Digital Storytelling

Ever since I got my Macbook, I have wanted to make use of the iMovie application.  When I first saw the words, "Digital Storytelling,"  I had no idea what to expect.  I was envisioning something along the lines of narration with a slide show or something similar to the "In Plain English" videos.  I was excited to realize that it involved the iMovie app.  When thinking of a topic, I knew I wanted to make it on a city I had visited.  Then, I decided to do it on the French city I called home for four months last fall, Nantes, France.   This way, I wouldn't have to worry about violating copyright rules by using internet pictures, and I could use photos from my personal collection. 

The actual process of making the movie was pretty straightforward.  I only had a couple problems with text not fitting on the space provided.  In the end, I think my movie turned out pretty good.  Being that it was my first "Digital Story,"  i know that if I were to make another, it would be even better.  I can see many possibilities with this tool.  Especially in a foreign language room, this could be a great tool to give virtual tours of different cities!

Here is the link to my Digital Story about Nantes: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U435axfzjgQ&feature=g-upl

Digital Diagrams

This is what my unfinished diagram looks like!

Digital diagrams were never something I have really had much exposure to.  I guess we used them in science classes to better visualize processes and things like that.  It actually took me a little bit to find a French topic I was satisfied with to make a digital diagram.  My first idea was verbs.  I was going to use irregular verbs and put them into the three categories of "IR," "ER," and "RE." Unfortunately, I soon realized that it would not be a very interesting chart since most of the irregular verbs are very difficult to describe with a picture.  So, I looked in the French I textbook I had checked out for help.  I found a perfect diagram in the book of all four seasons and the activities one can do in each.  Perfect!  Making a digital diagram was much easier than I expected it to be, and I think it would actually benefit French students if used in a productive way. 

Digital Diagrams and Storybird

First, last Thursday, we started to briefly talk about digital diagrams, and I'm excited to start to work on my own.  It seem like it would be really useful in an elementary school, but I'm hoping I can figure out a way to make it work for foreign language as well. 

The other thing we worked on last week was Storybird, which I thought was a really fun tool!  I loved the different artworks, and even though I do see it being used more in preschools and elementary schools, I was already thinking of an assignment.  I could have the students write short stories in French and present them to their classmates. It's obviously not planned out, but I could see myself using it!  The storybird team did a great job presenting even though there was the glitch with the embed link.

I'm finishing up my interactive white board flipchart this weekend, and I'm really excited about it! I could see myself using flipcharts often!

Timetoast & Interactive Whiteboard

First of all, my group presented this past week. I felt like it went really well!  I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be, and I really enjoyed myself.  Afterward, one of my classmates came up to me and told me I'll be a great teacher and that I have a really good voice.  It made me feel really good, and it also made me get really excited about my internship next year! 

Secondly, we've been working with the interactive white boards this week.  My high school never had interactive white boards, and none of my professors at UT had ever really used them.  I think that if I'm lucky enough to be in a school with this technology, that I will really take advantage of them.  While making my story board, I saw endless possibilities for how this tool could be used in a foreign language classroom!  I'm excited to really get into the production of my storyboard, and to get to show my creativity with this project!