Thing 10

Thing 10 - Going Deeper: Digital Storytelling - At first I thought digital storytelling was like making Reading Rainbow book reviews with the video camera that we had so much fun with 20 years ago. But as I read further I realized that DS is actually similar to a very short play. Digital Storytelling tells a personal, real life story of a person or a group of people. The Wikipedia definition states that DS: "is an emerging term...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." Jeannie D. is the DS guru in the MPS district; she has taught this course for 2 years now. I learned form the Educause article "Seven Things You Should Know About Digital Storytelling" that most users are not professionals, but rather just common everyday people and that DS is another way for people to share their stories in the age-old oral tradition that has evolved throughout time. "Telling stories...teach(s) beliefs and values to others." DS is another way for students to creatively express themselves. I looked at all three of the digital stories in Thing 10; Myths & Legends, Awesome Stories, & Our Story. I realize there are innumerable more. I have not used digital storytelling in my teaching. All of my students have stories to tell of either their or their parents and grandparents coming to America. It would probably more efficient & effective to have students tell their stories in their native Hmong Language. I could work collaboratively with Mr. Lyfu & Mr. Thao the Hmong Literacy teachers. I find this to be extremely interesting and will pursue it with both these teachers. Digital Storytelling has the potential to be extremely powerful. More & more people are visual or don't understand English, but can watch an 8 minute presentation & understand it. My problems with DS would be time and have the necessary equipment, but I'm looking for Grants to apply for. Working in conjunction with the Hmong Literacy class would give us more time. Our labs are usually full, lab time is an issue as well.