Express Ideas Compellingly with Digital Storytelling

Adapted by Jane Cook from a Presentation by Rebecca Pilver

at the Connecticut Writing Project Summer Institute 2009

Above all, a living thing wants to discharge its energy…

FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE

Objectives

Content: I will plan a digital story using a 5 Frame Storyboard. I will create a digital story using Microsoft Photostory.

Language: I will be able to explain what digital storytelling is.

“Digital storytelling takes the ancient art of oral storytelling and engages a palette of technical tools to weave personal tales using images, graphics, music, and sound mixed together with the author’s own story voice.”

Lambert, Joe. "Digital Storytelling Cookbook." Center for Digital Storytelling. Feb. 2007. http://www.storycenter.org

What is Digital Storytelling?

Lambert, Joe. "Digital Storytelling Cookbook." Center for Digital Storytelling. Feb. 2007. http://www.storycenter.org

Effective Digital Stories Have 7 Elements

1. Point of View

2. Dramatic Question

3. Emotional Content

4. Economy

5. Pacing

6. The Power of Soundtrack

7. The Gift of Your Voice

When I was young, I never really understood what friendship was. I was shy, and confused friendship with popularity. Last year I met Tanya, and we became the kind of friends that most people are, acquaintances…

What is the point of view?

What is the question?

60 Seconds by Deneen

Can you identify the 7 elements?

DigiTales: The Art of Telling Digital Stories. Bernjean Porter. <http://www.digitales.us>.

Digital Storytelling uses readily available technology tools.

• Digital Images from clip art, cameras or online

• Audio Files from voice recording or royalty free music

• Free, easy to use digital video editors such as Microsoft

Photostory

• Why am I (or Why is the creator) telling this story?

• What is my (or What is the creator’s) main point?

• What emotions am I (or is the creator) trying to evoke?

• How effective is my (or the creator’s) choice of images, music, transitions, and text?

Whether you are viewing or creating a story, ask yourself these questions:

Driving Experience by Shawn, age 16.

Shawn tells a very intense and familiar story of something that starts out to be for fun only and

then turns into unexpected experiences.

Shawn created this at Eagle Rock School. Eagle Rock School is located in Estes Park, CO. The

school funds full scholarships for students nationally who have not experienced successful

in traditional academic programs.

DigiTales: The Art of Telling Digital Stories. Bernjean Porter. <http://www.digitales.us>.

5 Frames• It’s simple to practice telling a small moment using only 5 frames. • Some examples:• Bundle of Joy• Check It Out• Spring• On the Trail• Let It Snow!

Examples from Motivating the Plugged in Generation: Digital Storytelling, http://motivating.wikispaces.com

Book Trailers

• Help classmates to think critically about the impact that text, images, and sound have on the viewer.

Examples:• Cricket in Times Square• The Looking Glass Wars

Student Examples from Room 5Z, Hall Memorial School, Willington, CT

Let’s Get Started…What ideas do YOU have?

Think about what you know or like to do.

How might you turn that into a digital story?

The Five Ps of Digital Storytelling Purpose Planning

Production Presentation

Provide Feedback/Reflection Time

5 Frame Digital Story Planning Guide

The Small Moment ________________________________________________________________________________ Emotion(s)/Message________________________________________________________________________________ What images will convey this moment, emotion(s) and message? How will they be sequenced?

Type of Music/Audio _________________________________________________________________________

Works Cited

DigiTales: The Art of Telling Digital Stories. Bernjean Porter. <http://www.digitales.us>.

Kadjer, Sara. Bringing the Outside In: Visual Ways to Engage Student Readers. Portland: Stenhouse, 2006.

Lambert, Joe. "Digital Storytelling Cookbook." Center for Digital Storytelling. Feb. 2007. <http://www.storycenter.org>.

Palfry, John, and Urs Gasser. Born Digital. NY: Perseus Books Group, 2008.

Prensky, Marc. "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II: Do They Really Think Differently?" On the Horizon, NCB University Press 9 (2001).

Salpeter, Judy. "Telling Tales with Technology." Technology and Learning 25 (2005): 20-24.