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Digital Stories

I think digital stories are a great way to let students have fun learning and reporting their information. A lot of kids would rather make something with pictures, music, and a less formal atmosphere than write a lengthy typed report. It's also a lot more interesting to check out a peer's digital story than to listen to them read a report in monotone or read their report yourself. Digital stories add my dimensions and teach more skills than just structuring an essay and basic writing skills. These are valuable skills too, because if an adult wants to present an idea, share information, or report back to a group of people, he will be best served by creating something interesting, creative, and dynamic.

I would integrate this by letting students substitute digital stories for many activities, including the following:

-Book reports
-Show and Tell
-Science lab reports
-Essays on unit topic
-Portfolio to show parents and relatives

among others. I wouldn't eliminate paperwork, because those are very important skills as well. However, this is a great way to make it easier for students to become engaged in their learning and be motivated to find more information to put into their project. They can be proud of a digital story and impress their family easily with these skills.