ECIS MLIE Conference

This workshop will be contextualised within the principles of the international Critical Connections: Multilingual Digital Storytelling project (Goldsmiths, 2012-17) and how it was implemented in schools and classrooms. We are committed to a reflective practitioner model of teacher education and ongoing collaboration between researchers and teachers was integral to the design of the project and in creating an integrated and inclusive model of language-and-culture learning. The Critical Connections project created a network of schools in the UK and overseas and enabled young people studying in very different contexts to create and share digital stories bilingually around a common theme such as fairness and belonging. As the project became embedded and sustainable in partner schools, students’ digital skills were developed and their confidence to work across their languages to create, translate and tell their stories. In collaboration with lead project teachers and drawing on diverse experiences in implementing the project in schools across the age range (6-18 years old), a Handbook for Teachers was compiled with a 10-stage guide for implementation of multilingual digital storytelling. This pedagogical framework will be explained and participants will be able to understand the practice in schools through the presentation of case studies before participating in the practical workshops.


Session 1 – Principles into practice (9.00 – 10.30 am)
Introductory session
Jim Anderson and Vicky Macleroy (Project Directors)
Case study: Primary and secondary schools in Taiwan
Yu-Chiao Chung (Research Assistant) 
Implementing digital storytelling and showing excerpts from digital stories.
Case study: International School of London (Surrey)
Mirela Dumic (Lead Project Teacher)
Implementing digital storytelling and showing excerpts from digital stories.
 
BREAK (10.30 – 11.00 am)
 
Session 2 - Practical pre-production and production workshop (11.00 am – 12.30 pm)
Vicky Macleroy and Mirela Dumic
Participants should bring an object that has personal and/or cultural significance.
Participants will engage in a practical approach to digital storytelling using objects (drama-based work developed by the Drama researcher on the project, Chryso Charalambous) and developing digital skills including camera angles and camera shots. You will create your own digital story using iPads (provided at the workshop) and go through the process of storyboarding, taking photographs and moving images, and adding voice over and subtitles to create a bilingual version of the digital story and music.  
 
LUNCH (12.30 – 1.30 pm)
 
Session 3 - Practical post-production workshop (1.30 – 3.00 pm)
Yu-Chiao Chung and Mirela Dumic
Participants will learn key editing skills for creating a short bilingual digital story and will be supported in editing their digital stories using IMovie. 
 
TEA (3.00 – 3.30 pm)
 
Session 4 - (3.30 – 5.00 pm) – Digital storytelling in your classroom (3.30 – 5.00 pm)
We will showcase your digital stories and discuss strategies for implementing digital storytelling in your classrooms and schools.

Each participant will be provided with a training pack at the end of the workshop.