Movie Storyboard

For this week's assignment, we had to submit a storyboard for an upcoming digital story we will be making in class. My movie is going to be entitled: Ode to the teachers! It is a silly poem, written by ME, addressing some of the issues that teachers may face throughout their school day. I thought it was quite applicable since all of us taking IP&T will probably go on to be teachers. I have numerous stanzas with a descriptive picture for each one. I have also collected music clips to add to my presentation.

Poetry is a topic frequently addressed in school, and I think my digital story will be a great teaching tool. First, it gives the students a presentation to listen to and see. It is so important to use several different teaching styles so every student in the classroom feels comfortable. Especially for younger children, they will not fully grasp concepts if they are simply taught from a book. Also, it will encourage my students to think outside the box, to use their imaginations and be creative! If their teacher came up with this silly poem... think of the possibilities for the students! Lastly, my digital story helps me relate with the students on a more personal level. I created this digital story and feel comfortable enough to share it with them. If I am asking them to write their own poems, the least I can do is show them an example and let them know I am not expecting them to do tasks I have not done myself.

As I just mentioned, the representation of the material (i.e. poems) is mulimodal. What does this mean? Certain teaching methods only allow students to read a textbook, study a diagram, listen to a CD, etc. My digital story will be so effective because it achieves several different purposes: students can VIEW the movie, LISTEN to poem and take an active part themselves. Perhaps they forget some of the concepts we discuss in class? As soon as they get home, they can visit the class website and play back the digital story as many times as they need. Repition is always a great teaching tool!