Edward Tufte, Beautiful Evidence and Julie de Chantal, Digital Storytelling: A Beneficial Tool for Large Survey Courses in History
“The digital storytelling project accounted for 40% of the final course grade, with each of the project milestones evaluated individually. The research proposal was worth 10%, the combined script and storyboards were worth 10%, and the completed documentary was worth 20% of the total grade”(The History Teacher 54, no.4 (August 2021): pp.719)
I think that this speaks to the theme for the week because it shows what we learned about this week but we get to see this in action in the reading for the week. I just thought it was interesting to see the potential that this type of activity has and how it is applied in an actual classroom situation. I also think that this is important to point out because it shows how valuable and how vertical activities like this can be and I think this is also true when it comes to digital storytelling in general. After this quote, the author also mentions that this tactic also allows the students to talk about the material more than once and this is one of the reasons this strategy is so effective.
“Based on primary, secondary, and media resources, as stated, this type of assignment allows students to hone their critical thinking skills, develop their visual and digital literacy skills, and improve their writing skills—all while deepening their engagement with historical narratives”(The History Teacher 54, no.4 (August 2021): pp.726)
I thought that is quote was interesting to the point of the article because it comes from the conclusion of the article and I think this is important because it really explains why this activity is so important in a classroom. The quote itself explains the benefits that have been seen by teachers that have used the strategies and digital tools in the classroom. The author also takes this opportunity in the article to tell the readers all the things that this has done for the students and what it can do for other students in the classroom if this is applied as it was here. I just thought this was interesting to read about because, with all of the data that we can see in the article, we can see this actually works.
“It is possible that these speakers are not evidence-oriented, and are serving up some PP Phluff to mask their lousy content” (Edward Tufte, Beautiful Evidence, Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press, 2006, pp. 185)
This speaks to the overall message of the article and basically sums up what the author is trying to get across the audience. He tells us that using digital tools in the classroom is good but you need to know how to do it right for it actually to work and get across to the classroom and the students. The author also mentions that a PowerPoint done incorrectly can be lazy and when it is lazy and forced can damage your chances as a teacher to get your students to learn, and I think this is important for all teachers to know and all people who want to be teachers to know when teaching.
