Digital Storytelling

After a very innovative ECMP 455 class last night with special guest speaker's David Jakes and Wes Fryer, two men who are the "guru's" of digital storytelling, I am left both inspired and challenged!
I learned that digital storytelling is a powerful tool for not only all of the fundamental components of literacy, but also it acts as a portal for the composer to, as Wes Fryer said, "unleash the power and passion witin the student" and "write for a global audience". I believe that both of these components are imperative to literacy and writing. As David Jakes said, students need a "competitive voice", a way for their voice to be heard by others, "an extension of their experience" and they also can find that their digital storytelling can be "therapeutic".

Our assignment this week for the class is:
Weekly Assignment:
Choose one of the following:

Using the suggestions from the workshop wiki, create a digital story using PhotoStory 3. Be sure to include music. Narration is optional but perhaps might be good to try for a slide or two.
Take a powerpoint you've already done. Redo it using the principles described in the Extreme PowerPoint Makeover video.
Try out VoiceThread.com....create a story..embed it in your blog and invite others to contribute.

So...I am planning to embark on composing a digital story after viewing Digital Sorytelling Workshop Wiki , Digital Storytelling by David Jakes , Advanced Thinking by Jon Orech and Makin Movies by Joe Brennan . I have decided to use my own photos and try to compose a story on "What Summer Means to Me".

Keep reading to hear my trials and tribulations on this experience...I am off to Sun Valley to capture the essence of summer...