105 Knight Lab Transforms your Kids into Digital Bards...Starring Michael Brilla

I loved being a student. Sometimes as a teacher, I'd like to trade places with my students. I enjoy learning. Well in this episode, I get to do just that! Michael Brilla is a fabulous middle school history teacher from Pottstown, Pa. Michael is my teacher and I'm his student. He's going to school me about digital storytelling. I'm reading a fascinating book called "Talk Like TED" by Carmine Gallo. Carmine evaluates the presentation styles of the most popular TED presenters. One common thread is powerful storytelling. Teachers have a responsibility to help kids evolve as storytellers. It's an essential skill. Michael Brilla and I became acquainted on Twitter. He promoted the idea of digital storytelling. I was instantly intrigued. Michael's platform of choice is Knight Lab. Knight Lab is a free platform gifted to the world from a team of brilliant, talented, and creative faculty and students at Northwestern University. Job 1 when I return to school in one month is to master this powerful platform. I was thrilled to listen to Michael because he's already utilized it extensively and successfully. In this episode, Michael highlights his student's creation of Timelines and Story Maps. Please visit these links and marvel at what Michael's kids created. Digital storytelling has great potential!