Do you need inspiration for ways to use digital storytelling in the first few weeks of the new school year? Look no further! Here are 5 ideas for elementary teachers and 5 for middle/high school teachers. Let’s tell some digital stories!

Join the conversation I recently had with podcasting expert Tricia Friedman for inspiration about how to engage your students with podcasting this year!

Picture 24 17-year-old high schoolers living completely different lives and with very different socio-economic backgrounds collaborating on a project 13 time zones apart. Today, such learning is made possible with technology and new pedagogies such as digital storytelling, and this is the story of one such collaboration.

When Dulwich College Suzhou (DCSZ) nursery teacher Ben Widdowson learned about a fun digital storytelling tool called Chatterpix, he knew it was something he wanted to use with his young learners.

When Dagne Furth, an experienced English literature and global citizenship educator, helped her students publish a book called Dear Tariq this past year, she knew she wanted to make the project available to teachers around the world.

A fifth grade student talks about the excitement of publishing stories on his classroom digital storytelling platform, and 3 high school students share reflections on the power of digital storytelling in relation to an AISA-GISS conference.

Equipping students to connect with others and develop the ability to listen and empathize with others is foundational in our service learning programs and experiences. This is the backbone of good, critical service learning that shapes our students’ understanding of the world and opens up complex layers of thinking about self, community, equity and belonging.

At Aga Khan Academy Mombasa, Kauthar Mohamed and her team have built a robust model for service learning that equips students to understand and apply all five stages of the service learning cycle.

Responding to the climate crisis with purpose and a sense of hope and action is key for educators who want to equip students to think critically and creatively about the future. At the International School of Kenya (ISK), this approach has led to the creation of a collaborative and action-oriented network called the Carbon Neutral Alliance, and the students in this network have spearheaded a mission to make their school carbon neutral this year.

I have been pondering futures thinking this week, a dynamic way of thinking about a desired future and using design thinking skills to design strategic solutions that support that vision. The idea is that our thoughts lead to action, and if we imagine a more sustainable, just and stable future, we can create ways of making that future come to life.

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of running a workshop for AISA (Association of International Schools in Africa) educators about mindfulness. Since that experience, I have been thinking non-stop about good health and well-being and the nature of our busy schools.

I have been obsessed with Monarch butterflies for a long time, perhaps since I was old enough to first see them in my yard in rural Ontario. And as I watch some Monarch caterpillars munch on milkweed in an insect tent in my living room, I reflect on how many things they can teach us about climate change.

A simple and deeply impactful strategy we can use to create changemaker cultures in our schools is digital storytelling, both as a tool for student engagement and inquiry and an outcome that demonstrates deep learning and local/global impact. If you haven't used digital storytelling with your students, I want to share some easy ways to get started.

The end of the year always puts me in a reflective mood, and I usually find myself thinking about what went well throughout the year, as well as what didn't go so well, and where I want to design change for the upcoming year. I'm guessing you do this, too.

Some schools have programs that are so brilliant they could serve as models for other schools all around the world. When you learn about the Changemaker Education Program at the American School of Dubai, I think you'll agree with me that it is just such a program.

High School English teacher Nicola Ball, who teaches at Dulwich College Pudong in Shanghai, China, has embarked on a bold digital storytelling journey. Inspired by a desire to pair environmental conservation with the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese Zodiac, she has embraced a creative storytelling approach and is creating waves of engagement in her school.

It is vital to provide time and space for our students, at all ages, to process what they're hearing on the news or from other people, and to reflect on what it means to be a peacemaker in our local and global communities. Given the ways in which humans gravitate towards violence and aggression, this aspect of what we do as educators is so very important, especially when overt military action is taking place.

A group of students and educators at the International School of Kenya (ISK) in Nairobi is doing something incredible. They are removing plastic from the natural environment, upcycling the plastic into useful products, and partnering with local communities to create immense change. What started as a small high school club has grown into a large co-curricular endeavor with connections to the curricular program, and into a social enterprise providing hundreds of jobs at plastics workshops throughout the country.

The brain science around storytelling suggests that if we want students to really learn what we're teaching (in any content area), stories are a key strategy for evoking engagement, embedding information into our memories and creating compassion and trust in our classroom. This isn't an add-on but an essential way we can reframe our curriculum so it is meaningful and purposeful for our students.

Connecting with nature is key for helping our students develop a passion for conservation and sustainability. If your school campus is in a green area, it might seem easier to align learning experiences with time outside. For teachers in urban settings, this may feel like a challenge, but nature and outdoor educator Kenny Peavy feels every educator can find ways of connecting nature to classroom learning, either by finding pockets of accessible nature or by bringing outdoor elements inside the classroom.