Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1525262
incentivize students to produce high-quality work because they know that, upon completion, their proj- ects will be displayed publicly or used by others. It discourages cheating. Cheating has always been a struggle for educators that has been exacerbated by digital tools and artificial intelligence apps like ChatGPT. Addressing this problem requires us to con- sider why students are motivated to cheat and also to reflect on why our assessments are so "cheatable" in the first place. When every student is expected to have the exact same answer, we've set ourselves up for failure. Digital story projects are an antidote to cheating because they embrace traits that make assessments uncheatable: originality, personal connection and pur- pose. Each project is unique, students have agency to explore an aspect of a topic in ways that resonate with them, and they are created with the purpose of shar- ing with an authentic audience beyond the classroom. In my journalism class, for example, students create news stories that tackle real issues in our community. Each story begins with the student's curiosity and wonder about the world, and the process of answering their initial question becomes a personal intellectual quest. Rather than an essay or test, the summative learning experience is to produce a final product — a digital story — to help solve problems, draw atten- tion to the needs of underrepresented groups, and relay reliable facts so that their audience can make good decisions. It's like STEM for the human- ities, since it creates a product (the stor y) Continued on Page 45 " Rigor and hard work can be synonymous with passion and purpose — we can and should enjoy working hard to achieve goals that are meaningful and for causes we care about." From a student project. S T O R Y P R O J E C T S like these easily fold into your curriculum or are a simple pivot from assignments you already have. Some, like explainer videos, can be a direct replacement for essays or class presentations; others, like oral history proj- ects (podcasts) or digital books, might have a slight learning curve. While there are many ideas and tips for using story projects in my book, here are a few quick-win projects you can try right away. Interview an Expert Using the audio recorder app on phones or tablets, or video conferencing tools like Zoom, have students interview an expert on a topic they 're currently learning about. Then have students create a written self-reflection of the experience in a Google Doc or a blog post on a website and include a record- ing of the interview for reference. Level up: Have students create a podcast by editing the interviews and adding voice- over commentary and music. Skills learned: – Qualitative research methods – Public speaking and interpersonal skills – Question development – Scheduling meetings – Importance of primary sources and expertise Anthology Projects Websites and digital books give students a repository to collect multiple learning artifacts such as essays, photographs, audio recordings, data visualizations or videos. This helps students create larger narratives that can make space for complex top- ics, provide opportunities for collaborative stories with multiple authors, or show progress and change of a topic over time. Anthology projects can be used for many purposes, such as portfolios of student work, lab reports and literary magazines. These kinds of projects can also provide transparency about student learning journeys that you can share with parents, administration, colleges or future employers. Skills learned: – Editing and curation – Analysis – Writing – Collaboration Tips for Incorporating Digital Stories in Your Classroom Start small. Take a single assignment, like a report or presen- tation, and turn it into a digital storytelling project by having students produce an explainer video or podcast instead. Keep stories short (a 1–3-page book or 60-second video, for example). Use what you've got. Smartphones and tablets have built-in cameras and microphones, and graphics apps like Canva or Adobe Express can be used on any device. Quick-Win Digital Storytelling Projects 44 cta.org Teaching & Learning