Digital and traditional storytellingWorkshop information and public resource |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Announcement: Jason's new book about digital storytelling and new media narrative in education - Digital Storytelling in the Classroom: New Media Pathways to Literacy, Learning and Creativity- is now available for advance purchase. Go to the book site to read reviews, peruse the table of contents, or purchase the book. Would you like your copy "signed at a distance?" Then contact us to receive a bookplate you can add to the inside cover. 
PART III - Technology, techniques, resourcesHello and welcome to the digital part of digital storytelling! If you are reading this page, you are probably in one of my digital storytelling workshops, or are simply looking for resources about storytelling in education. Whether or not you are in a workshop, feel free to use any materials you find here. Storytelling in four parts. I have divided my storytelling resources into four parts, each with its own web page. This is Part III- The technology and techniques of digital storytelling. It addresses the technology needed to create digital stories, as well as various techniques for using technology effectively. This site has a strong media literacy component, showing how to help students understand the persuasive nature of media. If you are attending a workshop, or if you simply want to know more about the many facets of digital storytelling, please read this web page, as well as Parts I, II and IV:
Together, the three parts provide a fairly comprehensive overview of digital storytelling within an educational environment, from the big picture down to the details. This site is geared toward the classroom teacher. I assume you have limited time and resources to spend on incorporating digital storytelling into your curriculum. That is why I tend to think in terms of low budget projects that can yield high academic returns. Feel free to contact me with any questions: jason.ohler@uas.alaska.edu Getting StartedWhat do you need to do digital storytelling? Here's the short answer... If you are in a hurry to get going and want to know what you need to create digital stories in your classroom - and therefore what you need to have at a digital storytelling workshop - here is the short answer:
That's the short answer to a complex question. If you have these things you can do a great deal in your classroom and will be all set for a workshop. But there's a good deal more to consider (like using video, finding software, buying gear, etc.). So, I recommend you scan the information on this page so you understand the depth and breadth of your options in creating and telling digital stories. Working within your budget
...one eye on today's classroom, one eye looking down the road...
In my workshops I like to use the equipment that teachers have on hand. This makes it more possible for teachers to transfer what they learn in the workshop to their classrooms. The good news is that there is a lot you can do with what seems like very little. On this web page you will find references to low and no cost software, where to buy software with an academic discount, and many other resources. By the way, I also like to model new and evolving technologies so teachers have an idea of what to expect. My motto is one eye on today's classroom, one eye looking down the road. We need to focus on what's happening today, while anticipating what could happen tomorrow. Finding stuff- the never ending search for the latest and greatest If I could clone myself, one of my clones would do nothing but try to stay on top of all the digital gear that is being developed and offered through the internet (...other clones would conduct the New York Symphony and model for GQ). It would take a full time job to find all of the gear, compare it, and then make cost vs. features recommendations, a process that would need to be repeated every month to address the constant evolution of technology. The reality is that I find what to buy the way you do, by searching the internet and talking to colleagues and field professionals. And, like you, I am overwhelmed by what I find. I simply make the best decision I can given my needs, budget, and the time I have to spend looking. Some ideas about how to approach buying gear
Bottom line: Figure out the "gotta have" features for your gear, ask others what gear they buy and where they buy it, and give yourself a "search time" budget. |
Resource links
Storytelling Links
Related linksShare this page |
||||||||||||||||||||
What's involved in digital storytelling |
The act of digital storytellingSo, what does telling a digital story involve? When you are creating and telling a digital story, here are some of the activities you might be engaged in. Which of these you choose to do depends on the kind of digital story you are telling and the nature of your project. The next section looks at the technology required for these activities. Digital storytelling involves:
So, what hardware and software do we need to do all this? I address that question next.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Digital storytelling hardware |
Digital Storytelling ToolsWhat's in my digital storytelling tool kit? What does it take to do the activities described above? This section addresses that question. Hardware
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Other hardware |
What else in terms of hardware? The hardware described above comprise the tools of a basic digital storytelling tool kit. Here are some other gadgets and peripherals you might also want on hand:
Both of these features are crucial to you but are hard to find on consumer quality gear these days.
...make sure your video camera has inputs for headphones and external microphones
What happened to the external mike and headphone inputs? Until fairly recently, most consumer quality video cameras came with inputs for an internal mike and headphones. However, camera manufacturers finally figured out that most people who bought their cameras - primarily tourists and parents who recorded scenery, birthday parties and soccer games - didn't use these features. To them, cameras are used primarily in 'point and shoot mode,' catching life as it unfolds, with no time or need to check sound or to set up a mike. In the case of birthday parties and soccer games, there's no real way to mike what they were shooting anyway. Bottom line about buying video cameras with the features you will need: Professional quality gear will always have these inputs, but they cost $2,000 and up. You have to specifically look for inputs for an internal mike and headphones in a consumer camera (anything around $600). In 2005 it took me many hours to finally find the Panasonic PVGS150 DVC, which has worked wonderfully. However, models change frequently and I assume that this model is no longer available. Also, make sure that whatever video camera you buy has the following:
...use a wireless mike once, and you'll wonder where they've been all your life...
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Software for digital storytelling |
Software Where to get an academic discount? I buy software with an academic discount from Academic Superstore. Prices and service are great. But shop around; there are other sites that specialize in selling software with an academic discount. Kinds of software. You will use three basic kinds of software to create and edit your digital story: movie/media editing software, audio editing software and image editing software. Each is addressed in turn. 1
If you have a small budget - There a number of midrange packages that don't cost too much. It should be noted that the PC world has a lot more mid-ranges options than the Mac world. For example, Premiere elements ($80) will give you a professional yet fairly easy to use editing environment. On May 6, 2006 I conducted a Goggle search for video editing software, and found the following sites helpful:
I strongly recommend you conduct your own search. The amount of free or low cost software entering the market increases every time I look. 2
Audacity also offers lots of editing effects that are useful and interesting. For example, one of my digital storytelling students created a story told from her daughter's point of view. She then used Audacity's pitch-shifting feature to raise her voice to make herself sound like her daughter. The results are powerful and a bit spooky. 3
Bottom line: Keep Googling. Use search phrases like "image manipulation free software"... "alternative to Photoshop" ... new software is becoming available all the time.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Other software |
What else in terms of software? The software described above comprise the standard digital storytelling software tool kit. Here is some other software you might want on hand:
ACID for the PC is similar to GarageBand. But it is not free. There is tons, nay, scads, nay, a veritable plethora of music composition software available to you. But for most things teachers want to do in the classroom, you need to look no further than GarageBand.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Video, photo tips and techniques |
Camera TechniquesThe manipulative power of camera angles The word "medium" (singular of the word "media") means "in the middle of." Life in the Digital Age means adjusting to the media filters that sit in the middle of and in between us and our experience of the real world. Our senses are the first filter we need to account for; our eyes and ears are fairly limited input devices that can only perceive certain things. A camera further restricts our abilities to experience life as it is and adds a twist: by deliberately shooting things at particular angles, a photographer or videographer can influence how viewers think and feel about the things, events and people being captured or recorded. Camera angles First some basics. The following two handouts provide a great visual orientation to the world of camera angles:
The next section explains how the angles in these handouts can be used to persuade and convey meaning. Camera angle persuasion
Media is a filter while pretending to be a clear window... steve goodman
Here is a short list of camera angles and descriptions of the biases implicit in their use. They apply to the technology and techniques of photography as well as video recording - basically, anything with a lens:
Bottom line: how we hold, position and move a camera can in large part determine how we think and feel about what we see. Camera angles are the adjectives and adverbs of video grammar.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Four Common Errors in Shooting Video |
Common Video Shooting Shooting Mistakes Robert Scoble and Beth Kanter created this excellent short video about how to shoot effective video by demonstrating four common errors many of us make as videographers and how to fix them: The 4 common video shooting mistakes and how to fix them are as follows:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Using chroma key editing in digital storytelling |
Going green - using green screen and chroma key editing in digital storytelling One of my favorite approaches to digital storytelling is "green screen" storytelling that uses chroma key editing, much like the editing used in weather programs and modern movies, like the Matrix and Harry Potter. Students tell stories in traditional oral fashion in front of a chroma key background, like a green wall or a mono-color sheet hanging behind the performance. This allows students to add artwork "behind their performance" in post-production using simple chroma key editing, the same kind of editing the weather announcer uses. The result is students performing their own stories in front of their own artwork. The results are stunning.
Technically, what is required to do green screen chroma key editing? Not much - a solid color wall and a software program that allows chroma key editing, which many video editing programs do. It is not important that the wall be "green" only that it be mono-color, well lit and have as few shadows as possible. Movies and weather announcers tend to use a particular shade of green or blue because it is distinct and not commonly worn. Here is a quick list of software and information about "going green" with your digital storytelling:
My prediction: in the near future, chroma key editing will be a standard feature of most video editing software packages. Bottom line: As video becomes less expensive and easier to use, it will appear more and more in digital stories. The expressive quality of chroma key editing assures that it will become more commonplace. For much of The Matrix, Keannu Reeves was flying around in a green room; the green was then chroma edited to add the unbelievable events and backgrounds that gave the movie its groundbreaking quality. I think it's fair to say that some portion of digital storytelling will "go Matrix" even if just to tell personal stories in a very new way.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Where to Edit and Post Video on the Web |
Editing and Posting Video on the WebFree services abound A number of services are becoming available that actually allow you to edit your video online; some are free, some are tiered (support free basic accounts, as well as more feature-rich premiere accounts). As of June 15, 2008, here are some of them:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Where to Post Video on the Web |
Posting Video on the WebSummary of a USA Today 12/20/07 article On December, 20, 2007, USA Today featured an article about where to post video on the web titled, "Video-sharing websites resolve to showcase better viewing." Here is a summary, much of which is directly quoted from USA Today's excellent article. Keep in mind that other leading contenders, notably YouTube, Google Video and TeacherTube, were not reviewed.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Audio tips and techniques |
Audio TechniquesVideotaping oral storytelling If you are using recorded oral storytelling or recorded performance as part of your digital story, there is one rule above all: have your performers wear wireless mics. If you rely on the mic built into the video camera the audio sounds like amateur video shot at a birthday party. You'll use a wireless mic once, and never want to use anything else. And they're inexpensive. I use the Azden. Approximate cost: $180 Mike Technique and Speaking Into Your Computer
Miking a live storyteller:
Use a remote wireless
mike. Do NOT rely on the mike built into the video camera.
Most digital storytellers assume they need to sit when recording their narrative. Not so. Experiment with audio delivery. How you sit, stand and move will determine what you audio sounds like.
Bottom line: What you do with your body as you record your voice-over narrative will greatly affect what your narrative sounds like. Use your body to help you speak your words.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Power of music in your digital story |
The Manipulative Power of MusicMost people want to include music in their digital stories. So, let's visit the issue of "the manipulative power of music" for a moment. In my media literacy classes, we talk about strategies advertisers use "to pierce the neocortex," that is, to grab listeners (or consumers) beneath their judgmental minds where they are often helpless to use critical thinking to assess what they are watching. What pierces the neocortex? Appeals made to primal instincts (survival, sex, belonging to a community, happiness, etc.), and, above all, music.
...nothing pierces the neocortex and manipulates the emotions like music
Like it or not, sappy music tends to make us feel sentimental (even if we don't want to), while the Rocky theme makes us feel powerful and conquering, even if we aren't. When I am conscious of being manipulated by music, especially during a bad movie, I consider it a cheap shot and an admission that the story isn't very good. But even knowing this, the music still effects me. What's more, the effects of music are usually very predictable over a very wide range of audience members. That is, play the Rocky theme for a diverse crowd, and most people will still have similar reactions to it every time. That's power. To demonstrate the power of music, view two creations that I found on the web that I consider to be among my favorite. Both use music and editing to create trailers that portray well known movies completely inaccurately:
...the Jaws theme can make Bambi appear evil... that's the power of music...
use it wisely
Three Movie Sequences. This is another great resource for demonstrating the manipulative power of music. My thanks to Kathy from Creating Passionate Users for allowing me to include it on my website. In this exercise, 3 different kinds of musical backgrounds are applied to the same 30-second movie of someone getting out of bed in the morning and walking out into the living room. The net effect is to suggest three entirely different moods and stories. Using this with students: Have them do a quick write following each video about what kind of movie they think they are watching, what they think the story line might be and how they feel toward the young man in the movie. You need to play each movie to get the full effect. They are only 30 seconds long. I suggest you play the movie without any sound at all before playing all three sequences with sound. A project for students: have them create their own "three movie sequences" project. If you want to really drive the point home about the power of music to your students have them create their own "three movie" project. Have them a) record 30 seconds (the legal limit) of a well known movie, b) tape a 30-second conversation between a few people in class, or c) shoot something potentially boring, like traffic. Then have them add background music to make listeners feel three different ways about the dialogue: creepy, sad, sentimental, whatever. Thanks to programs like GarageBand, creating music is quick, easy and within anyone's reach. The results are amazing and often hilarious. Bottom line: Music manipulates and can overtake a story if over used or over played. Make sure your music supplements your story, and not the other way around. When it is the other way around, you have a music video.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Technology you'll need at the workshop |
Technology to bring to the workshop
Rule of thumb: Have one mike and camera per every 3-5 five people; 1 scanner per every 10.
If you are attending a workshop, here is a list of what you will need to have. I am not sure whether we will have access to equipment at your site for this workshop so please bring the following if at all in doubt. Note: It is much like the list covered in the digital storytelling toolkit section above:
Rule of thumb: For every 3-5 participants there should be one microphone and one digital camera one hand. Try to network class participants ahead of time so they can decide who can bring what (sort of like a pot luck lunch). If everyone shows up with their own mike and camera, great. But it's not necessary.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Media you'll need at the workshop |
Story materials to bring to the workshop
...bring all the media you think you might need
For personal stories, bring digital photos of people involved in your story, an outline of the important events (take a walk down memory lane and try to sketch out the salient points), any music that is important on CD or iPod, any audio or video you might want to take clips from... Thoughts about finding images Here are some important points to consider about images
A list of image sources Here is a list of potential image sources taken from Bernajean Porter's book on digital storytelling called Digitales:
Academic story images For academic stories, in addition to the items for personal stories mentioned above, here are some suggestions:
Just walk through the lesson and think about what might go into a story or movie about it.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Free and inexpensive resources |
Free Sound, Music and Graphic ResourcesThe Internet is a great way to find free sounds, graphics, music and other resources. You want to find a burp sound? Try Googling "burp sound"...it's amazing what's out there. Here are some good sites:
...try Googling "burp sound"...it's amazing what's out there
More free sources. Here are others. Remember- these come and go. Some are free one day, and not the next, some require acknowledgement, others don't: |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright and fair use in your classroom |
Copyright Issues - Living in the Gray ZoneThe day the lawyer came to town... I will never forget the day a lawyer came to my institution to explain the implications of the TEACH Act, a vague enactment of government intended to explain the legalities of using electronic material in teaching and learning. The lawyer's presentation was well attended because many of us were confused about academia's legal responsibilities with regards to faculty and student use of materials found on the web in projects and coursework. Like everyone else who had come to hear the lawyer speak, I looked forward to finally getting some clarification. After making a short presentation that was muddy at best, she asked for questions. While there were plenty of them about a number of different topics, her answers all began the same way: "Well now, that's sort of a gray area..." In short, we all came for clarity and left with grayity. Had the Q & A session been a Monty Python skit, it would have been hilarious.
"...well, now, that's sort of a gray area..."
Bottom line: the issue of copyright and acceptable use is indeed a gray area. The material that follows is intended to help you navigate the grayness. It is not legal advice and should not be construed as such. If you are ever concerned about the legality of something, ask your district's legal counsel for advice. John Brim's videos. I recommend you check out John Brim's mini lectures on copyright in education. They address a wide variety of common issues in straightforward language. They can be found at the Adventure of the American Mind Site. What teachers want to know When it comes to issues of copyright, teachers want answers to questions like:
This section of the website addresses these issues from a non-professional's perspective. Whenever in doubt, ask your district's legal counsel for advice. Common Sense Copyright Using common sense, the golden rule and respect for others' property - just like your parents taught you - is a great place to start your conversations with students about using other peoples' material in their digital stories. It also provides a good (though incomplete) introduction to what the law actually does say. For many students the stumbling block in understanding the nature of "fair use" is the altered nature of theft in the Digital Age. If I take your car, I have your car and you don't. But if I use a copy of your song, you still have your original copy. I don't deprive you of your song, but of something that results from it: royalties, recognition and respect. Depriving someone of royalties is very real yet conceptually less tangible, particularly to the young mind. However, asking students a question like the following helps them focus on the realities of fair use and copyright in very real ways: "If you were trying to make a living as a musician, how would you react if someone downloaded rather than bought your music?" |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Three rules |
Three rules of respect The bottom line is respect- respect for other people's work and how they want their work to be used and credited. There are three levels of increasing respect that help frame this discussion for students:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Four factor |
Four Factor Fair Use Test Another approach to determining fair use is what is commonly called "the four factor fair use test," which offers guidelines in terms of the four questions below. If you want to know more about the four factor test, I suggest consulting the University of Texas's site devoted to this topic, which offers far more detail than I provide here:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
What the |
What the law says
...I'm not a lawyer and don't play one on TV...seek legal advice when in doubt
I have read the Teach Act and a good deal of commentary about it and have developed my limited understanding of what it says about using digital materials in school projects, like digital stories. Below are points that specifically relate to using material in projects:
When I asked a lawyer who specializes in copyright and fair use issues whether these points related equally to media projects posted on the web as to those created just for 'in-house' use and not distributed via the web, she said, in so many words, "Well, now, that's sort of a gray area." I'm not kidding. |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Case of "Liberal Viewer" vs. Viacom So much of this area depends on legal interpretation and precedent. So, the case of Liberal View vs. Viacom attracted a good deal of attention on the part of YouTubers and other mediasts. Educators should take notice as well. Read this short article about it, or simply Google "Asch Viacom YouTube." But the gist of it is this. A YouTuber who goes by the name "Liberal Viewer" (real name = "Allen Asch" from Sacramento, Califorinia) posts short commentaries that use clips from programs like the Colbert Report. Viacom, who owns the Comedy Channel, told YouTube (owned by Google) to take down his work. Google complied. From the article: "He (Asch) studied the "fair use" doctrine of the copyright laws and fought to get the videos reinstated. Fair use is an exception to the law that allows people to use copyrighted material for commentary, parody, news reporting and educational research." So, Asch, with the help of the ACLU, fought the ruling, and won. Viacom even promised to be more tolerant of such use in the future. What does this mean for the rest of us? I have no idea. But a non-legal interpretation suggests that when students use copyrighted material for "commentary, parody, news reporting and educational research," they are covered by this ruling. |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Avoiding the gray zone of copyright and fair use Here are some ways to avoid the gray zone:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Copyright Resources There are many websites devoted to the issue of copyright and fair use in education. Some are comprehensible by mortals, others are not. The resources listed below are some of the better ones I have found in terms of translating legalese more or less into plain English: |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Contact
© 2008 jason ohler |
||||||||||||||||||||||
A reasonably recent computer. In practical terms this
means a Mac running at least OS X.2 or later, or a PC running Windows XP.
Movie
(or media) editing software. Whether you are making a movie
or simply combining still images and music, you will probably
use movie editing software to assemble your digital story.
Let's look at this issue in terms of the two major platforms, Mac and PC: 
