Interactive Technology from CHI 2012 Supporting Literacy, Storytelling, and Narrative

I spent the last several days at CHI 2012 and was so immersed in the experience, I held off blogging until I arrived home.  


I was pleasantly overwhelmed by the experience at CHI 2012, There was so much to see, hear, and touch, there were so many bright, creative people all around - I was on mind/sensory overload.  Omar L. Gallaga, the author of Digital Savant (Austin 360), attended the conference, and the quote below from his recent post nicely sums it up: "When your mind gets blown multiple times in a very short period of time, it begins to feel as is your brain is quickly rewiring itself to accept that the reality is that anything is possible and that the continual, pleasurable surprise of discovery is the new norm."


For this post, I'm sharing a few things that were presented at CHI 2012 that focus on literacy, storytelling, and narrative.  I'll share more in future posts.


Creating and Using Interactive Narratives: Reading and Writing Branching Comics 
The short video below provides a good overview of the project, which was presented at CHI 2012 during the Out of the Box" session, chaired by Shahram Izadi, of Microsoft Research USA

"We employ comics and combine paper with a multi-touch interface to explore an approach to reading and writing interactive narratives."
Dan Andrews and Chris Baber from the University of Birmingham (UK) 
Sergei Efremov and Mikhail Komorov from the Moscow State Institute of Electronics and Mathematics (Russia).


If you are interested in learning more about this process, take a look at the references that were reviewed in the paper about this creative, thoughtful work.

Tap & Play: An End User Toolkit for Authoring Interactive Pen and Paper Language Activities 
The following video was created several months before CHI 2012:




Tap & Play:  An End User Toolkit for Authoring Interactive Pen and Paper Language Activities
Ann Marie Piper, Nadir Weibel, James Hollan, 


The following video is related to the Textual Tinkerability paper, presented during the Literacy on the Margin session, chaired by Juan Pablo Hourcade, at CHI 2012:
 


Textual Tinkerability:  Encouraging Storytelling Behaviors to Foster Emergent Literacy    Angela Chang, Cynthia Breazeal, Fardad Faridi, Tom Roberts, Glorianna Davenport, Henry Lieberman, Nick Montfort, Massachusetts Institute of Technology


Related: TinkRBook: Shared Reading Interfaces for Storytelling (IDC 2011)
TinkRBook

RELATED

CHI 2012:  brain expanding bits of brilliance
Omar L. Gallaga, Digital Savant, 5/11/12


FYI:   I was one of the organizers for the EIST (Educational Interfaces, Software & Technology) workshop, held on May 5th and 6th. The participants came from all around the world to spend two days of presenting, sharing, and brainstorming.  Everyone worked hard to make the workshop a success. (I'll share more about EIST soon, but if you are curious, the above link will provide you with more information about the program and papers that were presented.) 

Role of Data in Interactive Multiplatform Storytelling, via iTVT (video and links)

There is a lot of things going on in the field of interactive multi-platform media!

The following videos from iTVT's StoryCentric video column are worth taking the time to abosrb. In the videos, Brian Seth Hurst, CEO of The Opportunity Management Company, interviews Gunther Sonnenfeld, SVP of Cultural Innovation and Applied Technology at Omnicom-subsidiary RAPP. The role of data in interactive multi-platform storytelling is the main focus of their discussion. 

Part 1 - StoryCentric Guest is Gunther Sonnenfeld Who Focuses on the Role of Data in Multiplatform Storytelling from Tracy Swedlow on Vimeo.

New Edition of StoryCentric Features Part 2 of Brian Seth Hurst's Interview with RAPP's Gunther Sonnenfeld from Tracy Swedlow on Vimeo.

RELATED

According to the iTVT website, "StoryCentric focuses on the business, technology and art of interactive storytelling, and highlights new technologies and other industry developments that have the potential to fundamentally change the way we create and interact with stories and narratives--in television and beyond."

iTVT (Interactive TV Today)
New Edition of StoryCentric Focuses on the Role of Data in Multiplatform Storytelling
Tracy Swedlow, iTVT 8/4/11
New Edition of StoryCentric Features Seth Hurst's Interview with RAPP's Gunther Sonenfeld Tracy Swedlow, iTVT, 8/18/11

A Literacy of the Imagination (Gunther Sonnenfeld's Blog)

CHI 2011 Workshop Program and Related Links: UI Technologies and Impact on Educational Pedagogy, Related Child-Computer Interaction Papers and Courses

WORKSHOP PROGRAM
CHI 2011 will be held at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver. The UI Technologies and Pedagogy workshop will be held on Saturday, May 7th,  in the West Building, Level 1, Room 119/120.  PDF versions of the following presentations can be found on the workshop's website.


9:00am – 09:05am Introduction
Edward Tse and Johannes Schöning
9:05am - 10:05am Paper Session I (8 min presentation, 4 min Discussion)
Chair: Yvonne Rogers
Evaluating Pervasive Classrooms
• Son Do-Lenh et al.: Classroom-experience evaluation: An ecological approach to evaluating pervasive technologies in classrooms 
• Kathryn Rounding et al.: Evaluating Interfaces with Children 
• Dan Morris et al.: Using Machine Learning to Scaffold Artistic Creativity in Education
• Tamara Polajnar et al.: Enabling Picture-based Querying and Learning with the JuSe Interface
• Hamed Alavi et al.: Lantern 2.0: A Pervasive Scripting Tool
•Quincy Brown et al.: Mobile Natives: Unlocking the Potential of Educational Technology
10:15am - 11:00am  Coffee Break and Preparation time for short talks
11:00am - 12:10pm  Paper Session II (8min presentation, 4min Discussion)
Chair: Max Mühlhäuser
Collaboration in Math: Fears, Myths, and Insights.
• Nicola Yull et al.: Pass the iPad: Comparing collaboration on paper and screen
• Veronika Irvine et al.: Math Education: A Creative Approach
• Group talk: Math and Embodied Agents
a.Kristina Richter et al.: Bridging Diagnosis and Learning for Mathematics Education in Classroom Setting
b.Lisa Anthony et al.: Handwriting Interaction for Math Tutors: Lessons for HCI in Education
c.Andrew Jensen et al.: Using Embodied Pedagogical Agents and Direct Instruction to Augment Learning for Young Children with Special Needs
• Group talk: Dispelling Myths About the Next Generation Classroom
a. Alex Thayer et al.: The Myth of the Paperless School: Replacing Printed Texts with E-readers
b.Sharon Oviatt: Designing Digital Tools for Thinking, Adaptive Learning and Cognitive Evolution
c.Alexandra Dunn et al.: Designing Classroom Technology to Meet the Needs of All
• Group talk: Games, Wearables and Fun Learning.
a.Christiane Moser et al.: Child-Centered Game Development
b.Lizbeth Escobedo et al.: Blue’s Clues: An Augmented Reality Positioning System
c.Si Jung Kim et al.: Wearable Story: A Story Telling Jacket for Young Children to Improve Their Independent Physical and Learning Activities
12:10pm - 1:30pm   Lunch
1:30pm - 2:30pm   Paper Session III (8 min presentation, 4 min Discussion)
Chair: Richard Beckwith
Tangibles and Tabletops
• Izdihar Jamil et al.:    Communication Patterns in Collaborative Peer Learning around Interactive Table
• Aura Pon et al.:   Graspable Music and Vuzik: Music Learning and Creativity using an Interactive Surface
• Ahmed Kharrufa et al.: Learning at interactive surfaces and designing for reflection
• Cristina Sylla et al.: TOK – a Tangible Interface for Storytelling
• Group talk: Tables and Tangibles
a.Robert Sheehan:    Constructionism, Programming and Touch Interfaces
b.Orit Shaer et al.:     Making the Invisible Tangible: Learning Biological Engineering in Kindergarten
c.Sebastien Kubicki: Evaluation of an interactive table with tangible objects: Application with children in a classroom
d.Cristina Emilia Costa et al.:  I-Theatre: developing narratives skills in kindergarten children
e.Wooi Boon Goh et al.:  Potential Challenges in Collaborative Game Design for Inclusive Settings
2:30pm - 3:00pm       Coffee Break
3:00pm - 4:00pm       Breakout Discussion (What are future challenges? Next years workshop?)
4:00pm - 4:45pm   Closing Keynote by Allison Druin: Mining the Imagination from Time Travel to Anti-gravity: The Future of Child-Computer Interaction
"If you’ve ever sat with a child imagining the future of new technologies, you will undoubtedly hear about “anti-gravity machines,” “peace-technologies that work by tickling people,” “backpacks of the future with ice cream makers,” and “time-travel-mobile-phones that when you call someone it takes you back in time.” The question is how can these child-like imagined technologies lead us to real answers for the future?


In my talk I will propose that “data mining” is not enough, that “mining the imagination” is critical to understanding the future. I will describe the “iChild” and the interactive, independent, international, imaginative child we need to consider designing for in the future. If we look for real change, we need to listen to children, not because they know more, but because they can help us question, explore, and push us in true directions for change."


Allison Druin is an Associate Dean for Research in the iSchool at the University of Maryland and is Director of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab. For almost 14 years, she has led an intergenerational research team, where children, ages 7-11 years old partner with an interdisciplinary group of adult researchers to develop new technologies for children. With this team, she has helped to developed new digital library and storytelling tools with such partners as the U.S. National Park Service, Sesame Workshop, Nickelodeon, Nokia, UNICEF, and many others. In 2010, she received with Ben Bederson the SIGCHI Social Impact Award for her work leading the International Children’s Digital Library (www.childrenslibrary.org).
4:45pm - 5:00pm Closing Remarks (All)
7:00pm Optional Workshop Dinner


RELATED CHILD-COMPUTER INTERACTION SESSIONS AT CHI 2011
CHI 2011 will be offering a variety of opportunities for people interested in interaction design and technologies for children.  Detailed information regarding the researchers/ presenters can be found on the IDC-SIG News/Events page.


CHI2011 COURSE - Evaluating Children's Interactive Technology
Monday 9th May 2011 - 16:00
Janet C Read - University of Central Lancashire
Panos Markopoulos - Technical University of Eindhoven
CHI2011 COURSE - New Methods for Designing for and with the iChild: Strategies for Today’s Mobile, Social, and Internet Technologies
Thursday 12th May 2011 - 09:00
Allison Druin - University of Maryland
Jerry Fails - Montclair State University
Mona Leigh Gubler - University of Maryland
CHI2011 Paper Session - Engaging Youth  Thursday 12th May 2011 - 11:00
Exploratory Evaluations of a Computer Game Supporting Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Adolescents
In the Mood: Engaging Teenagers in Psychotherapy Using Mobile Phones
Breaking Boundaries: Strategies for Mentoring through Textile Computing Workshops
Brick by Brick: Iterating Interventions to Bridge the Achievement Gap with Virtual Peers
CHI2011 - Other IDC Related Papers
Paper Session: Art, Music and  Movement: Monday 9th May 2011
MOGCLASS: Evaluation of a Collaborative System of Mobile Devices for Classroom Music Education of Young Children
MoBoogie: Creative Expression Through Whole Body Musical Interaction
Paper Session: Low-cost ICT4D Tuesday 10th May 2011
Utilizing Multimedia Capabilities of Mobile Phones to Support Teaching in Schools in Rural Panama
Infrastructures for low-cost laptop use in Mexican schools
Paper Session: Storytelling and Perceptual Crossing Wednesday 11th May 2011
ShadowStory: Creative and Collaborative Digital Storytelling Inspired by Cultural Heritage
Paper Session: Learning
Practical, Appropriate, Empirically-Validated Guidelines for Designing Educational Games

CHI2011 Paper Session - Families Tuesday 10th May 2011 - 11:00

Learning Patterns of Pick-ups and Drop-offs to Support Busy Family Coordination

Mediated Parent-Child Contact in Work-Separated Families

Hello, is Grandma there? Let’s Read! StoryVisit: Family Video Chat and Connected E-Books

Family Portals: Connecting Families Through A Multifamily Media Space

If these topics interest you, consider making plans to attend IDC 2011!
IDC 2011:  The 10th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children
June 19-23,  University of Michigan (My alma mater!)

Program- CHI 2011 Child Computer Interaction: 2nd Workshop on UI Technologies and Educational Pedagogy

CHILD COMPUTER INTERACTION: 2ND WORKSHOP ON UI TECHNOLOGIES AND THEIR IMPACT ON EDUCATIONAL PEDAGOGY

May 7, 2011

In conjunction with CHI 2011, Vancouver, Canada

PROGRAM (Draft)

9:00am – 09:05am       Introduction


9:05am - 10:05am        Paper Session I (8min presentation, 4min Discussion)


Evaluating Pervasive Classrooms


• Son Do-Lenh et al.:   Classroom-experience evaluation: An ecological approach to evaluating pervasive technologies in classroom
• Kathryn Rounding et al.:   Evaluating Interfaces with Children
• Dan Morris et al.:   Using Machine Learning to Scaffold Artistic Creativity in Education
• Tamara Polajnar et al.:   Enabling Picture-based Querying and Learning with the JuSe Interface
• Hamed Alavi et al.:   Lantern 2.0: A Pervasive Scripting Tool


10:05am - 11:00am  Coffee Break and Preparation time for short talks


11:00am - 12:10pmPaper Session II (8min presentation, 4min Discussion)


Collaboration in Math: Fears, Myths, and Insights


• Nicola Yull et al.: Pass the iPad: Comparing collaboration on paper and screen
• Veronika Irvine et al.: Math Education: A Creative Approach


• Group talk: Math and Embodied Agents
a.  Kristina Richter et al.: Bridging Diagnosis and Learning for Mathematics Education in Classroom Setting
b.  Lisa Anthony et al.: Handwriting Interaction for Math Tutors: Lessons for HCI in Education
c.  Andrew Jensen et al.: Using Embodied Pedagogical Agents and Direct Instruction to Augment Learning for Young Children with Special Needs


• Group talk: Dispelling Myths About the Next Generation Classroom
a.   Alex Thayer et al.: The Myth of the Paperless School: Replacing Printed Texts with E-readers
b.  Sharon Oviatt: Designing Digital Tools for Thinking, Adaptive Learning and Cognitive Evolution
c.  Alexandra Dunn et al.: Designing Classroom Technology to Meet the Needs of All


• Group talk: Games, Wearables and Fun Learning.
a.  Christiane Moser et al.:    Child-Centered Game Development
b.  Lizbeth Escobedo et al.:  Blue’s Clues: An Augmented Reality Positioning System
c.  Si Jung Kim et al.:   Wearable Story: A Story Telling Jacket for Young Children to Improve Their Independent Physical and Learning Activities


12:10pm - 1:30pm Lunch


1:30pm - 2:30pm Paper Session (10 min presentation, 5min Discussion)


Tangibles and Tabletops
•   Izdihar Jamil et al.: Communication Patterns in Collaborative Peer Learning around Interactive Table
•   Aura Pon et al.: Graspable Music and Vuzik: Music Learning and Creativity using an Interactive Surface
•   Ahmed Kharrufa et al.: Learning at interactive surfaces and designing for reflection
•   Cristina Sylla et al.: TOK – a Tangible Interface for Storytelling


• Group talk: Tables and Tangibles
• a.Robert Sheehan: Constructionism, Programming and Touch Interfaces
• b.  Orit Shaer et al.: Making the Invisible Tangible: Learning Biological Engineering in Kindergarten
• c.  Sebastien Kubicki: Evaluation of an interactive table with tangible objects: Application with children in a classroom
• d.  Cristina Emilia Costa et al.: I-Theatre: developing narratives skills in kindergarten children
• e.  Wooi Boon Goh et al.: Potential Challenges in Collaborative Game Design for Inclusive Settings


2:30pm - 3:00pm  Coffee Break


3:00pm - 4:00pm  Breakout Discussion (What are future challenges? Next years workshop?)


4:00pm - 4:45pm  Closing Keynote  TBA


4:45pm - 5:00pm  Closing Remarks


7:00pm   Optional Workshop Dinner


RELATED
Workshop Website
ACM-CHI 2011 Conference Website

Thinking Like a Storyteller: Words of Wisdom from Cindy Chastain on the use of storytelling in for interactiondesign (IXDA 10 Video)

Cindy Chastain is a Creative Director, Experience Architecture at Rapp, a global, full-service agency in NYC. Her background is in screen-writing. She also is a film-maker and technology consultant. The video below is of her presentation at IXDA 2010. It is well worth the 47 minute watch!


Here is a quote from Nasir Barday's post on the IXDA blog about Cindy Chastain's presentation:


"Designing with a narrative in mind can make a difference between a product that merely functions well and a product that engages the minds, emotions and imaginations of users." Nasir Barday, IXDA 2/26/10


Here are a few quotes from the presentation:
"How can we, as designers, provide cues that will deepen that narrative connection?"


"What can we learn from the discipline of storytelling that will help us design for more meaningful and engaging product experiences?"

"If we can move away from thinking of products in terms of interfaces and start thinking of them as representations or environments, in which agents perform actions,  we will get us to a place where we can design more fluid and engaging dialogues/experiences."



Cindy Chastain-Thinking Like a Storyteller from Interaction Design Association on Vimeo.

Near the beginning of this video, Cindy discusses the concept of the user's narrative, described as a stream of self-talk occurs when someone interacts with a design product. Two types of narratives are likely to occur.  According to Cindy, this phenomenon was noted by cognitive scientists.  One is narrative of use,  and involves the person's self-talk about  the products features and affordances. The other is a personal narrative, which focuses on what the product means, how it might fit into one's life, and how it might be used.

Games and Learning: Lure of the Labyrinth, a Middle School Online Pre-algebra/literacy game - Watch the Video, Play the Game, and Follow Links to Related Resources

"Maryland Public Television (MPT) and MIT Education Arcade teamed up with FableVision to create Lure of the Labyrinth, an innovative gaming-meets-storytelling approach to improve math and literacy among middle-school students. Plunge into a shadowy, moster-filled factory on a mission to rescue your missing pet. Can you maneuver through math problems and find your beloved pet in time!?"

The Lure of the Labyrinth middle-school pre-algebra game is linked to state and national math standards and comes with good resources for teachers. On the For Educators page, teachers (and parents) can find information about how students can play the game, how it can be incorporated into the classroom setting, how to prepare the students for playing the game, how to use the game to support working in pairs and group, and more. Below is the introductory video:

Scot Osterweil and his team at MIT's Education Arcade, designed Lure of the Labyrinth. Scot is the research director of the Education Arcade, and has worked on software such as InspireData (Inspiration Software). He is the former Senior Designer at TERC, an R & D for math and science education.













RELATED


Klopfer, D., Osterweil,S., Groff, J., & Hass, J. (2009) The Instructional Power of Digital Games, Social Networking, Simulations, and How Teachers Can Leverage Them. Education Arcade, MIT (pdf)
Regarding barriers to adopting digital games, social networking, and simulation technologies in the school, the article reviews the work of Groff and Mouza:
"Groff and Mouza (2008) discuss six central factors, each with its own critical variables, that interact with one another to produce barriers to implementing technological innovations in the classroom: (a) Research & Policy factors, (b) District/School factors, (c) factors associated with the Teacher, (d) factors associated with the Technology- Enhanced Project, (e) factors associated with the Students, and (f) factors inherent to Technology itself.

Klopfer, E., Osterweil, S., Salen, K. (2009) Moving Learning Games Forward: Obstacles, Opportunities & Openess.  The Education Arcade, MIT (pdf)

Gee. J.P, & Levine, M.H. Welcome to Our Virtual Worlds (pdf) Educational Leadership, Literacy 2.0, March 2009, Vol. 66, (6).  ASCD
"The United States is witnessing a growing student engagement crisis. With dropout rates approaching 50 percent in many urban school districts (Swanson, 2008) and recent education surveys showing that students are overwhelmingly bored in school (Bridgeland, DiIulio, & Morison, 2006; Yazzie-Mintz, 2007), we clearly need to find new ways to motivate learners."


"A crucial first step in promoting student engagement is to rethink literacy for the 21st century. One path to this new learning equation comes, perhaps paradoxically, from popular culture. Many young people today play long and difficult video games that involve complex thinking and problem solving married to complex language. Although the most frequent criticism of video games is that many involve shooting and killing, a good many focus on other things. Civilization and Rise of Nations force players to think on a large scale about history, development across time, and civilizations. SimCity, The Sims, and, for very young children, Animal Crossing ask players to build and sustain cities and communities. Age of Mythology players regularly read and write about mythologies across the world, specifically from Greek, Egyptian, and Norse civilizations. Some gamers write strategy guides for the games they play—technical writing at its best—and share them over the Internet."


James Paul Gee is the author of a number of publications regarding games and learning. He is the author of Good Video Games and Good Learning: Collected Essays on Video Games, Learning, and Literacy.  He is the Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies at Arizona State University.

Klopfer, E. (2008) Augmented Learning Research and Design of Mobile Educational Games. MIT Press.

 
MIT STEP's Handheld Augmented Reality Simulations Site

Eric Klopfer is involved with MIT's StarLogo project. The newest version of StarLogo is StarLogo TNG.  StarLogo Tim is part of MIT's Scheller Teacher Education Program (STEP)
Here are some links found on the STEP website:
MyWorld: Next Generation Wireless Ubiquitous Simulation Games
PDA Participatory Simulations

Scot Osterweil (MIT) The Four Freedoms of Play

"Scot Osterweil, a pioneer in learning and game play, shares his thoughts on the concept of "The Four Freedoms of Play." Scot Osterweil works at MIT as the Education Arcade Research Director. Here Scot presents to the Harvard Business School in Cambridge, MA in a weekly education technology forum called BrainGain."

Kurt Squire did his doctoral research on the use of Sid Meier's Civilization to teach social studies. Resources for how the game can be used in education can be found at the CivWorld website.  Kurt is the co-founder and current director of the Games + Learning + Society (GLS) website, University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is an assistant professor.




There are an increasing number of universities offering coursework related to the design and development of games for learning and education.

The Importance of Storytelling and Multimedia Content (UPDATED)

Storytelling has been an important part of human culture for centuries and remains important, even thought it has been transformed by advances in technology.

It is transforming how young children think, communicate, and learn.

The following video from the University of Southern California's Institute for Multimedia Literacy (IML). In October of 2009, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting released a report that said that four and five year old children who had access to media tools had increased literacy levels as they entered kindergarten. A group of four-year-old preschool students were provided the opportunity to participate in the IML's workshop, Digital Storytelling and Recombinant Narrative, a workshop that is usually geared for adults.  Of course, the workshop was revised to meet the needs of a much younger group.

Here is the clip:

Digital Storytelling With 4-year-olds from IML @ USC on Vimeo.

Summative Evaluation of the Ready to Learn Initiative 
"The study, which was conducted by researchers at the Education Development Center, Inc. and SRI International, evaluated educational video content and associated interactive games from Super Why!, Between the Lions and Sesame Street, which are produced as part of the Ready To Learn (RTL) initiative. RTL aims to increase literacy skills for children aged 2-8 living in high poverty communities, by utilizing multiplatform content"

"The researchers examined the impact of the curriculum which included public media content in a randomized controlled trial with 398 low-income four and five-year olds from 80 preschool classes in New York City and San Francisco. The children who had public media content in their classes developed significantly more early literacy skills -- the ability to name letters, know the sounds associated with those letters and understand the basic concepts about stories and printed words -- than children who did not have public media content in the classroom."


Below is a collection of articles and links about issues related to storytelling in our digital age, from various perspectives.  The game is changing for everyone, especially for traditional teachers and journalists.

Better User Experience With Storytelling, Part One
Francisco Inchauste, Smashing Magazine, 1/29/10    (also read the comments to the article)


The Art of Storytelling
Christian Saylor, O'Reilly InsideRIA 3/23/09

Transmedia Storytelling and Entertainment - A Syllabus
Henry Jenkins, 8/11/09 
 Henry Jenkins is the Provost's Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. He arrived at USC in Fall 2009 after spending the past decade as the Director of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Program and the Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities. 

Henry Jenkin's syllabus includes the reading list for his class at USC of the same name, aong with great links to on-line publications related to the course. If you are pressed for time, take a look at Transmedia Storytelling 101.

Here is a link to a post I wrote in 2008 that provides a few good links related to storytelling:
Digital Storytelling, Multimodal Writing, Multiliteracies 

RELATED

Video from USC's Institute for Multimedia Literacy:


IML: Background and Philosophy from IML @ USC on Vimeo.

The Center for Digital Storytelling  


Multiliteracies

Interactive Narratives

Innovative Interactivity's Top 50 Multimedia Sites of 2009

USC Institute for Multimedia Literacy

Knight Digital Media Center Presentations  Example: Old Journalists in New Media:  Collaborating with Writers


O'Reilly Digital Media Blogs

Resources for the (therapeutic) use of digital and multimedia storytelling and social stories for children and teens...

The most frequently visited post on this blog is Interactive Multimedia for Social Skills, Understanding Feelings, Relaxation, and Coping Strategies, and the hits are increasing. For that reason, I'm working on an extensive update, which is very involved process, given the increase in research in this area. Until then, I thought that it would be helpful to provide a mini-update.

Below are some resources and links for those of you who are interested in digital multimedia story telling or digital social stories with young people. Although some of the resources are specific to children or teens with autism spectrum disorders, I've also included information that is appropriate for use in regular classroom settings.

(If this is your first visit to this blog, it might be a good idea to first check out the resources from the above link, and then return to this post.)

Digital Storytelling and 21st Century Skills (pdf)

This nine-page primer is useful for anyone interested in learning how to create digital stories or develop digital storytelling activities with young people. The information was provided by David Jakes, an instructional technology coordinator for Community High School District 99 in Downers Grove, IL, provides a good case for digital storytelling and an outline of the process of implementing related activities at the high school level.

David Jakes has a website, Jakesonline.org, that contains additional resources about digital storytelling, including strategies for instruction. The website also provide information about collaborative tools and a collection of extensive web resources.

Center for Digital Storytelling

USING MULTIMEDIA SOCIAL STORIES TO INCREASE APPROPRIATE SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT IN YOUNG CHILDREN WITH AUTISM (doc)

Encouraging Positive Behavior with Social Stories: An Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders pdf (Shannon Crozier, Nancy M.Sileo) Teaching Exceptional Children, July/August 2005 pp. 26-31

This article provides information that supports a systematic method of implenting social stories that is integrated into a student's Functional Behavioral Assessment and IEP.

Process:
• Team identifies the need for behavior intervention.
• Functional assessment is completed.
• Social stories included in behavior plan.
• Social story is written.
• Social story is introduced and progress is monitored with data.
• Success is evaluated with data.

Note: The authors cite an article written in 1999 that mentions that the use of multimedia social stories has not been demonstrated to be effective, as little research had been completed in this area at the time. Take this with a grain of salt, as there are recent studies (see below) regarding the effective use of multimedia applications, including computer/video games and VR, for social skills training as well as counseling.

An evaluation of the integrated use of a multimedia storytelling system within a psychotherapy intervention for adolescents. (pdf)

Current Autism Research on Social Stories (Vol 2, Issue 8; August 2007) Positively Autism

Multimedia Instruction of Social Skills (CITEd Research Center- Center for Implementing Technology in Education: Multimedia Technologies)

This link provides extensive information about on-line resources for programs that simulate social interaction. It also includes information about the use of social stories with students, and resources for putting together multimedia social stories. Included are some summaries of research about multimedia social stories and the use of multimedia for instructional activities.

Be sure to explore the rest of the CITEd site when you have the time.

Related:

Post: Special issue on Multimedia, Media Convergence, and Digital Storytelling

Digital Stories Targeting Social Skills for Children with Disabilities. Cori More (PRO-ED Journal, 2008)

Digtal/Multimedia Storytelling from A Storied Career: Kathy Hansen's Blog to explore traditional and postmodern forms/uses of storytelling

Digital Storytelling - Katie Christo's Wiki - how-to, resources, tutorials, rubrics, lesson plans, digital storytelling across the curriculum, etc.

The Story-Centered Curriculum - eLearn Magazine

Mind Reading: An Interactive Guide to Reading Emotions

Mind Habits: The Stress Relief Game