Digital storytelling is another opportunity to grab our student's interest and engage them in learning. By creating a "movie" instead of an essay, we are merging the ages-old art of story telling with today's cutting edge, easily accessible technology. The root of digital storytelling is still the story. The academic purpose of creating a such a project is quality writing and mastery of information. Creating a digital storyboard allows students another option for demonstrating mastery at the end of a unit.
I believe that the kit we are putting together for class will be the key to success when students are creating such a project. Having the resources ready will circumvent many of the problems students could face, such as internet blocks or becoming frustrated or distracted while searching for images or sounds. Students can focus on the actual project and not the process, which often gets in their way.
The only ebooks that I have used have been from sites like "Tumblebooks" and "Storylineonline" which I hadn't considered ebooks. Students love to use these sites, and they foster a love of reading. I spoke with my mentor, Jane Mobley from Hampton Middle School which is a new school this year. She ordered several ebooks from Follet for HMS-- She told me that the teachers and students have not shown much interest in them. I think this is such a new resource that most teachers and students will need to be introduced to their value.