Digtial storytelling has be defined as telling a story using images, sound, and video to create an emotional connection. In 7 Things You Should Know…Digital Storytelling, “Digital stories can be instructional, persuasive, historical, or reflective.” The possibilities for this have very little bounds are can be conveyed across a variety of subjects and topics.
I love stories. And almost all stories. I find stories everywhere in life. I find it captivating the amount of stories one person accumulates throughout his or her life. Hearing stories from great-grandmother, who is still living, takes me to time that I would struggle to comprehend. Yet, her voice and experiences allows me to FEEL things from her perspective.
When thinking about digital storytelling from my great-grandmother’s perspective, using visuals would enhance the feeling of what she experienced. It could SHOW me what my imagination struggles to connect. Generations between us, but connectedness could be accomplished through the use of visuals.
Center for Digital Storytelling is an avenue through which people share their personal digital stories. They have some really powerful stories and people are sharing their voice.
When I think of it that way, how much more could my students make connections by using digital storytelling. Students can choose what story they want to tell by their individual photos or finding photos are labeled for reuse or remixing. I could also assign them a theme and would probably still get a variety of stories that would demonstrate that theme.
Writing is a journey. It is a story in and of itself. Now, I wonder, “What story will my students decide to tell?”
Ms. Marcum's Mission 
Great post! I thought your final quote was particularly good. I also liked your point about the importance of story telling and the link to your grandmother’s stories. Stories take us to a place and moment where we can never go but would like to hear about. I think the best educators are those who understand this concept of the story and it’s importance to the audience/class. I think this presenter hits the nail right on the proverbial head when he talks about the barber shop.
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Thank you for sharing that amazing talk. I always had a pet peeve about that not smiling until September. It’s such horrible advice. “Magic can be talk.” ~Christopher Emdin
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Fabulous post! I’m feeling the same about the scope of stories that will be possible with allowing something a bit more open ended. I was speaking with a colleague about that whole idea of allowing students more choice in their work, and this seems to be a project that would really allow the students that uncomfort of not having it laid out the way they are used to. That same uncomfort I sometimes feel throughout these courses, but the end result is always something pretty extraordinary. I think I am going to start with a theme – we look at identity throughout the start of the year, and think it could be a great jumping off point. Can’t wait to hear more about how it turns out!
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Emily,
Thanks! Identity would be great to pair with this. As my students just finished a unit on identity, I want to continue that and reference it throughout the year.
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