John Long, technology program specialist at Florida's Palm Beach County School District, has trained many educators over the years and today focuses on digital storytelling.
"I have trained over 1,000 teachers throughout my academic career," says Long, who provides training and support for the district's 104 elementary schools. Long has also presented at 20 conferences and helped launch a district technology conference that today attracts 2,000 participants-a 125% increase from when it first launched a decade ago.

Of all of Long's professional achievements, he is perhaps best known for his digital storytelling academy. In 2002, he formed the MOD (Multimedia on Demand) Squad, an enthusiastic group of tech-forward educators. The MOD Squad got to work training 50 teachers in the district to compose multimedia stories and to teach their students to do the same. In exchange for attending the academy and completing two projects, participants received digital goodies to bring back to their classrooms.

According to educator David Jakes, "digital storytelling merges a personal story with video, still-frame imagery, music, and voice to create a personal multimedia story."

Jakes, a digital storytelling expert who has written and spoken extensively on the topic, says its benefits in the classroom are multifold.
"Students learn to write differently and more effectively," writes Jakes. "They learn new visual literacy skills, new software skills, and learn to develop voice, a voice which is amplified by the inclusion of multimedia. The result is a potentially compelling digital product, much different and beyond the initial piece of 'analog'writing." (See Jakes' blog on digital storytelling)

Long's first academy produced such compelling results that he conducted four in the 2002-2003 school year. During that time, 350 teachers were trained and 141 schools received equipment.

With a critical mass of district teachers trained in digital storytelling techniques, the next logical step was to facilitate its integration at the school level. In fall 2004, Long and his colleagues created a "tech ambassadors" program, in which two teachers from each of the district's elementary schools are trained to be on-the-ground tech mentors.

The first year of training zeroed in on basic technology integration. Years two and three introduced more advanced projects, including digital content and digital curriculum creation. And in year four, the 200 ambassadors moved into the realm of Web 2.0, learning how to produce and distribute podcasts. Along the way, ambassadors receive incentives such as laptops, LCD projectors, and digital camcorders, plus a modest stipend and in-service credits.

Long's interest in digital storytelling has its roots in his teaching days. Earlier in his career, when he was a music teacher at the district's Roosevelt Elementary School, he also served as the school's first technology coordinator. During his 12-year tenure at Roosevelt, Long served as the catalyst for the school's nascent technology program. He was instrumental in locating money to seed the school with new technologies.

"By 2000, I had written $1.5 million in grants for the school," he says.
He also worked with classroom teachers to successfully incorporate those technologies into instruction. One project they developed together-and which would inspire Long's later work-was the Mysterious Black Cat, a HyperStudiobased story that students created using a combination of text, illustration, audio, and video.

The rest is history.

Learn more about Long's district.

Last byte: "i don't like to talk about my accomplishments because i am doing my job; but if it helps other teachers, i don't mind sharing because it is all about the students and the teachers who work with them

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