Digital Storytelling: Capturing lives, creating communities

Lambert, J. (2006). Digital storytelling: Capturing lives, creating communities. Berkeley, CA: Digital Diner Press.

p. 142.
...historically, different technologies had been pushed into the classroom from above rather than in response to teachers' desires or needs. Consequently there was a history of resistance to technology by teachers, as technology often interfered with their classroom goals. The headaches of learning these new technologies and troubleshooting technical problems simple weren't worth it. Teachers for the most part have not felt comfortable with using technology themselves, which was reflected in how they imagined implementing it in their curriculum.

Teachers are tired. Teaching is a tiring profession. It is very emotional. Teachers are also tired of technology since it has been pushed into the schools from above fro years and rarely with any thought about as to how it would really integrate into actual classroom practice, or what teachers actually wanted to do, or about how how it impacts the relationships within a classroom that are so important.

Story is a much more effective repository of data than many research methodologies that use data points as metrics. When making digital stories, teachers are given a new way to be creative with artistic expression which is not encouraged in the context of their daily work. This re-energizes them about teaching by taking themselves back into the classroom and allows them to express it in a way they've never been able to.

Digital storytelling thus can be an action research tool, an iterative tool where the points of reflection develop a professional portfolio. The idea is to return to your earlier story, again and again, in each iteration, and have that shape the research questions and artifact collection over many semesters or years. (Can be very powerful!)

Self-empowerment; sense of audience (the public role became part of the process with digital storytelling); intense writing revision (much more careful critical reflection)

Reference:
Paull, C. (2002). Self-perceptions and social connections: Empowerment through digital storytelling in adult education. Unpublished dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, School of Education.

Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man

McLuhan, M. (1994). Understanding media: The extensions of man. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Other readings:

General
Campbell, J. (1988). The power of myth. New York: Doubleday.

Storytelling & Education
Bruner, J. (1996). The culture of education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Cognitive Theory, Psychology, and Narrative
Gardner, H. (1993). Frames of mind. New York: Basic Books.
Harvey, J. H. (1996). Embracing their memory: Loss and the social psychology of storytelling. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Ong, W. J. (1982). Orality and literacy: The technologizing of the word. London: Routledge.

Interactive Digital Storytelling
Murray, J. H. (1997). Hamlet on the Holodeck: The future of narrative in cyberspace. New York: The Free Press.
Miller, C. H. (2004). Digital storytelling: A creator's guide to interactive entertainment (1st Ed.). Focal Press.

Educational Resources
Scott County, KY
David Jake's Educational Resources
UK Digital Storytelling in Education
University of Houston's Digital Storytelling Resources

Developing a Good College-Company Relationship

Are universities too cozy with industry? In certain respects, they are not cozy enough, says Anoop Gupta, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s education product group. The software company is gearing up for a conference in Paris next week, sponsored along with Unesco, called the Education Leaders Forum. In an interview with The Chronicle, Mr. Gupta said that higher education could be doing a better job of preparing students for life, and work, in the coming century.

“Absolutely there should be a tighter relationship,” Mr. Gupta said, noting that universities could integrate certification in particular software packages into their curriculum. (He cited a few examples of such software, which had Redmond, Wash., as their home address.)

But it’s about much more than creating workers for Microsoft, he said. “It’s about digital literacy,” about equipping graduates with the tools to be responsive to today’s fast-moving economy. Universities can do that, said Mr. Gupta—who was a professor at Stanford University for 11 years—without becoming tools themselves. —Josh Fischman

The Chronicle