The Changing Story: digital stories that participate in transforming teaching & learning
The text covers many areas and ideas of the subject appropriately. I especially appreciate how The Changing Story begins by discussing what digital storytelling is, types of digital stories, scaffolding activities and exercises around digital stories, and assessment strategies. As a reader, a particular highlight of the textbook is that no one pedagogical strategy is enforced as the one pedagogical strategy for digital stories. In other words, Buturian is very much aware that teaching and learning differs widely and teachers need options to think about their assessment, design of assignments and activities, and even the kinds of digital stories they might want to embrace given the objectives and learning outcomes of their courses. This is why I appreciate the integration of backwards design learning as one key approach to digital stories. Readers will certainly benefit for these kinds of strategies. Part of what makes this textbook effective is the wide range of insight that readers learn from students and faculty. As a reader who works at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and Regional Comprehensive University (RCU), I did wonder how Buturian and other faculty address technology access as they integrate digital stories in their classroom. I mention the topic not to suggest that students at my institution have no access to technology, but that assuming everyone's access to technology even in the same ways (i.e., everyone has access to iMovie software) can provide a conundrum early on in one's teaching. This was a question that lingered in my mind as I read that I would have wanted to see better addressed in pedagogical sections like teacher reflections, faculty interviews, student reflections, scaffolding exercises, and assessment strategies. Additionally, it's important to note that there is no index or glossary in this text to help readers navigate terminology. In an updated version, The Changing Story could benefit from a glossary for teachers, especially students who are studying teaching and learning in a variety of settings.
I do find the content of the text is accurate. I appreciate the pedagogical terminology (i.e., backwards design, scaffolding, assessment) that is used for a teacher readership of this text. I would have liked to see more scholarship integrated on multimodal writing, digital rhetorics, technology access, and teaching and learning in digital environments to help me as a reader make greater connections in addition to expanding my archive of resources to help me think through, for example, how I might integrate critical reflection on students' engagement with technology.
It's important to take note of the publication date of this text (2016 & 2017). Because technology and students' access and engagement with it is rapidly changing even from one year to the next, this text can be used as one resource or as a secondary text to better understand both how and what it means to embrace digital storytelling in teaching and learning. The textbook does need updates to its interface and links throughout to make it as relevant as possible to readers today.
The text is written with accessible prose for a teacher readership. It's really important to note that this textbook can be used for pedagogy courses or upper division undergraduate courses with students who may want to be teachers. It is not, however, a textbook that a teacher would use as a primary text for students who are designing digital stories. With that said, teachers can use this textbook for students to interact with, but they should be explicit about which sections to use. Student examples and reflections are especially useful. However, largely speaking, this text is for teachers and students who are aspiring to be teachers themselves. It can also be used by centers of teaching and learning that are working with learning assistants and faculty across disciplines who are especially interested in digital storytelling.
I mention the textbook's readership in relation to clarity because if we consider an audience of teachers, then yes, the text is written in an accessible prose that readers can understand. I also appreciate some of the terminology in the introduction that Buturian includes while not assuming that readers are familiar with it.
I find that there is internal consistency in terms of terminology and framework. Digital storytelling is used throughout to emphasize the importance of creativity and narrative in students' learning and writing processes. The textbook also does a great job of consistently incorporating pedagogical technology throughout that helps readers imagine how they might integrate digital storytelling activities and assignments. At the same time, there isn't always a focus on pedagogy. I do, however, appreciate the integration of activities, exercises, and resources for teacher readers in most parts of the textbook.
While some chapters do have smaller sections that readers can interact with and easily turn to if they would like to identify those sections early on upon accessing the chapter, chapter five is a block of text without subheadings. This is part of why I struggled to get through the chapter and make connections to teaching and learning and more specifically, how I might integrate critical reflection with technology in the integration of digital storytelling. I appreciate chapter three which is an excellent example of modularity. In that chapter, Buturian provides a list of activities and exercises that teachers can use to teach the process of digital storytelling. The chapter includes a list of 12 activities and exercises and then breaks each one down with examples. The modularity follows that design.
The book is organized both with a pedagogical orientation in mind, but also a thematic/critical reflection purpose. This kind of organization can confuse readers a bit especially for those readers already looking to embrace digital storytelling in their teaching and seeking content that supports them in their pedagogy. For example, chapter one introduces readers to digital storytelling, chapter two focuses on types of digital stories, chapter three is about scaffolding exercises, and chapter four is about assessment and evaluation strategies. However, chapter five then turns to questions of helping students think through their relationship technology under the title "We Are the Battery Human." I appreciate this chapter, but I do think that some of the exercises in the appendix can be integrated in these chapters to continue pedagogical learning or the author can integrate exercises that help students reflect or engage metacognitive activities that help them make meaning of their digital storytelling processes. This is something I would like to see more as a reader.
The interface of this text is strong especially when YouTube videos that include teacher reflections, student interviews, and some students' digital stories are integrated. Readers are able to access these videos because they are uploaded to YouTube. I also find The Changing Story's YouTube channel to be a crucial tool for additional interviews and examples of student work. In chapter 5, there is audio of a song that works and is accessible to listeners (however, I did want to see a transcript of that audio for accessibility purposes). In chapter 6, Buturian incorporates illustrated stories that are visible and accessible to readers. The navigation problems occur at the beginning of chapters 1, 2, and 3. There is a video that continues to try to load at the beginning of each of those chapters unsuccessfully. I tried multiple browsers and in each case, the videos do not show. There are also some links that are broken. In chapter one, there is a link to student work that then takes readers to a page that says "Oops! That content cannot be found."
The text contains very little to no grammatical errors. As someone with expertise in writing studies, I do not see grammatical errors throughout this text and if there are any, they do not impede a reader's understanding of the content of the text overall.
The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. In fact, I appreciate the kinds of examples from students and teachers that include digital stories located in various parts of the region, country, and even the world. This aspect of the text certainly demonstrates an inclusivity of geographical location. I also appreciate how it integrates teacher reflections that are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds. As a reader, I did wish to see more representation from student writers and more commentary from faculty represented. I mention this representation from faculty especially since in these teacher reflection areas of the textbook, I was able to gain tremendous insight from faculty who reflect on how they scaffold their teaching around digital storytelling activities and assignments. For example, Rashne Jehangir, Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota reflects on the need for greater scaffolding around technology in teaching students how to create digital stories. These kinds of reflections are useful as a teacher readership moves through this text.
Overall, I want to highlight the wealth of resources that this textbook includes. In the very introduction, Buturian is explicit and intentional about incorporating student work and reflection, faculty interviews, and quotes that help readers understand the value of digital storytelling from a variety of perspectives. This is certainly one of the major foundations of this textbook which provides a teacher readership with multiple angles to learn about digital storytelling and their responsibility to change their teaching with digital stories in mind. At the same time, I believe that it's important to note that this text was initially published in 2016 with a second edition published in 2017 by the University of Minnesota, a Predominantly White Institution (PWI). I mention the year of publication to note that digital storytelling is changing rapidly. This is why future versions of this book might include a list of resources for teachers to draw from in learning more. Additionally, I mention UM's institutional context not to suggest that the University of Minnesota does not enroll student populations from a variety of backgrounds or that it is insensitive in any way. On the contrary, this textbook even refers to the wealth of resources that the University of Minnesota has related to digital storytelling for both instructors and students. However, I mention UM's context to keep in mind the ways in which technology and access can differ across various institutional typologies (e.g., various Minority-Serving Institutions, two-year colleges etc.). While I appreciated that in chapter five, Linda Buturian focuses on the importance of helping "our students move from an unconscious to a dialectical relationship with...technological devices," and even more so, she begins that same chapter by explaining that "the digital story assignment assumes that an infrastructure of technology is accessible to all students, whether it is a tablet, a camera, and laptop, or more," there still is an assumption about students' access to technology that isn't heavily interrogated. In fact, in one example, a student discusses his use of an iPad which suggests a kind of access to technology that may not be shared by all students. Certainly technology is widespread and students' access is wide ranging, but how do instructors address access to technology when teaching digital storytelling? This perspective is crucial especially as teachers consider both how and what it means to integrate multimodality in the assignments they bring to students.