Movie Maker Article

I read and reviewed the article "Digital Storytelling Finds Its Place in the Classroom" by Tom Banaszewski. In his article, Banaszewski, an educator to older elementary students, explains how he incorporates digital storytelling into what he calls his "Place Project." For this project, his students compose a writing piece on an important place and turn it into a movie. To further develop his students' writing and make sure there was a clear beginning, middle, and end, Banaszewski asked probing questions about the place they selected. Banaszewski also discusses the importance of trust in the Digital Storytelling process. The classroom must be a risk free environment where students feel comfortable sharing their ideas in order for digital storytelling to really take off.

He also outlines several challenges that present themselves throughout this process. To begin with, teachers really must surrender control to be effective leaders of digital storytelling. Due to the creative nature of the work, the students need to be the directors every step of the way. Also, by nature, digital storytelling is a time-consuming process especially when students are first learning about the technology. Timetables can vary wildly from student to student as they move through a long-term movie-making project. Teachers must have supplementary activities available for early finishers. Most importantly, Banaszewski explains that the technology component must take a back seat to the storytelling process. The finished products that some out of his "Place Project" never cease to amaze him1