Digital Storytelling Rubric

My assignment for class this week was to create an analytic rubric for the First Thanksgiving digital storytelling project I have been creating over the past few weeks. If you need a reminder of just what that project entails, click here to visit the project wiki. While I have seen countless rubrics and heard a great deal about the benefits of utilizing these tools, I must be honest in saying that I have never actually used a rubric to assess student work. This is more than likely a result of the lack of student projects I have incorporated into my class so far this year. It seems like all we do is teach the curriculum “with fidelity” and give the appropriate assessments. These assessments provide responses from which students much simply choose the correct answer, a form of traditional assessment. Rubrics, on the other hand, serve as a form of authentic assessment in which students demonstrate their knowledge through the creation of a project. In authentic assessment, students must take what they have learned and actually apply it, not just regurgitate it.

One thing I really love about rubrics (and a major selling point for me) is the idea of providing students with the rubrics prior to the creation of the project. This is a great way for students to have a tangible outline of my expectations to refer back to throughout the creation process. Hopefully this would not only serve as a constant reminder of what they should be focusing on and keep them on track with their projects, but will eliminate any surprise from the final grade. Finally, while creating my rubric I could not help but reflect on prior grading experiences and all the times I have heard fellow teachers discuss the possible retention of below-level students while comparing their work to that of other students as a means of justification. These students may be meeting grade level requirements, but because their work is not at the same level as others’, they are being recommended for retention. I disagree with this method of student evaluation, and this could be prevented by utilizing a rubric on student work and using that rubric as the means of evaluation.

To create my rubric, I used RubiStar. I have seen the website before, but this was my first time actually creating a rubric with it. RubiStar is easy to use and has numerous pre-created rubrics for viewing and editing. The first thing I did on the site was research the different types of rubrics and the different criteria within each one. I decided to use a storytelling rubric as the basis of mine and then combine different aspects from the digital project rubric (such as appearance and time management). One thing I really liked about this site, also, is that you are able to choose which criteria to include within a rubric and are then able to edit the information within each box of the chosen criteria. You can keep the rubric as standard as it comes or as specific and customized as you like. I enjoyed this activity and definitely foresee many RubiStar rubrics in my future!

Click here to view my rubric on the RubiStar website.