Thanks to Alan Levine's search for true online connections(see here), I have created my first speaking video of me discussing my real connection with Jeff Utecht. I have made a great connection with Jeff and he has been in Thailand for for the last few years while I am in New Hampshire, USA. An amazing teacher and great blogger, Jeff is always willing to share. Now that I teach at the master’s level, Jeff and I connect regularly; he skypes into my classes about his book Reach, which is, of course, required reading for one of my courses.
This was a big step for me, I try to stay away from videos. Maybe I'll do more, it really wasn't so bad. Thank-you Alan for the great project that pushed me out of my comfort zone!
Connections, online learning and ETMOOC is the way I learn.
Hope you enjoy.
Well I just finished watching an amazing video from Alan Levine. He is looking for people to share "true stories" from connected experiences. Have you ever met that amazing blogger or shared a photo and where then asked to participate in something or speak somewhere? Please see his great video I embedded below.
I personally love love love this concept. You share and make an actual connection. From that something blossoms. I truly feel that is the ultimate compliment. As I just released a true digital story with goanimate, I can tell you it was a tough call for me. It's so hard to share the truth sometimes, but we are a total of our experiences so maybe my story will inspire others to come forward, to know they are not alone but the passion for learning does not end.
If you have a great connection story, Alan would love to hear it and I will be watching closely. Check out his blog where you can post your story in any format.
I'm sad to say that at this time I cannot participate as I have made some connections but not in the way Alan discusses. For me, I was taught by an international educator, Jeff Utecht back in 2009 and as he began my journey of blogging and web2.0, I always looked up to him. He published a book a few years ago "Reach" which is a great book on creating your PLN and has tutorials for great tools. Was that a plug?
Anywho, I enjoyed the book so much and watch Jeff's blog so closely that I made it required reading for my master's class. I got to Skype with Jeff often as he was always available to Skype with my class, one email to Jeff and he is always there. For me, having someone being willing to give their free time to talk with my students over Skype and taking the time to get to know and discuss issues with Jeff has truly become the one "connected" experience I have had. Oh, wait,I don't have a movie, but I wonder if Alan would think that story would count?
I hope someday to say I met or collaborated with someone from #etmooc, I have made what I consider to be "micro-connections" and follower's but I cannot honestly say I have not experienced what I see, that is others who really look for each other on our twitter chats and say hello regularly online in blackboard, but I know it will come. Sharing is always paid back two folds.
In a previous blog post, I wanted to know if storyboarding takes away from creativity. Feel free to read here if you missed it. I got varying responses but it has been on my mind. I have moved forward as does my digital story for #etmooc. I'm using goanimate.com and it's fun. I think I picked a topic that is well quite revealing and quite personal so I'm never sure how much to add and where it ends. I've changed my storyboard several times so I'm starting to wonder if I should just do something made up? I guess we will all find out. Moving on, I have been reflecting a lot on the concept and definition of digital storytelling.
Alec Couros was kind enough to send me a link for Ira Glass on Storytelling. It was the first movie in a series and of 4 which I highly recommend. It discusses having an antedote ( a sequence that keeps people interested) and a moment of reflection, the point of the story. My question lies in do all digital stories have to true point? Is it OK, as I have been teaching it for a while, to just have a perspective or a sequence that is well predictable? As the technology educator, do I stick to the literary steps I know make up a good story or as a digital technology teacher, am I exempt??
I participated in the great session on digital storytelling by Alan Levine, find here it the #etmooc archives. He also discusses having a hook, "entice me" into your story, yet he also introduced us to "how to tell a story through flickr" where pictures appeared and the participants made up a few sentences on the pictures surrounding the topic "connections". When we did this were we participating in true digital storytelling or were we just having fun?? I again have taught the same but I feel like I'm being hypocritical to the literacy aspect of a true story.
I'll explain, I teach Scratch Programming by MIT, and each story must indeed have a full storyboard, a hook, an antedote and a good conclusion. These stories vary but feel free to take a look at one of the stories HERE.
I also teach digital photography sometimes and I have my students do what we call "stories" from a series of pictures. I have embedded one here. Yes it is mine.
See it is cute, but it really is sentences that seemed appropriate for the picture. Does it tell a story?
Last year, I worked on some integration projects with voicethread and students decided to do their essay's on planets in voicethread. Again emebedded below, and begs the question as they are truly giving us facts, are they not telling a story?? It took a lot of storyboarding and collaboration for the students to bring it all together in a logical manner.
So do we stick to the steps of digital stories via literacy practices everytime? Do we hold to the storyboards, the hook , the antedont and the climax and ending or do we in the 21st century decide that we need a better definition for digital stories?
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