DigitalStorytelling

=Tell Me a Story=

Why Tell Stories?
People like to hear stories. Information can be passed on from one generation to the next with the spoken word, stories are the foundation of every culture. They define nations, tribes, communities, professions. They tell history, they convey wisdom and perspective. Stories allow us to have empathy, stories can help us care about something we might not otherwise care about. x

**Now, take it to the next level.** A digital story is a short (2-5 minute) movie which uses images, voice, and music to tell a story. There are a variety of tools that can be used to create digital stories and a variety of reasons for creating them in the classroom. . The following excerpts are from [|7 Things You Should Know About Digital Storytelling] by [|Educause].

__//**What is it?**//__ "Digital storytelling is the practice of combining narrative with digital content, including images, sound, and video, to create a short movie, typically with a strong emotional component. Sophisticated digital stories can be interactive movies that include highly produced audio and visual effects, but a set of slides with corresponding narration or music constitutes a basic digital story. Digital stories can be instructional, persuasive historical, or reflective."

//__**How does it work?**__// "Although groups of students can collaborate on digital stories, the form is well-suited to projects by individual users. Most digital storytelling programs promote the notion that users with little or no technical background should be able to create digital stories. Indeed a number of simple applications can get someone started making digital stories. Depending on the elements included in the digital story, a student might need a recording device and microphone, hardware and software to manipulate images and video, or tools to take pictures and video. Some digital storytelling applications are available free online."

//**Why is it significant?**// "People tell stories to teach beliefs and values to others. The oral tradition of knowledge transfer and exchange has served as the basis for education since humans began teaching one another, and digital stories build on the model by incorporating rich, dynamic media . . . Students creating digital stories develop proficiency with multimedia applications, but the deeper impact comes from their thinking critically about effective combinations among audio and visual elements . . . In doing so, students, develop a discerning eye for online resources, increasing their technology and media literacy."

//**Where is it going?**// "Digital storytelling is fundamentally the application of technology to the age-old experience of sharing personal narratives. What's new is the growing availability of sophisticated tools, as well as a maturing infrastructure to disseminate such content."

For the full article, please see [|7 Things_Digtial Storytelling.pdf]

**Discovering Digital Stories by** by Daryll Bellingham (2:38) :
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__Resources for Digital Storytelling:__

 * Kathy Schrock's Guide- [] (This may be all you need!)
 * Tools for Digital Storytelling- http://newtoolsworkshop.wikispaces.com/Digital+storytelling
 * 50 Ways to Tell a Story-http://cogdogroo.wikispaces.com/StoryTools
 * Center for Digital Storytelling- []
 * Jason Ohler- []
 * Wes Fryer- []

__Educational benefits / classroom applications:__

 * Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling- []
 * Example Stories-[]
 * Integrating Digital Storytelling into Your Classroom- []
 * Teaching Teachers- []
 * Digital Storytelling- []

Task
After viewing various digital storytelling sites and playing around a bit, write about it in your blog. In your post, please also share initial ideas you have for digital storytelling use in classroom, professional or personal learning. Some prompts to help you...
 * PART 1**:
 * How have you used digital storytelling in your classroom? (perhaps using resources or having students create them).
 * How would you like to use digital storytelling in your classroom?
 * What are your thoughts about the potential power of digital storytelling?
 * What are the obstacles to incorporating digital storytelling in the classroom, and how can they be overcome?

Please be sure to LINK to every digital story you mention in your post, and include "Thing 14" in the title of your post.


 * PART 2:**

=
...tell **YOUR** digital story! Your Life-Long Learning journey through this course. You may use the digital storytelling software or freeware of your choice. Your finished product must be embedded in your **practice wiki page** by ** December 28, 2009 **. If there are storage issues with your wiki page, you may upload your story to another site, just be sure to link it to your wiki or blog to allow others to view.======


 * Minimum Requirements:**
 * Your Voice
 * Photos (uploaded or from the web using creative commons)
 * Music
 * At least 2 minutes in length

Stretch Task
Want to go above and beyond? Try your hand and serious video work? Check out the Atomic Learning tutorials on Digital Storytelling- [] (no username or password needed from within D112, contact Maureen for password for access away from school)

**Man on the Street: What is Digital Storytelling?** by digitalinsighttv(1:40)
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