches their child relentlessly rather than a parent who enjoys the journey. I found this on my latest surfing journey.

www.dubuque.k12.ia.us/ parents/index.htm

This cartoon really reflects my changed view on the value of storytelling and the endless possibilities for podcasting and vodcasting. As authors, we create a vast range of stories that so often only have an audience of one – the person who is reading our work to assess it and give it a grade. Why not broaden the scope of the audience by using digital storytelling through podcast or vodcast to expand the audience? The world of the old listening post is changing. I can access stories to present to students, wait … I can create my own digital stories for student to listen to and watch.

I’ve always worried about those students who have limited opportunities for storytelling at home albeit due to family structure, time constraints of parents or language background. Can I provide my very own proficient reading model to listen to or watch at home? Who would have thought that we would ever be able to move into a world where I can access favourite stories “retold and performed” on Youtube?

Inspiring students to engage in their learning in meaningful ways that are tangible and relevant learning experiences becomes increasingly possible through this medium. I will take the time to explore using proficient models, and not just adult ones, that are able to engage less competent readers through being able to listen to and view stories in new ways, rather than just the traditional sitting and listening as the teacher or parent reads the story.

The world of Podcasting and Vodcasting has really opened my eyes to new teaching and learning possibilities. I don’t have a class in my current role, but work daily with individual students on the Reading Recovery Program. After completing this module I have learnt new ways to include both Podcasts and Vodcasts into my teaching and learning practice, maybe not so much my daily lessons but to support the students in their class programs and to support them in theor continued reading at home. Looking forward I would like to start to create my own Podcasts for my students to use. I dream a selection of home readers with accompanying reading to listen to!! I would also like to explore ways of students creating their own Podcasts or Vodcasts to engage in digital storytelling. Is it possible that students could recreate the bigbooks and popular picture books we share in early learning classrooms? Or even their own versions of well-known stories?