RodeWorks

One of the best presentations I’ve been to in a long time was at the last Nercomp conference. “Storytelling in the Age of the Internet” was presented by Gail Matthews-DeNatale, Jamie Traynor and Lesley Weiman from Simmons College. The first thing that made their presentation so good was their handouts. No crappy powerpoint regurgitation here, they provided a nicely bound 20 page resource guid listing web resources, tips to incorporating it into teaching along with sample lessons plans and rubrics.

What is digital storytelling? I thinks its important to not start by focusing on the end products, whether they are audio journals, videos, blogs, PowerPoint presentations, or whatever other mix of media technologies come along. Storytelling is the term I’ve seen most often used, although I think digital narrative might cast a slightly wider net. These don’t need to be just stories, but can include personal reflections, thoughts, ideas, reactions, etc. I do think there is a distinction from a digital report.

For instance my son recently did a health project where small groups were assigned the task of producing a video on a drug/alcohol/personal safety topic discussed in class. From what I’ve seen these videos end up with the group members mugging for the camera and repeating some of the catch phrases dished out in class. In this case they certainly have fun, and I’m sure the presentation in class elicit plenty of laughs, but I’m not sure much is really learned about the topics. This seems to me to be a poor use of the technology. I’d rather see the kids pick a topic and then find someone in their community who has been touched by the issue — a parent who works in a hospital, a police officer, a victim of a drunk driving accident, a reformed drug user. Sure it could get a little edgy in some cases, but the students are making a personal connection with someone in their community, and the exercise would have a deeper impact. This is digital storytelling — the process of taking concepts, facts, ideas introduced in the classroom and finding real world connections that illustrate the lessons learned.

The resource guide and other information are available at the conference website:

www.educause.edu/LibraryDetailPage/666?ID=NCP07047

Here is one of the resources:

CDS: What is Digital Storytelling?

What is Digital Storytelling?Many individuals and communities have used the term “digital storytelling” to describe a wide variety of new media production practices. What best describes our approach is its emphasis on personal voice and facilitative teaching methods.

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