Making+a+Digital+Story

Making a Digital Story

I found this assignment a difficult one, as the time restrictions caused some grief for me. I found that the planning and preparation is a vital part of creating a digital story. You need to have planned what you want to ask, edit, music, the photo and/or videos and how you want the end product to look and sound. Although planning and preparation are important, the editing and recording process did in fact take the most time. Cutting a ten minute interview to two minutes and ensuring that what is left is important and adds to the story is a very difficult and time consuming skill. The most frustrating aspects of this task were finding an appropriate time to record the interview (as my subject was not available for some time), finding a place to record that is quiet and free from outside interference and finding photo's that add meaning and depth to the story. Next time, I would like to be able to record my interview at an earlier state to allow more time for editing and preferably record the interview at home or in a more secluded place. The most rewarding aspect of the digital story was the final product. It felt great to be able to watch it back and know that it started off with nothing but questions on a page and a mind map. It was also a rewarding experience to show the subject of my interview the competed product and see that he was pleased.
 * What I learned from this process: **

Matthew Berry: Unlucky in Love I was drawn to this digital story because of the //deep emotional content//. I had previously spoken with Matt during his editing process and became interested in his story at this point. I think the //photos// are excellent in this story. They definitely add to the story, and could even be viewed without the //audio track// and you could still follow the story. The photo's are //well timed// with the audio track and the //backing music// is well presented. It does not cause you to stray from the story. I really enjoyed this digital story and think Matt should be very proud of himself.  Amy Brooks: Back in My Day I really enjoyed this story. It was //honest and heartfelt//. I thought the story //flowed well// and the photos were presented well and added to the content. I liked the use of //old sepia photos// and especially liked the photo board presented near the end of the story; it really brought you in and made you focus on the //history of the piece//. I really liked the quote, ' I have no regrets...I really have seen the best of this world' It was a great ending to the clip and consolidated the whole story.
 * Other Class Stories: **

Digital story telling is a great activity for students. It can be especially useful to bring students who do not like to read and/or write and students with disabilities into the world of storytelling. As it is a new form of expression, students often really enjoy the experience and find it far more engaging. Digital story telling is great as a cross curriculum task as it allows students to present information in a new medium and includes ICT skills such as: editing, photography, recording and uploading.
 * Digital Story Telling in Teaching: **