Module Technology for Teaching and

Learning 2 (English)
 Using Open-Ended Tools in Facilitating
Module 3
Language Learning

Intended Learning Outcomes: At the end of this chapter, the students are expected to:

1. Explore existing web-based publishing tools.

2. Create student sample projects as digital story telling.
3. Publish digital stories using some storytelling apps explored in class guided by
publication requirements or laws.

3.2 Student sample projects using Open-ended tools

As the quality of authoring software increases and as you are exposed to online
learning, it is but proper for you as would-be facilitators of learning to explore and
understand some principles and guild to help your futures students author or write
digitally. Moreover, you may also facilitate some online language courses for any distance
learning or blended learning that require digital authoring.

3.2a Language Learning Via Web Publishing

- Language skills can be fully developed by allowing students to communicate
through the internet. This may take place when the students or the class will be
required to post a story or other products on a bulletin board or web page.
- There are two ways to contribute any authored documents to the World Wide
Web.
- First, with the advent of ready-made websites that are meant to invite and
encourage contributors to share their authored stories, research, commentaries,
and the like, students may publish their work by submitting their products to these
websites.
- Second, the students may create their own web pages because there are a lot of
free apps for web page development or they may place them on their institution’s
official website.
- To help you submit your authored products in an existing website, you may search
for these sites that are designed to highlight students’ researches, narratives,
stories, literary works, and other academic writings.
- The following are examples of existing websites that inspires students to submit
their authored products. To be able to submit to these websites, it pays to explore
their web sites and pay attention to their submission guidelines.

1. Atavist

Atavist is a beautiful tool. It was founded in 2011 on the heels of what we once called
the "death of longform." As you can imagine, it's highly visual. It's a drag-and-drop editor
for creating beautiful online publications. You can view examples of what's possible here.
And it gets better—check out Atavist for Education.
For the Students: Students have total creative design power here. They can submit
assignments with visual flair. Get them doing presentations and online journaling with
this tool. It also supports bigger writing projects. If they're feeling ambitious, they can
promote and sell work if they wish.
2. Calameo

If students are looking to do magazines, Calameo is the tool to use. It's an online e-
magazine publishing tool that lets you add multimedia and personal branding to anything
you create. With one-click publishing, you can share it instantly. Websites, social media,
and more all integrate with Calameo.

For the Students: This is a great tool for learning about design and layout for magazines.
It's perfect for smaller writing projects, like a brochure or flyer design. Students writing
for the school paper can link to custom publications. They can even promote their own
series of e-magazine using Calameo.

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 3. Tikatok

This is a creative publishing studio for young children. K–6 kids will love Tikatok. They
can use it to publish digital and printed books of all kinds. Tikatok was designed
specifically for the K–6 classroom. It's media literacy-oriented and aligned with Common
Core.
For the Students: Kids can upload their own photos and drawings for their creations. They
can also take advantage of preloaded project templates for classroom lessons.
Tikatok's digital library contains lots of ideas to get kids inspired.
4. Storybird

It's hard to find anything else on the Web quite like Storybird. It brings your words and
global artists' work together in amazing storybooks. Be sure to check out the section for
educators. Storybird is at work in hundreds of thousands of classrooms all over the world.
It's free for educators, now and forever. Take a look at what's possible with this tool.

For the Students: Students can create storybooks, long chapter books, and poetry books
with Storybird. They also have a fundraising program for students to get into. This is a
great way to use creativity for raising money for great causes.
5. Lulu

LuLu was one of the first players that offered serious online publishing features. They
established themselves in 2002 and they're still going strong. They've greatly expanded
their interface over the last few years. Everything you need to know about doing online
publishing is right here. They offer tutorials, resources, guides, and more to learn with.

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For the Students: LuLu is a great information database for self-publishing. They can create
all sorts of projects. These include print books, eBooks, photo books, and calendars. Check
out this article on how graduate students are even using LuLu for publishing a thesis.
6. Flipsnack

Flipsnack is a flip book creator. It's as simple as uploading a PDF file. It also supports
PNG and JPG files. It renders shareable interactive creations that can also include
multimedia. Flipsnack looks great across all online platforms and social media.

For the Students: This is a simple way to create and share a publication that has a unique
look and feel. Flipsnack lets students upload 3 publications of 15 pages each on their free
plan. Paid plans are quite reasonable and offer lots more features.
7. Penzu

Online journaling is the focus of Penzu and it works well. Journaling is a great writing and
self-reflective exercise. With a free online tool like Penzu, it becomes more appealing. The
interface replicates an old leather-bound journal with lined paper. The basic formatting
features are everything you need to get started. Upload photos to your journals too. You
can also go pro for even more features.

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For the Students: With Penzu Classroom, you can create class journals that can be graded
and managed. Students can also submit diary entries by email. They can even receive
comments from their teacher right inside the journal. Create and send assignments to
students with a due date, grading scheme, and more.

3.2b Enhancing Language Skills through Digital Storytelling

- Digital storytelling, the use of something digital while telling a story.
- Stories that make use of photographs, videos, animation, sound, music and text.
Storytelling is the art of producing an existing story, or rather to master the art of
creating. Creating stories, creating moments, creating feelings.
- Storytelling teaches students the skills they are learning in language, art & design
and computing, providing endless opportunities.
- It gets students moving, exploring and interacting in the real world, both to create
stories and deliver them.
Advantages of digital storytelling for students
1. Confidence
Digital storytelling for students is a great way to build a child’s confidence. Imagine
yourself as a child, haunted by the idea you have to perform in public. Well, recording
your performance on a mobile phone, playing it back with animation and effects for
classmates and teachers can be a much less daunting starting point. Creating something
on your own or in a group is equally a wonderful way to support self-esteem development
as students discover they really can come up with, as they deliver their own stories.

2. Creativity
Being creative helps to build invaluable life skills, from problem solving to self-expression.
It gives students the chance to explore their own personality. Story creation in any form
is creative. It empowers the imagination, and digital storytelling opens up a range of
additional creative avenues.
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”
- Albert Einstein

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6 Examples of storytelling tools
- Storytelling apps are aplenty. The landscape of educational tools is already vast,
but I’ll show you that there are storytelling apps aplenty as well: storytelling for
teachers, storytelling for students, you name it. Every app has its own
functionalities and can be used in both directions.
- The following are some of the storytelling tools listed and described by Knapen
(2018).

1. Steller

https://steller.co/explore
- This is a free storytelling application developed by Mombo Labs, which lets you
create photo and video stories with an emphasis on design. - the next web.
- Steller focuses on telling a story through pictures and text. The simple, yet
structured layout options allow even a beginner to produce a professional
standard of work.
- By creating a story on Steller, the reader gets more engaged into what the
message truly is. People have the opportunity to create an experience that will
stick in people’s minds. It gives the chance to produce memories. Go out!
Experience Steller and start telling your stories!

2. Adobe Spark Page

https://www.adobe.com/express/
- Adobe Spark Page is a free online web page builder. No coding or design skills
needed. Create your own beautiful web story using videos, pictures and text. The
templates and layout options available are very modern, and are designed to
present your work in an elegant and engaging way, focusing on visual content.
- The combination of its ease of use, ingenious functionality, and truly professional
results give it the potential to aid far more people than Photoshop ever will
(really!). On top of having the maturity of a decade-old product, Adobe Spark is
completely free.

3. WeVideo

https://www.wevideo.com/
- This company started in 2011, and has the goal of bringing its educational creative
toolbox to a broader global audience of students and educators.

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 - WeVideo wants to make video editing available for everyone. They make it
possible for friends, families, teachers, students and businesses small and large to
create incredible videos that inspire and above all motivate.
“WeVideo has deep roots in education and believes that creativity is driven by
what is inside the hearts and minds of people, not by complicated technology”.
4. Popplet

https://www.popplet.com/
- Popplet, an iPad and web app, is a tool to capture and organize your ideas.
Students can for example use Popplet for learning. Used as a mind-map, it helps
students think and learn visually. Students can capture facts, thoughts, and images
to structure their stories.

5. Storybird

https://storybird.com/
- Storybird not only gives you the simple tools to create books in minutes, the
application lets you discover an endless library of free books, picture books and
poetry as well. Storybird lets anyone make visual stories in seconds. The site
mentions that they are a storytelling community, rather than an application. For
them, it’s more about creating a creative world where anyone can tell their stories,
as crazy as they get.

6. Bookcreator

https://bookcreator.com/
- Book Creator is an open- ended book creation app that unleashes creativity.
Create your own teaching resources, or have your students take the reins.
Combine text, images, audio and video to create: Interactive stories, digital
portfolios, research journals, poetry books, science reports, instruction manuals,
‘About me’ book, comic adventures, …

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3.2c Enhancing Language Skills through E-mail activities
- Email activities are very good activities to develop language skills. Through some e-mail
activities that can be facilitated by the teacher, the students are given the opportunity to
practice and demonstrate their reading and writing skills. It may also enhance further
their research and ICT skills. Barron et.al (2002), were able to present the following email
activities that can be fully maximized to develop the various language skills of students.

1. Pen pal Activities

- This is the most common form of e-mails projects called electronic pen pals or e-
pals. Students can practice their written communication skills and can become
aware of other cultures and practice foreign language skills. This can be done
through the following:

a. Belouga

https://belouga.org/

- Belouga was founded in 2017 with the mission of making education impactful and
accessible on a global scale through peer-to-peer and classroom connection,
communication and collaboration.
- Realizing the rapidly changing landscape of technology and education, the team
looked to create a central location, which takes the heavy lifting out of global
education, and provides teachers and students with a personalized learning
experience through community and content without sacrificing creativity or
curriculum needs.

b. Epals

https://www.epals.com/#/connections

- is an education media company and the leading Global Learning Network. Focused
on the K-12 market, ePals offers school administrators, teachers, students and
parents worldwide trusted content, interactive learning experiences, and a
collaborative learning community.

c. Empatico

https://empatico.org/

- Empatico empowers teachers and students to explore the world through

experiences that spark curiosity, kindness, and empathy.

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 2. Peer-to-peer Tutoring
Another form of electronic communication is peer-to-peer tutoring or
mentoring. By using e-mail communication, students will be provided with
opportunities to practice their mentoring skills apart from enhancing their
language skills.
3. Ask an Expert
Email is a very powerful tool for students to use to engage the experts in
the field especially if the experts are far from their institution. They can engage
the Ask an Expert Website at http://www.askanexpert.com.
4. Round Robin Stories
In a round-robin approach, a participating class starts a story with one
paragraph. The story starter is sent to a predetermined class (class one sends its
story, class two, and so on). Students work in small groups to add a new paragraph
to the story.

Publication Requirements in the Light of Digital Age

- While there is a ubiquity of productivity tools for students to maximize, it is your
responsibility as the facilitator of the learning process to ensure that your students
will be fully guided to observe several guidelines in publishing their products.
- It must be noted that the development of high-quality digital learning products
and materials involves a complex combination of subject matter expertise,
instructional design knowledge, and technical skills- graphic design, photography,
audio, video, computer programming, etc. (Wilde, 2004).
- With the engagement of all this, it is important to be mindful of the following:

A. Copyright law
Copyright law protects “works of authorship”. Hence it is very important for teachers
and students to learn more about copyrights laws and copyright acts to ensure that there
will be no copyright infringements that will happen in the process of authoring of
publishing materials offline or online.
According to FindLaw (2020), the Copyright Act states that works of authorship include
the following types of works:
▪ Literary works. Novels, nonfiction prose, poetry, newspaper articles and
newspapers, magazine articles and magazines, computer software, software
documentation and manuals, training manuals, manuals, catalogs, brochures, ads
(text), and compilations such as business directories
▪ Musical works. Songs, advertising jingles, and instrumentals.
▪ Dramatic works. Plays, operas, and skits.
▪ Pantomimes and choreographic works. Ballets, modern dance, jazz dance, and
mime works.
▪ Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works. Photographs, posters, maps, paintings,
drawings, graphic art, display ads, cartoon strips and cartoon characters, stuffed
animals, statues, paintings, and works of fine art.

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 ▪ Motion pictures and other audiovisual works. Movies, documentaries,
travelogues, training films and videos, television shows, television ads,
and interactive multimedia works.
▪ Sound recordings. Recordings of music, sounds, or words.
▪ Architectural works. Building designs, whether in the form of architectural plans,
drawings, or the constructed building itself.

FindLaw (2020) further states that Copyright law is important for multimedia
developers and publishers for two reasons:
1. Original multimedia works are protected by copyright. The Copyright Act's
exclusive rights provision gives developers and publishers the right to control
unauthorized exploitation of their works.
2. Multimedia works are created by combining "content" - music, text, graphics,
illustrations, photographs, software - that is protected under copyright law.
Developers and publishers must avoid infringing copyrights owned by others.

B. Anti-Bullying Act of 2013

- The Republic Act No. 10627 or also known as the Anti Bullying Act of 2013
addresses this concern among parents, teachers and even students who are
considered victims of bullying. The anti-bullying act ensures that these cases will
no longer fall on deaf ears. With the pervasiveness of bullying at schools, more
and more parents are concerned about their children’s safety since teachers are
not always present to keep an eye on students. Children are not safe from harm
against bullies especially when they are outside of the school’s premise. The
growing number of bullying cases is already a cause for alarm.
- Bullying refers to any repeated or severe use by one or more students of a verbal,
electronic or written expression, or a physical gesture or act that can bring physical
or emotional harm to the victim. Bullying is also perceived as creating an
unfriendly environment for the other student that can cause disruption in the
education process.

- The following is considered acts of bullying:

a) Any unwanted physical contact between the victim and the bully such as pushing,
shoving punching, tickling, headlocks, slapping, teasing, fighting, inflicting school
pranks and the use of available objects or weapons;
b) Any act that can create damage to a victim’s emotional well-being;
c) Any accusation that can make the victim emotionally distressed such as profanity,
foul language, negative comments or derogatory remarks on the victim’s
appearance, body and clothes; and
d) Cyber-bullying or any type of bullying that is initiated with the use of technology
or any electronic means.
C. Republic Act No. 10175
- This Act shall be known as the “Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
- This policy declares that the State recognizes the vital role of information and
communications industries such as content production, telecommunications,
broadcasting electronic commerce, and data processing, in the nation’s overall
social and economic development.

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 - The State also recognizes the importance of providing an environment conducive
to the development, acceleration, and rational application and exploitation of
information and communications technology (ICT) to attain free, easy, and
intelligible access to exchange and/or delivery of information; and the need to
protect and safeguard the integrity of computer, computer and communications
systems, networks, and databases, and the confidentiality, integrity, and
availability of information and data stored therein, from all forms of misuse,
abuse, and illegal access by making punishable under the law such conduct or
conducts. In this light, the State shall adopt sufficient powers to effectively
prevent and combat such offenses by facilitating their detection, investigation,
and prosecution at both the domestic and international levels, and by providing
arrangements for fast and reliable international cooperation.

References:

Attorney.org. (01 September 2015). An Overview of Republic Act No. 10627 Anti-
Bullying Act
https://attorney.org.ph/legal-news/21-an-overview-of-republic-act-no-10627-anti-
bullying-act

FindLaw Attorney Writers. (June 08, 2017). Copyright Law

https://corporate.findlaw.com/intellectual-property/copyright-law.html

7 Cool Tools for Experimenting with Online Publishing

https://wabisabilearning.com/blogs/technology-integration/7-tools-for-online-
publishing

Knapen, Ruben (Apr 11, 2018). Learning by telling stories - 7 amazing storytelling tools
for teachers and students
https://www.bookwidgets.com/blog/2018/04/learning-by-telling-stories-7-amazing-
storytelling-tools-for-teachers-and-students

Espique, Felina P. & Ayao-ao, Shirly L. (2020). Technology for Teaching and Learning 2 for
Language Education English/Filipino. Quezon City: Lorimar Publishing, Inc.

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