Animoto, Elements of a Good Digital Story, more Presentation Zen

For the most part, I have really enjoyed playing with Animoto this week.  I was able to create a little introduction that I will be able to use in my classroom next year.  I also have already started showing other teachers in my school how to use it.  If I got it to work correctly, I have embedded my Animoto video below.


Looking at the different parts of a "Good Digital Story" according to Bernajean Porter was interesting.  There are parts that I am good at: "Living Inside Your Story", "Unfolding Lessons Learned", "Developing Creative Tension".  There are others I need to improve upon due to my love of verbal communication, these would be: "Economizing the Story Told" and "Showing Not Telling".  "Developing Craftsmanship" is something that I feel that everyone can improve upon since no-one is perfect.

The Presentation Zen chapter really reinforced what I found I need to work on while reading DigiTales.  I need to not overwhelm my students with words or pictures.  I need to use more "Empty Space" and use "Contrast" to better effect.  If I overload my audience with information, I have lost them.  I need to remember to simplify and stay on the message I want to convey.  

This week in CEDO530

We got the chance to use a site called VoiceThread.  This is a very interesting site where presentations are enhanced while not going too far from the "simplicity" ideas found in our book Presentation Zen.  For the most part, using VoiceThread a teacher can help create a presentation that not only is visually stimulating, but also allows the presenter to give detail without creating a slidument.  I am hoping I will be able to also use VoiceThread as a way to pre-plan some of the initial parts of the different sections that I need to teach.

CEDO 530 Week 1

Digital Storytelling.  The words bring some ideas to my mind.  The main idea is being able to effectively communicate (without confusion or distortion) with others using digital media such as audio, video or CG.
This week we were learning how to become more effective in presenting with programs such as the ever present PowerPoint.  I really appreciated some of the Presentation Zen ideas of simplifying the message so that it doesn't get lost amongst extraneous chatter.
I also am in the midst of taking pictures for 28 days straight.  I am not sure how I will be able to string all of these disparate photos into a coherent and cohesive story, but we'll see.  I know I will enjoy the challenge.
Oh, and we needed to write a story from the perspective of a future point in time.  I chose to write about reflecting on the lives of my daughters while walking my eldest down the aisle.  If you would like to read it, it can be found here (or copy and paste: https://docs.google.com/a/wolfmail.stritch.edu/document/d/1Cxr_dstLe5lG5B4MiDUzfTCkdWslt7czUQg0xQ8-m5U/edit?authkey=CJTs-eoO&hl=en# ).