Motives for Undertaking Project: This digital storytelling project was a class assignment that became a reflective assessment of my spiritual faith; therefore, I challenged myself to unveil intimate occurrences and the deep emotions associated with them to convey a story. . . a message to fellow classmates (and the general public). Having faith is apparent to me, so my investigation into my use of it and, thus, its power led me relay a story that is familiar to many—overcoming life’s tribulations with a poise only faith can provide. As such, this project allows me and audiences to reflect each day on the physical manifestations of faith, and so emphatically in my daughter, whose name is Faith.
Equipment Used: Apple Mac Pro, Apple iMovie, Apple iPhoto, Apple Photo Booth, MS Word, Weebly Website Design
Equipment Used: Apple Mac Pro, Apple iMovie, Apple iPhoto, Apple Photo Booth, MS Word, Weebly Website Design
Benita Reed
Dr. Shannon Carter
English 697 Digital Storytelling
8 December 2015
Response Paper #3: Reflections
After completing this Digital Storytelling course, my video, and digital website, I want to share my reflections. English 697 Digital Storytelling challenged me to understand the value of presenting discourse via this medium. The video, a primary assignment, required me to execute familiar rudiments of narration to produce my story through technological mechanisms. Creating a website, also, allowed me to familiarize myself with technology as well as tested my understanding of producing a place to articulate content worthy of discussing.
Under Dr. Carter’s leadership and guidance, along with the contributions of fellow classmates, I learned how to complete aspects of digital storytelling. Understanding the importance of certifying images/photos, music, and videos has always been apparent to me, but I was able to cite the contents and to learn the controversy regarding documenting. The process, however, can be a tedious one when a number of works must be cited, appropriately, yet the process is a relatively simple one. Learning and integrating Joe Lambert’s Seven Elements of Digital Storytelling provided direction to ensure my video was focused and coherent, as well as communicated a clear (and provocative) message. The element of voice challenged me a bit because, in the past, my voice sounded like a little child when it was recorded. Nevertheless, I included a short voice audible in the beginning of my video to add a little intrigue.
The video was fun and challenging to create once I released apprehensions about revealing personal occurrences and feelings about my life. After listening to the video and the reading of Natalie Goldberg Old Friend from Far Away, I became comfortable discussing my story about [F]aith. The technology caused much of my challenge when completing this work, but since Dr. Carter’s methodology is one that required me to integrate an additional aspect for each assignment, I repeated pertinent processes and implemented new strategies. (And, it helped me to recreate all of my video versions though it was not by design; my technological skills are improving because of this course.) The intricate details of creating a good video are artistic—spacing, transitioning, economy, sound/music, and pacing. The aforementioned are essential to produce a clear message that is visually appealing, so time is necessary to listen, edit, listen, and revise (though this process takes hours and even days to finalize).
The website offered an opportunity for me to practice my technological skills while allowing me to see the importance of creating a location that is conducive for communicating insightful information. Thus, the layout is significant for a website; it can invite or disinvite an audience. The visual appeal should entice, the content should evoke, and the message should incite. Patience and time are needed to design the vision, so playing with the divergent mechanisms helped me to become comfortable and confident in my website.
This class, overall, has challenged me in a number of ways. As a student, I have learned to utilize technology that I had not in the past. As a teacher, I have been enlightened about diverse ways to engage students in writing and in producing written work. I will be incorporating information and methods learned from our class within my courses; this addition will excite students and me because they l-o-v-e technology. And, now, I have a love for the processes involved in creating a video and a website that provides a venue for learning and, then, dialogue on topics of interest and about subjects of substance. –Thank you.
Dr. Shannon Carter
English 697 Digital Storytelling
8 December 2015
Response Paper #3: Reflections
After completing this Digital Storytelling course, my video, and digital website, I want to share my reflections. English 697 Digital Storytelling challenged me to understand the value of presenting discourse via this medium. The video, a primary assignment, required me to execute familiar rudiments of narration to produce my story through technological mechanisms. Creating a website, also, allowed me to familiarize myself with technology as well as tested my understanding of producing a place to articulate content worthy of discussing.
Under Dr. Carter’s leadership and guidance, along with the contributions of fellow classmates, I learned how to complete aspects of digital storytelling. Understanding the importance of certifying images/photos, music, and videos has always been apparent to me, but I was able to cite the contents and to learn the controversy regarding documenting. The process, however, can be a tedious one when a number of works must be cited, appropriately, yet the process is a relatively simple one. Learning and integrating Joe Lambert’s Seven Elements of Digital Storytelling provided direction to ensure my video was focused and coherent, as well as communicated a clear (and provocative) message. The element of voice challenged me a bit because, in the past, my voice sounded like a little child when it was recorded. Nevertheless, I included a short voice audible in the beginning of my video to add a little intrigue.
The video was fun and challenging to create once I released apprehensions about revealing personal occurrences and feelings about my life. After listening to the video and the reading of Natalie Goldberg Old Friend from Far Away, I became comfortable discussing my story about [F]aith. The technology caused much of my challenge when completing this work, but since Dr. Carter’s methodology is one that required me to integrate an additional aspect for each assignment, I repeated pertinent processes and implemented new strategies. (And, it helped me to recreate all of my video versions though it was not by design; my technological skills are improving because of this course.) The intricate details of creating a good video are artistic—spacing, transitioning, economy, sound/music, and pacing. The aforementioned are essential to produce a clear message that is visually appealing, so time is necessary to listen, edit, listen, and revise (though this process takes hours and even days to finalize).
The website offered an opportunity for me to practice my technological skills while allowing me to see the importance of creating a location that is conducive for communicating insightful information. Thus, the layout is significant for a website; it can invite or disinvite an audience. The visual appeal should entice, the content should evoke, and the message should incite. Patience and time are needed to design the vision, so playing with the divergent mechanisms helped me to become comfortable and confident in my website.
This class, overall, has challenged me in a number of ways. As a student, I have learned to utilize technology that I had not in the past. As a teacher, I have been enlightened about diverse ways to engage students in writing and in producing written work. I will be incorporating information and methods learned from our class within my courses; this addition will excite students and me because they l-o-v-e technology. And, now, I have a love for the processes involved in creating a video and a website that provides a venue for learning and, then, dialogue on topics of interest and about subjects of substance. –Thank you.