We all have stories to tell--stories of families, friends, jobs, community, local history. We use stories to create a sense of identity and place. The advent of new media tools and inexpensive digital recording has opened the possibility for gathering, creating, disseminating and preserving stories electronically. This institute will give teachers and other community leaders the skills and tools to gather stories and use a variety of multimedia software to create, edit, and publish their stories. Every participant will complete the institute with at least one short audio-visual story produced, edited, and shared with others, and the skills to help others in the future do the same.  See an outline here.  

Digital stories do not need to be narratives.  Several sites give definitions of digital stories that include 7 specific elements (point of view, dramatic question, emotional content, voice, soundtrack, economy, pace).  Our definition is more encompassing- the use of audio, images, text and sometimes video to present, report or tell a story.  See Educause Learning Initiative: 7 Things you should know about Digital Storytelling for uses in education.

Announcement: I have a schedule of appointments for your digital drafts available. Go to https://www.timetrade.com/book/3LY61 and sign up for a time that works for you. If nothing works, email me at ebranscomb@gmail.com and we'll work out another time. It would be really neat if you would all check out each other's videos and make some helpful comments.