Show, Tell and Play: School of Education digital storytelling series

This fall semester, the Makerspace in the School of Education is hosting the digital storytelling series "Show, Tell and Play" at the Makerspace in the School of Education in Webster Hall, room 203. This three-part series is designed to encourage teacher candidates to integrate digital media in their lesson plans, emphasizes the need to prepare teaching materials and activities using multimedia content as a way to help students construct media content to express their ideas and themselves.

This series features Darnell Singleton, an award-winning filmmaker, who has produced a variety of content such as hip-hop music videos, television shows, documentaries and films. Faculty will be encouraged to move away from papers and pencils and to add media content such as photographs and videos to meet program learning outcomes.

Associate Professor Basiyr Rodney, chair of the Department of Teacher Education and one of the organizers of this event, emphasizes the need for teachers to prepare teaching materials and activities using multimedia content as a way to help students construct media content to express their ideas and themselves.

Upcoming Sessions

Join us in Webster Hall, room 203, at 1 p.m. 

• Thursday, Oct. 28 | Adobe Premiere Rush: Mobile video editing - Add the element of agile video editing for the classroom using Adobe Premiere Rush
  
• Thursday, Nov. 18 | Flying Cameras, Aerial Photography & Video - Singleton will demonstrate using drone cameras to capture aerial images and videos both on the tabletop and outside of the building. With this technique, teacher candidates will explore video angles and perspectives as tools to enliven lesson plans and classroom activities.

Reflections on Session 1

In the first session on Sept. 23, Singleton showed teacher candidates how to easily and quickly use cellphone cameras and photo printers to capture, organize and share photo stories.

Several faculty attending this event commented on its relevance for today’s educators. Associate Professor Yin Lam Lee-Johnson, director of the Doctor of Education Program, shared her take on the overall series, stating that it helps “to connect faculty, staff, and students for building a sense of belonging among all of us.”

Professor Paula Witkowski, director of the Reading Program, was also impressed with guest videographer Singleton and his demonstration on different lighting techniques and camera angles and how these techniques affect the audience’s attitude toward the subject matter. Witkowski commented on some of the pedagogical ideas that the first session provoked, including having students in her class to use photography for vocabulary lessons, and having students construct phonics lessons using photos as an alternative way to organize and present content.