Story
For my digital story, I have decided to use Rockyou to create my Introduction presentation.
Please view my slide show: Laurie\’s introduction
Reflection
When I initially encountered the cogdogroo 50 Ways to tell a Story, I was a little intimidated. I began by reading the descriptors and visiting the websites. The more I visited, the more I became overwhelmed. I was beginning to think that this activity was designed to inundate the senses… But then I realized information overload was setting in:)
In the end, I decided to use the Rockyou slideshow tool to make my digital story. Sadly, I remain unimpressed by the continuous play feature, in other words, the lack of viewer controls.
In an attempt to resolve this issue, I created three separate slideshows, trying to select which picture would be initially displayed. This exerted effort did not result in a satisfactory end result. While the tool is extremely easily to use, it does lack some of the features, such as order of slides.
To critically examine the use of slideshow tools, I have created other digital stories, to which I have added a personal touch for my family.
As an educational tool, I see a great benefit in the use of digital authoring tools. These tools motivate the student in a creative, fun environment. From my own professional standpoint, as a trainer, I would not recommend these tools for technician training; however, this would be a must for graphics and imaging.
The principle idea behind the creation of my slideshow was as an “fun” introduction to the students engaged in training programs at my school. Officers are normally considered to be “by the book” and boring, certainly not entertaining. I wanted to create an atmosphere where the student understands that I am approachable.
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In addition to…
The story I have produced is important to the students and staff within my school. Military organizations are hierarchal based, meaning junior ranking members do not have the ability to approach and question senior members. Within the training establishment, it is vital that the students/staff and understand and believe in my “open door” policy. Without this policy, I will have limited access to issues arising within the training system. By creating this introduction, the students/staff can see that I am approachable, that I can have fun, and that ‘once-upon-a-time’ I was a junior rank.
This story does not contribute to the students learning! What it does contribute to is open communications which can aid in resolving issues in the learning environment; issues that may become barriers to learning.
The selection of the Rockyou tool was random. Within our Intranet, I would not be permitted to use any of these digital storytelling tools; therefore, I decided to go with a website that appealed to my sense of creation. The Rockyou tool allows the use to upload multiple photos, to select from a variety of transitions, as well as a multitude of other features.
As a note, I did try out other tools including:
One true media;
Slide;
Photoshow;
Photopeach;
Google Presenter; and
Tikatok.
The strengths of the digital storytelling approach include:
– allowing creativity to assist the story telling;
– preserving the story for future generations;
– global access to the story; and
– easy to create for the instructor and the student.
The limitations of the digital storytelling approach include:
– the removal of the human factor including gestures and body language;
– reducing the art of telling a story into a web-caption;
– the loss of a tradition – elders articulating culturally relevant histories which traditionally have be passed between the generations; and
– transformation of storytelling into a type of media production.