Digital Story 3. Last Blog

What? 

We are still learning about Digital Stories. We have been learning how to polish and complete our Digital Stories. I actually just posted mine on my class website. It was a success. 

So What?

As a teacher, this all means that I know how to create a digital story. I can share it with my students, and I can share important information in a memorable way. As a student, this means that I have learned something to add to my collection of teacher resources to call upon for teaching valuable and meaningful lessons in the future. In Wikipedia, the definition of "Digital Storytelling" is an emerging term, one that arises from a grassroots movement that uses new digital tools to help ordinary people tell their own 'true stories' in a compelling and emotionally engaging form. These stories usually take the form of a relatively short story (less than 8 minutes) and can involve interactivity. The term can also be a broader journalistic reference to the variety of emergent new forms of digital narratives (web-based stories, interactive stories, hypertexts, and narrative computer games). 

As an emerging area of creative work, the definition of digital storytelling is still the subject of much debate.As a colleague, we couldn't really use digital stories to talk to each other or communicate. The truth is that I probably wouldn't use digital stories to communicate with my colleagues or create more meaningful working relationships. That is a lot of time, and I would rather spend the time working on digital stories for my students. We are doing this to try to help us become better teachers, students, and colleagues. 

Now What?

Technology will mean great things for my future students. Jennifer New from Edutopia says, "Storytelling is a vital skill with seemingly unlimited applications. Done well, it can have a magical effect -- moving, enlightening, or entertaining audiences of any size. We tell stories to woo lovers, calm children, or reassure ourselves. Lawyers rely on the power of storytelling to vividly re-create crimes to juries, archaeologists conjure former civilizations, and teachers make abstract concepts real to their students. 

In today's digitized world, visual storytelling is a favorite classroom tool, and the affordability and accessibility of technology such as iMovie provides opportunities not imagined a decade ago. Joe Fatheree and Craig Lindvahl, two teachers who have made seven films between them and who teach filmmaking workshops to educators, say that even when teachers are comfortable with the technology, they don't often feel confident about teaching the art of storytelling." I think it will be helpful to tell stories when I am feeling like I don't want to or am uncomfortable. I can use digital stories to tell about important things in a memorable way.