Sharing Journeys through Digital Storytelling: EDUC 5333 Blog 1

 Hello to my education community! Let me introduce myself! My name is Liz Henderson. I am married to my high school sweetheart and have two beautiful daughters. I am an Oklahoma State University grad, and I’ve been working in education in some capacity since 2004. I started as a middle school math teacher and high school math teacher for summer school. During that time, I had my two children, which shaped how I taught. Then, I moved to my current district, where I taught Pre-k through 12th grade, all subjects, through personalized learning plans. Currently, I am the Intervention Supplemental Curriculum Specialist, a role that allows me to focus on supporting students with diverse learning needs. I am also working toward a Master’s Degree in Educational Technology. However, my family is my greatest achievement, so here is a picture of us at Disney World (with an extra friend; we brought her along this trip):

I am currently taking a class on Digital Storytelling. For that class, we need to find a topic that we will use to create a digital story. The idea I am leaning towards is featuring my two daughters. My youngest daughter was born with Retinoblastoma, a rare eye cancer that has left her blind in one eye. I’m thinking of telling her story about the struggles and successes that she has had during the process. I’d also like to include my older daughter and see how watching her sister go through treatment has affected her, and then tie it all back into how they can use their experiences to help others.                      

While reading for this class, I realized I have much to consider. One thing I learned was that I will need to come up with some specific questions and use those to guide the direction of my story. I will also need to consider follow-up questions and make it more of a narrative  (Lambert, J. 2010). In addition, I learned that DST has research showing that it helped in academic achievement for English Language Learners, and therefore could be an effective intervention for those students that are sent to my intervention team with ELL concerns (Kubravi, S. U., Shah, S. O., & Jan, K., 2018). To help with that, I will use the “Take Action” ideas from the article “Digital Storytelling Revisited: An Educator's Use of an Innovative Literacy Practice,” pictured below (Shelby-Caffey, C., Ubeda, E., and Jenkins, B. 2018).” 

            

    In conclusion, I am excited to explore the power of digital storytelling through this class and my upcoming project. By sharing the personal journey of my daughters, I hope to create a meaningful narrative that not only highlights their resilience but also provides insights into how their experiences can inspire and support others. This will help students impact others, and I my hope is that my colleagues feel they can share bits of their personal life with their students through DST which will in turn give a connection between students and teachers that will allow empathy. This project is an opportunity to blend my personal life with my professional focus on education, while also applying new skills that could benefit the students I serve, especially English Language Learners. I look forward to seeing where this journey takes me and how it will deepen my understanding of digital storytelling as both a creative and educational tool.

Sources:

Kubravi, S. U., Shah, S. O., & Jan, K. (2018). Digital Story Telling: The Impact on Student Academic Achievement, Critical Thinking and  Learning Motivation. International Journal of Research in Engineering, Science and Management, 1(12), 787–791. https://doi.org/2581-5792

Lambert, J. (2010). Digital Storytelling Cookbook. Center for Digital Story Telling. Open Education Resource.

Shelby-Caffey, C., Ubeda, E., and Jenkins, B. (2018). Digital Storytelling Revisited: An Educator's Use of and Innovative Literacy Practice. The Reading Teacher, 68(3), 191-199. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24573725