An Electronic Village Session in the EV Fair, TESOL 2010, Boston and the EV Classics, TESOL 2012, Philadelphia
Dvolver is a free site that is an "easy to use online tool for creating and sending movies." Users are able to input text, and choose backgrounds, characters, and music to accompany their creation which can be shared by e-mail or by embedding html code. This presentation will explore various pedagogical uses of Dvolver and relevant examples created by Japanese university students will be shared. Through re-imaging the uses of Dvolver, participants will consider how online digital storytelling can empower students to share their ideas with a wider audience. For example, students used Dvolver as a medium for an international cultural exchange, a seasonal story telling activity, and a prewriting activity for an argumentative essay. Advantages of using Dvolver in the classroom include its ease of use and built in comment function, which encourages learners to engage in further communication. On the other hand, the movies cannot be saved for editing at a later date and there is a character limit on each utterance. Suggestions for using Dvolver and other alternate online tools will be given.
Learning with Computers Film Festival Wiki
American Culture Quiz (from Daniela Munca)
Advantages/Disadvantages
Other digital storytelling tools
"Cartoon Festival: An International Digital Storytelling Project" in TESL-EJ (Sept. 2008)
Introducing Argumentative Writing through Dialogue and Web 2.0 (SLW and CALL Perspectives March 2011)
Images4Education 2010 Electronic Village Online Session