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MULTIMEDIA STORYTELLING FOR TEACHING HISTORY: IMPACT ON STUDENT LEARNING, MOTIVATION AND ENGAGEMENT.

Tengku Putri Norishah Tengku Shariman, 1Fadilahwati Abdul Rahman,

Faculty of Creative Multimedia, Multimedia University,

62250 Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia tengku.norishah@mmu.edu.my

1Centre of Knowledge Management,

Multimedia University, 62250 Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the outcomes of using multimedia storytelling as a strategy to enhance the learning of history. Multimedia is defined as an interactive computer-mediated presentation that includes at least two of the following elements: text, sound, still graphic images, motion graphics, and animation. Interactive means permitting the user to exercise some measure of control over the flow of information being exploited and delivered. Successful history teaching and learning stems from presenting historical topics as in-depth issues to be resolved, in a narrative context. Hence, using multimedia storytelling which combines the longstanding art of telling stories with any of a variety of available multimedia tools, including graphics, audio, video, animation, and Web publishing is suitable for teaching and learning history. The major finding from the data collected, based on questionnaires and interviews among Form 2 students in Selangor, is the purpose of multimedia storytelling is not merely to entertain students, but to help them learn to think historically and develop their facility for making historical meaning from the images, texts, and objects in the world around them. In comparison to more traditional methodologies, multimedia storytelling allows students to use various forms of evidence for critical analysis and narrative.

INTRODUCTION Teaching history is very essential for history is considered usually as one of the tools used in nation-building. History plays the role of producing Malaysian citizens who have a sense of pride, belonging and loyalty to their nation.1 Hence, the focus of the History subject in Malaysia is on developing the critical thinking skills of analyzing and understanding the values of patriotism. The aim of this research is to identify the effectiveness of implementing multimedia storytelling for the teaching and learning of History. In traditional history teaching, information is practically drummed into the students’ heads until they are overloaded with information (Carpenter, 1962). Using the textbook becomes the most expedient way of teaching, and the student often becomes a passive receiver of more information than one could ever hope to comprehend, analyze and encode. However, Craig Derksen (2006) sums up what most teacher of history should accomplish, "If we want students to understand the lessons of history, they must be turned on to history; it must be made relevant to their lives. This can be achieved by allowing students to become active participants in the learning process rather than passive recipients of information” (p. 78). In this study, multimedia storytelling is used as a medium for teaching and learning history as a constructivist approach because it gives the learner ownership; there is an emotional connection that supports deep learning, and it gives an authentic voice to the learner. Dr. Barrett (2005) considers storytelling as a mode of reflection and multimedia, the tools of digital technology, should be used to democratize voice and therefore empower more people, than the prior set of analog tools, in communicating embedded ideas and messages. Historical topics are 1 Pusat Perkembangan Kurikulum Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia, “Huraian Sukatan Pelajaran, Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah, Sejarah Tingkatan 1 & 2”, page.2.

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usually presented in a narrative context and multimedia storytelling enable the transformation of history ‘stories’ into objects of reflection in their own right. Traditional educational methods have been found to result in surface Learning, where students are overly dependent on lecturers or teachers, and are not encouraged to question what they have learnt or to associate new with previously acquired knowledge (Entwistle & Ramsden, 1983; Gow & Kember, 1990). Storytelling nurtures our students’ capacities to imagine and reflect. It facilitates deep learning, especially when students are engaged in meaning making storytelling activities. Research reveals that the type of story told, where it is shared, who is involved, and how it is processed influences the breadth and depth of learning (Banaszewski, T., 2002). When combined with multimedia, students are able to tell stories within an interactive system. Learning then becomes a more dynamic process since students can access and explore an array of data through using multimedia tools. Interactive multimedia is championed as the means for giving back control of learning to the student. Mayer (1997) explained that the basic theory of multimedia learning is to “engage learners in the cognitive processes required for meaningful learning within the visual and verbal information processing systems” (p. 4). He further explained that meaningful learning in a multimedia environment occurs “when learners select words and images from a presented material, organizing these words and images into a coherent mental representation, and integrating the resulting verbal and visual representations with one another” (Mayer, 1997, p.4). This study seeks to prove that multimedia storytelling offer students with opportunities to reflect and build their understanding of the history content provided through meaningful, cognitively engaging tasks. METHOD AND PROCEDURE The key question in this study is “If students are using Multimedia Storytelling, what are the outcomes in relation to learning, motivation and engagement? A complementary question is “What are the benefits of developing multimedia stories as perceived by students?” These two questions seek to measure the effectiveness of the Multimedia Storytelling activity by examining students’ learning styles and preferences as well as their experiences in creating the stories. The goal of multimedia storytelling is to allow a writer to experience the power of personal expression. Therefore, students’ multimedia stories need to be constructed from their own experience and understanding. In the context of this research, the history topics chosen should have an organization similar to a story which has a beginning, a middle and an ending. For example, a topic that describes the arrival of the British in Malaya, leading to the colonization of our country as part of the British empire. For this research, students were expected to use multimedia software tools to create digital stories based on a specific history topic. Three technical assistants, including the researchers, were available for guidance. Thirty five form two students at a secondary school in Selangor were randomly chosen and assigned to form seven groups to construct these stories. The duration given for the project was one month. Then, fourteen subjects, two from each group, were selected to be interviewed. The purpose of the interview was to explore the interviewees’ thinking processes while developing the digital stories. Prior to the task, a questionnaire was also distributed among students to determine the students’ motivation, learning styles and ICT competency. The procedure involved in carrying out the project include the following:

I. Pre-production Stage - Decide on a history topic that will be ‘the story’ for their multimedia storytelling project. - Do some research, analyze and compile content on the topic; content may include image

resources (pictures, drawings, photographs, maps, charts), audio resources (music, speeches, interviews, and sound effects), and informational resources (from books, articles, websites).

- Brainstorm on the purpose, message, and viewpoints of their selected story II. Production Stage

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- Write the script that will be used as the narration or text in the story - Plan and sketch the scenes of the story (storyboarding) - Select or create all the visual and audio components needed - Use a computer microphone and record the narration of the script - Import and assemble all the components of the story using a multimedia software III. Post-production Stage - Review and finalize the story, then save it in a CD. - Demonstrate and present the digital stories - Gather feedback about the story; how the story could be improved or expanded

Finally, during the final presentation of the project, the students’ work was also observed by the researchers and history teachers of the school. A rubric was used to assess the effectiveness of the students’ multimedia products in conveying the purpose and intended message of the stories. The data collected is extremely rich but for the purposes of this paper, only responses dealing with learner motivation and engagement will be discussed. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Pre-task Questionnaire The result of this study shows that a majority of the students generally hold a positive attitude towards history subject (M = 4.06, SD = 0.45), as illustrated in Table 1 below. However, many students reported that they were not motivated to study history. Most prefer to learn history through audiovisual means (52%) and hands-on activities (56%). Moreover, students were unsure whether they preferred analyzing concepts over memorizing facts (41%) or liked group work (41%). This is incongruent with the idea that multimedia storytelling encourages students to learn deeper because they are able to create a story that is based on a specific concept related to their knowledge and experiences, instead of memorizing unrelated bits of knowledge (Weigel, 2001). When we understand the concept of a story, it is easier to recall the story elements and encode the facts to our long term memory. This fact supports the significance of storytelling in learning history. The respondents’ profile demonstrates that many of the students had computer access (89.4%) and Internet access (55.0%) at home. This is understandable because the school is located in one of larger towns in Selangor. Obviously these students are comfortable with using ICT due to their early exposure to computers. Relatively, the students were equally optimistic about using multimedia tools in general. These feedbacks include: worth to spend time and effort on learning about multimedia (62%) and they were ready to use them in their lessons (48%). This is very encouraging, as readiness to change is a crucial element in the formation of a right attitude.

Table 1: Students’ Motivation and learning style

No.

Items

Percent (%) Mean SD HN N Neu P HP

1 History is an important subject to study 1.0 4.6 14.1 48.5 31.8 4.06 0.45

2 I am motivated to study history 23.1 33.1 30.6 8.8 4.4 2.38 1.07 3 *I prefer to study or work alone 8.8 18.8 41.3 17.5 13.8 3.09 1.12 4 I easily absorb information through

reading, watching or listening 0.6 1.3 1.9 44.4 51.9 4.46 0.66

5 I prefer to be actively involved in the learning process by doing something physically (hands-on activity)

0.6 1.9 18.1 56.3 23.1 3.99 0.74

6 I prefer to understand and analyze concepts, rather than memorize facts

1.9 25.0 40.6 25.0 7.5 3.11 0.93

7 I would like to learn more about multimedia

2.5 6.3 24.4 49.5 17.5 3.73 0.91

8 *Learning about multimedia is a waste of time and effort 61.9 22.5 11.3 3.1 1.3 1.59 0.90

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9 Multimedia can enhance my learning 0.6 0.6 11.9 50.6 36.3 4.21 0.72 10 I am ready to use multimedia for all

my subjects, including history 0.6 0.6 4.4 46.9 47.5 4.40 0.67

Scale: HN = Highly Negative, N = Negative, Neu = Neutral, P = Positive, SA = Highly Positive Note: * Polarity reversed for these items Post-task Interview Fourteen students were interviewed after the multimedia storytelling project was completed to facilitate in-depth exploration of the students’ perceptions, the main function being “to focus attention on a given experience and its effects” to the interviewee (Kidder and Judd, 1986, p. 274). A semi-structured approach was taken and following transcription, the interviews were analysed and emergent themes were identified as explained below. Views of Learning Prior to Task For most of the interviewees, the teacher was perceived as the authority and expert on history. So far, the subject has been taught using conventional methods of teaching. Consequently, students were worried about the task and said that the task would most probably be “tough and difficult.” Their anxiety and nervousness might be due to the fact that so far, the students had never worked on their own without the teacher’s assistance. One student explained, “Before starting the project, I was very concerned. In the past I never thought I could create anything independently.” However, they were keen to try this new teaching and learning approach as revealed by the following student, “But after the briefing on the task, I started to think positively, and not concentrate on the possible problems that may occur.” Use of Multimedia Storytelling Procedures Generally the interviewees understood the procedures required in the task. For students, a clear and thorough explanation is very important. One student reported, “At first I couldn’t make out what the teacher (in this case the researcher) said, but when she explained, I was satisfied. She is nice and cooperative. It was my first experience and I don’t know how to accomplish it. But she encouraged us and enabled us to do a marvelous job.” Most of the learners enjoyed the multimedia storytelling activity, but a few complained of the short time given to learn about the multimedia applications. For example, “If we had more time to spare, we might know more about the multimedia tools and could have done more than what we did. Anyway, the technical assistant helped us a lot.” It appears that students were aware of the vast possibilities offered by multimedia storytelling, but they thought that their lack of multimedia application skills prevented them from performing as well as they wanted to. However, the majority of interviewees also accepted that multimedia storytelling improved their awareness of the history topic a great deal as experienced by this student, “Throughout this activity, I have been learning a lot about the people and relationships that happened during the event. I have found in-depth information through research and was able interpret and present the information according to my understanding of the topic through storyboarding, scriptwriting and assembling the audiovisual resources.” Group Dynamics and Peer Interaction According to the questionnaire result, some of the students preferred group while others preferred individual learning. In fact, many were unsure about their preference. The task, though, required students to spend a significant amount of time on the task in collaborative groups. Several interviewees pointed out that the completion of the task benefited from collaboration with another person. One student commented, “Since the task is not easy, two heads or more are definitely better than one!” Another student responded that “If I was working alone, and if I get stuck, I may not be able to think of an answer. But, when I am working with someone else, I get a different perspective.” On the other hand, group work also has it challenges as pointed out by this student, “It can be difficult to work together in a group especially if more than one person want to be ‘the boss’.” This view emphasizes the importance of stating upfront the rules of behaviour expected in collaborative projects like these. It may also be that in history lessons, the students never had a chance to work on collaborative projects, and find it difficult to work out principles of cooperation.

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Awareness of Learner Motivation and Engagement Multimedia storytelling can become projects that empower and excite students imaginations instead of making students feel as if they simply want to "get it done" and feel disengaged (Placier, Fitzgerakd, and Hall, 2000). This fact is proven when one student reflected, “The project was fun for all. First the motivated and smarter students contributed. But later, the other students, the weaker ones, also became interested and started getting involved.” Another student added, “I really felt connected to the content, because I could format the material into a story from my own point of view.” Besides the ‘interesting and reflective’ value of the project, another aspect appears to be instrumental in pushing students towards better performance. Some of the interviewees’ responses indicated that they are as yet not very sure of the value of their work and required the approval of their teachers and peers to feel satisfied, “Now when the project is complete, I’m quite satisfied and happy with my work since we really wanted our work to be appreciated by others.” Views of Learning Outcome In answering the question, “Was the multimedia storytelling project useful for learning history and in what way?”, overall the interviewees responded they felt the project was very useful for learning history. One student explained that the project allowed her to play ‘an active part’ in her learning, having had the opportunity to reflect on the historical ‘story’ and share her view points with other students in her team. Another felt that it was a hugely positive experience for him and his group because they could verbalise their feelings and ideas about the historical ‘story’ in an interesting way. A third student said that the project enabled him to analyze the significance of a historical event critically, especially during the research process, and transfer and visualize his thoughts into a concrete product. To quote from just a few reflections, “I gained a lot of information on the assigned topic”; “I felt like a responsible person because I gained a great amount of knowledge on my own, together with my team mates”; and “It was a difficult task. But when we have completed the project, I can now say that it was useful for us. Now we can easily make another.” The responses of the students show that they found multimedia storytelling a useful and enjoyable activity for learning history. RECOMMENDATION This study has applied an alternative approach, which is multimedia storytelling, to the teaching and learning of history. From our investigation, we discover that this approach has motivated students to study the history contents and engaged them in activities that enhanced their learning of the history subject. Banaszewski (2002) stressed that while the technology enabled students to develop and share a clear, effective story, the technology is always secondary to the storytelling. What makes storytelling with technology so rewarding for students is that they are in the director's chair. Multimedia storytelling should allow the learner to feel in control of the process, including the "look and feel.” Greater learner control over the content, purpose, and process will lead to more intrinsic motivation (Barrett, 2005). Moreover, through multimedia storytelling, students can actively examine issues and work collaboratively with their peers to make interpretations and meanings of a particular topic. Deep Learning, compared to surface learning, involves reflection, self direction, critical examination of ideas or arguments, and consequently, students become interested in the course content (Weigel, V.B., 2001). The result of this study is consistent with research findings by Mellon (1999) and Lambert (2000). This finding suggests that storytelling, one of the oldest media for transmitting and creating knowledge, has returned to prominence as a mode of deep learning in the digital era. Another issue to consider when implementing multimedia storytelling is the familiarity of students with a variety of multimedia applications including: text, still images, audio, video and web publishing. Even though the students have a positive attitude towards multimedia storytelling, the result of the study indicates that most of the students felt that they have not received adequate multimedia-related training. Consequently, they felt inadequate to use the multimedia applications during the early stages of the task. It is observed that once students received technical guidance throughout the project, they started to relax and focused more on crafting effective interpretations that demonstrated their ability to think historically. In comparison to more traditional assignments

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such as term papers, multimedia allow students to use various forms of evidence (text, images, audio clips, and music) to produce new forms of critical analysis and narrative. Figures 1 and 2 below are examples of students’ work.

Figure 1: A screen capture of a scene taken from a Multimedia Story about the influence of the

East India Company and Sir Francis Light in Penang

Figure 2: A screen capture of a scene taken from a Multimedia Story about the influence of the East India Company and the invasion of Melaka by the British

The outcomes indicate students’ positive views on multimedia storytelling, their use of strategies, sense of motivation and engagement, and improvement in historical thinking. We should also think about some that issues have arisen from this research. First, we need to nurture our our students’ capacities to imagine and reflect. Second, we should involve students in activities that allow them to process stories from multiple perspectives, thus engaging in truly reflective dialogue and creating opportunities to expand their understandings of contents. Third, by using multimedia, we can digitise experiences whether they are fact or fiction. When anchored in sound educational frameworks, these approaches develop dynamic teaching practices that maximise opportunities for students to integrate their learning experiences and achieve meaningful outcomes. However, further studies are also required to validate the ways multimedia storytelling facilitate deep learning and identify the conditions needed for this to happen.

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CONCLUSION In Malaysia, so far the initiatives in ICT in education has concentrated on developing and delivering content to students. We should also strive to fulfill the Government’s vision of creating a knowledgeable society, and to do this, true education must go beyond the access to information, and involve an “engagement with others” to construct and apply knowledge (Dewey (1938) and Laurillard (1993), as cited in Anderson, 2003). Students are already consumers of stories in the form of TV shows, commercials, movies, and computer games. The power of combining images, sounds, music, and text to tell a story cannot be underestimated. Perhaps it is time that we encourage our students to become producers of their own educational content. REFERENCE Anderson, T. (2003). Getting the Mix Right Again: An Updated and Theoretical Rationale for

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Banaszewski, T. (2002). Digital storytelling finds its place in the classroom. Multimedia Schools 9(1), pages 32-35, Available online: http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/jan02/banaszewski.htm

Barrett, H. (2005). Storytelling in higher education: A theory of reflection on practice to support deep learning. Technology and Teacher Education Annual 2005. Charlottesville : Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education, pp. 78- 83.

Carpenter, R. (1995). History as Rhetoric: Style, Narrative, and Persuasion. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1995. Derksen, C. (2006). An investigation on the role of popular art in the digital age. Doctoral Thesis. The Graduate School of the University of Maryland. Entwistle & Ramsden (1983). Understanding Student Learning. London: Croom Helm. Gow & Kember (1990). Does higher education promote independent learning ? Higher Education, 19, 307-322. Kidder & Judd (1986). Research method in social relations, 5th. Ed., New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Lambert, J. (2000). Has digital storytelling succeeded as a movement? Some thoughts. dStory

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Mellon, C.A. (1999). Digital storytelling: effective learning through the Internet. Educational Technology, March-April, 46-50. Placier, et al. (2000). “I Just Did It to Get it Done” – The Transformation of Intentions in Portfolio

Assessment in Teacher Education. Paper presented at annual meeting of AERA, April 2001, Seattle WA.

Weigel, V.B. (2001). Deep learning for a digital age: technology's untapped potential to enrich higher education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.