Enhancing Writing & Creativity through ICT

1. Imagination Meaning Action Innovation Enhancing Writing & Creativity through ICT Karen.yager@det.nsw.edu.au

2. National Curriculum Goals • Goal 1: • Australian schooling promotes equity and excellence: promote personalised learning that aims to fulfill the diverse capabilities of each young Australian. • Goal 2: • All young Australians become: • successful learners • confident and creative individuals • active and informed citizens

3. Global citizens Considerations Global skills required for the 21st century workforce: • Critical thinking • Problem solving • Innovation • Collaboration • Creativity • Connectivism through technology

4. Global citizens Considerations Quality learning enables students to: • Engage • Examine and explore • Enrich and extend • Create and construct • Apply • Communicate and share • Reflect and evaluate

5. 21st Century Pedagogy - Connectivism • Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known • Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill • Learning is a process of connecting information sources • Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions • Learning may reside in non-human appliances • Decision-making is itself a learning process • Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities • Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality

6. Why ICT? ‘Today’s digital kids think of information and communications technology (ICT) as something akin to oxygen: They expect it, it’s what they breathe, and it’s how they live; They use ICT to meet, play, date, and learn; It’s an integral part of their social life; It’s how they acknowledge each other and form their personal identities’ (John Seely-Brown).

7. Warning!!! “Students often find it difficult to maintain balance between the design and technology aspects of the creative learning process. Technology can become an obstacle to learning, especially when a student is first exposed to a new and/or novel technology. The student may become too focused on the technology and neglect the need for developing creative ideas…creativity drives technology” (Mohler).

8. Warning “Technology does not directly change teaching or learning. Rather, the critical element is how technology is incorporated into instruction” (Bracewell and Faferriere (1996) We can connect with our students by incorporating technology in assessment.

9. The Research • Marry Creativity & Innovation • Deep knowledge & deep understanding • Integrate problematic knowledge and include student direction • Process first then product • Create the environment for creativity • Coyle and Colvin’s research concludes that the brain is phenomenally plastic, and that we construct ourselves through behaviour. As Coyle observes, it’s not who you are, it’s what you do. • Hattie & Dinham’s research attests to the significance of direct instruction and scaffolding the learning • Creativity is connected to what is already known

10. CREATIVITY FLUENCY - generating many ideas FLEXIBILITY - shifting perspective easily ORIGINALITY - conceiving something new PURPOSE- Vision AUDIENCE - Context ELABORATION - building on other ideas EVALUATION: Critical reflection

11. Creativity • Pose questions or state learning goals • Teach explicitly the skills and knowledge • Integrate open-ended, authentic assessment • Encourage risk-taking • Use technology

12. Why ICT & Writing? • Confidence: spelling and handwriting • Vocabulary: synonyms, definitions • Refinement: Editing, spell check, peer marking, publishing • Creativity: Images, sound, video clips…

13. Improving Writing To improve the quality of student writing: • Explicitly and systematically teach the structure and language demands of the writing task • Focus on audience and purpose • Explicitly teach the thinking processes involved in writing • Immerse students in examples of the required style of writing • Model and jointly construct texts • Use guided and independent practice • Employ peer and self reflection

14. Creativity • Start with concepts not texts: • Characterisation • Representation • Contextualisation • Narrative Voice • Craft or Artistry • Perception • Appropriation • Hybridity

15. Conceptual Model Focus Topic/Subject/Context/Outcomes Concept + Key Question or Essential Learning Statement Overarching idea of the unit (Deep knowledge) Key Ideas + Question What students will learn by the end of the unit (Deep knowledge) Key Ideas + Question Reflect intent of the outcomes and concept (Deep knowledge) Key Ideas + Question (Deep knowledge) Outcomes and Assessment (Deep understanding, Problematic knowledge, Higher-order thinking, Explicit quality criteria) Demonstration of key learning ideas - Not too many! Pre-testing/Pre-assessment (Background knowledge - connections to prior learning) Brainstorming, Graphic organisers – KWL, mind mapping, Y chart, Lotus diagram. Quiz Teaching Strategies Learning Activities Explicit Literacy & Numeracy Strategies Teaching Strategies Learning Activities Integrated ICT Teaching Strategies Learning Activities Explicit / Systematic Building the Field Teaching Strategies Learning Activities Connected & Scaffolded Teaching Strategies Learning Activities Scaffolds / Models – annotated Resources: Rich texts

16. Quality Assessment • What do the students need to learn? • Why does it matter? • What do they already know? • What do I want the students to do or produce to demonstrate their learning and understanding? • How will they get there? • How well do I expect them to do it?

17. Programming with DER: Stage 5 English • NSW English Stage 5 Outcomes: 1, 4 & 6 • Naplan Data: Audience and structure noted as a concern • HSC Feedback: Boys struggling with Paper Section II - Writing • Concept: Craft: The qualities of an effective narrative – “Stories are the lifeblood of a nation” (Garth Boomer). • Key Question: How do we craft a narrative that is engaging and affective? • Key Ideas: • The power of imagery and figurative devices in writing to engage and move the reader – “Words are like ants...nothing can penetrate into the cracks and gaps of life as thoroughly or as fast as words can” (Orhan Pamuk). • How the structure of a narrative can enhance the quality of a narrative • The importance of close editing

18. Programming with DER: Stage 5 English • Lesson delivery: • All notes, hyperlinks and sample digital narratives in One Note • Narrative typed in word and all editing done through spell check, synonym check (right click on the word) • Drafts uploaded to class wiki or blog for peer comments • Students access online module on how to use Premier, Word or Power Point to make digital narratives (can be already loaded to One Note from TaLe)

19. Writing and ICT “Stories now are open-ended, branching, hyperlinked, cross-media, participatory, exploratory, and unpredictable. And they are told in new ways: Web 2.0 storytelling picks up these new types of stories and runs with them, accelerating the pace of creation and participation while revealing new directions for narratives to flow” (Bryan Alexander and Alan Levine).

20. Digital Text • A digital timeline • A life-story • A podcast • Multiple endings • Alternative perspectives • A soundscape • A digital poem • A news report • A travel tale: Google Earth

21. Narratives for the future… Digital Storytelling • “Every community has a memory of itself.A living memory, an awareness of a collective identity woven of a thousand stories.” • Craft or artistry • Construction • Hybridity • Narrative Voice • Perception • Faction

22. The Steps • Students create a folder • Craft the text – word limit! • Storyboard • Find or shoot the images that enhance the text or film the text • Record reading of text on MP3 or microphone • Download any sounds or music or video clips

23. The Steps • The micro-story: 30 – 50 words • Extreme close-up on the word and then the sentence! • Focus on imagery and the verbs • 25 letter alphabet • Focus on structure: subverting the narrative structure

24. The Steps • Students use a storyboard to plan story, transitions and effects • http://celtx.com/: easy to use free software that has outstanding storyboard models and scaffolds for students

25. The Sites • http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/audiovideo/sites/about/pages/howto.shtml • http://www.digi-tales.org/ • http://www.photobus.co.uk/index.php?id=2 • http://www.changinglives.com.au/2008/04/abrar-autumn-and-i.html • http://www.dipity.com/ - Digital timeline

26. NAPLAN & the Digital Narrative

27. Ten criteria: • Audience: 0-6 • Text structure: 0-4 • Ideas: 0-5 • Character & setting: 0-4 • Vocabulary: 0-5 • Cohesion: 0-4 • Paragraphing: 0-2 • Sentence structure: 0-6 • Punctuation: 0-5 • Spelling: 0- 6

28. Audience • Orient, engage and affect the reader • Form and conventions • Sophistication: A twist, irony, subversion through the unexpected

29. Digital Storytelling • Designed for a specific purpose and audience • Design process with its planning, storyboarding and selecting images and sound continually forces students to consider the quality and impact of the digital narrative • Selecting images and sound focuses students on the genre and form • Peer marking encourages a focus on audience

30. Digital Storytelling Activities • Using writers to model effective writing. Such as Winton • Spotlight on aspects of writing: setting & characterisation • Micro-stories • Sentence of the week • Asking students to compose a narrative and then change its genre. E.g. Three little pigs, hyperlinked to a western version and then linked to a science fiction version • Peer and self editing • Story boarding

31. Structure • Organisation of a narrative: orientation, complication, resolution, coda • Sophisticated: flashback, different perspectives, circular, parallel, stream of consciousness, moral, reflection

32. The Basic Structure

33. Digital Storytelling • Brevity of narrative (300-word max.) and planning process highlights the significance of structure. • Choosing images invites students to introduce a leitmotif or theme; especially if this is a component of the assessment task. • As it encourages creativity , students are more likely to ‘play’ with the structure.

34. Digital Storytelling Activities • Mind maps or a planning sheet for a narrative • Composing the same narrative with different complications and resolutions. In power point or word a hyperlink could be used for each change. (Choose your own adventure) • Composing the same narrative using a range of structures such as circular or two different perspectives • Assessment task requires students to have a coda or significant message, and an unusual structure

35. Ideas • Creation, selection and crafting • Sophisticated: world view, maturity, extended metaphor, satire, motifs

36. Digital Storytelling & Activities • Stipulated in assessment task that narrative must feature one or two significant ideas and at least one metaphor, motif or simile that reflects the idea/s • Mind maps where students suggest a range of topics and class brainstorms the significant ideas that arise • Revisit figurative devices and symbolism

37. Character & Setting • Portrayal & development of character; OR • Development of a sense of time & place • Sophisticated: atmosphere, authentic dialogue, relationships

38. Characterisation • Dialogue and voice • Eyes • Action or inaction • Idiosyncrasies • Talismans • How they move in their setting • Relationships • Voice • Perspectives and values

39. Setting & the Atmosphere – The Senses • Creating an uncomfortable atmosphere

40. Digital Storytelling • Atmosphere: colour, symbolism and descriptions appropriate to genre and purpose enhanced by use of graphics and images – focus on the senses! • Characterisation: tightness of digital narrative forces students to focus on the crafting of the characters’ dialogue and representation

41. Vocabulary • Range & precision of language choices • Sophisticated: effective figurative and sound devices, powerful verbs, adverbs and adjectives, reflects the genre

42. Punctuation & Spelling Digital Storytelling • Accuracy and precision: E.g. direct speech and apostrophes used correctly • Sophistication: E.g. ellipsis, difficulty of words, such as: multisyllabic and foreign words • Spell and grammar check, synonyms

43. Cohesion & Digital Story telling • Connecting, linking & developing the narrative • Sophisticated: effective connectives, continuity of ideas, recurrent motif or theme • Digital Storytelling: Focus on topic sentences, connectives and include as part of the assessment task the need for a leitmotif or theme

44. Paragraphing & Sentences Paragraphing: • Segmenting of narrative • Sophisticated: Deliberately drives the pace, topic sentences, varying paragraph length such as a single sentence paragraph Sentences: • Sound and meaningful • Sophisticated: lexical density and variety of beginnings and length, such as: complex, simple, compound

45. Digital Storytelling • Assessment task must specify that the digital narrative includes figurative and sound devices • Crafting a narrative in 300-words encourages ‘showing’ not ‘telling’ as there is no room for boring details • Thesaurus and using Google word search encourages students to include sophisticated words • Vocabulary clines, word bingo, word meaning checklist

46. Twitter texts • Novels in 3 Lines: http://twitter.com/novelsin3lines: Invented by Fénéon, these miniaturized, epigrammatic texts are highly compressed, self-contained stories. • Can be created easily using Twitter • Focuses students on crafting tight, evocative sentences ‘Stories applied with tweezers and delineated with a single-hair brush…’

47. Imaginative Engagement • Google image, picture books • Video clips from Youtube or films: the trailers of films or a short clip from Australian Screen or Film Australia can be used to stimulate writing • Google Earth for real settings!

48. Project-based learning • The concept • The question • The research: locate, evaluate and synthesise • Probing questions • The presentation • Supposition

49. Project-based learning • Concept: Resonance • Question: Why do people continue to reject Shakespeare’s plays? • The tools: • Online survey: http://www.zoomerang.com/ • Vox pops • Blog • Internet • The Product: Wiki, Ning, Moodle, short film, digital report…

50. Representation • Digital representation of a Shakespearian sonnet or a character • Curio box for a character in power point or Photostory accompanied by a recount or personal response • http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/#