Becoming an Author by Sitting in the Director's Chair

Sometimes just the idea of writing scares kids to death. They become overwhelmed faced with a pencil and a blank piece of paper. Students want to tell their story but feel defeated by words that are impossible to spell before they even start. Many times a child is not fluent using paper and pencil. They become frustrated at their inability to express themselves. Often times, they even loose their train of thought due to the mental energy spent on conventions and letter formation. Many students just give up. How many times do teachers hear the following, "I don't know what to write." "I am not good at writing." What students should really be saying is that they are unwilling to take the risk of perhaps exposing themselves and what they don't know.

Once again technology comes through the classroom door in the form of digital storytelling. The teacher now has a motivated community of learners who are becoming authors by sitting in the director's chair. They are not just writing but learning to illustrate by collecting images, recording their voices, scanning and importing. Most importantly, the students are working together with a genuine interest in each others work that instills a positive attitude and empowers student voices. By using multimedia, students are motivated by technology such as iMovie which allows their thoughts and feelings to come alive(Banaszewski, 2002). Creating a digital story helps students to see themselves as authors with a purpose and audience for writing.

Realizing that digital storytelling certainly has its place in the classroom, there are also limitations teachers should be aware of going in. This type of project requires an extraordinary amount of flexibility in how class time is organized. Usually computer time is a premium and students will need to be rotated to work on projects. To create a digital story, students must be taught various technological skills to be successful such as importing images, transitions, recording voices and much more. This is where the digital divide can keep some teachers out of the loop. Effective teachers must first be willing to learn this technology themselves. The answer to this situation like so many others is professional learning support for educators to embrace 21st century learning.