Critical Literacy in the Modern Classroom: Digital Storytelling

During 2006 we were awarded the Department of Education’s Excellence award for Most Innovative Curriculum for our ‘Movie Magic’ program. This program structures the planning and production of over 20 student films each year in our school by a group of around 120 year 5 and 6 students.

Before starting this program we had looked at some other school movie making programs (the term 'digital storytelling' was yet to become trendy) and we felt many of them were missing the key learning opportunities that making movies with students provides.

Too many teachers were happy just to give cameras to the kids and let them go thinking they were doing something new and innovative. Inevitably, shaky material of kids acting out a script that couldn't really be properly heard because of the poor sound quality was the result. These movies would be shown at the school and everyone would say "isn't it amazing what the kids can do?"

My answer to that is always: "No, not really". It is amazing to us older folk, especially when we think about what was available to us at a similar age. But now, it is no longer impressive just to create a short film. After all, it's very easy to make a movie these days. Anyone can press record on a camera and use one of the many simple editing programs available.

We decided to focus on the critical literacy skills that this type of learning experience can provide, and we did that by insisting on a quality end product. We set our students the challenge of making a top quality short film - no shaky cameras, no dodgy sound track, no half baked ideas. And if they succeeded? A huge film premiere night in the biggest cinema at our local Hoyts complex.

Students would learn about all the elements that make up a film: lighting, sound, camera work and so on. They would learn the conventions behind each different genre of film and television. And they would cement their knowledge by constructing a film of their own.

Learning about how media products are constructed to communicate with audiences is a vital literacy for our students, and it empowers them to become intelligent and critical consumers of all the media that surrounds and even targets them from the earliest of ages.

The power of students working in teams to create a genuinely quality product that they are really proud of, and then to show that product on the same giant screen on which they watch all their Hollywood heroes can not be overestimated. Imagine watching a film you've made with your mates in front of a sell out crowd of 400+ in a state of the art cinema!

Our program has now been running for 5 years, has won Education awards, been featured in international Journals of Education, has been written about on blogs and websites (including apple.com.au), and has spawned two books, the latest of which (Smart Teachers, Smart Classrooms: Digital Storytelling) is due for release shortly through the Curriculum Corporation.