Week 8- Digital Storytelling

  We did not have class this week but the topic again was Digital Storytelling.  Since we didn't have class I researched a little bit more about what exactly is Digital Storytelling.  A definition of Digital Storytelling is the modern expression of the ancient art of storytelling.  Digital stories derive their power by weaving images, music, narrative, and voice together, thereby giving deep dimension and vivid color to characters, situations, experiences, and insights.
  For my Digital Storytelling Project I did a Powerpoint presentation showing pictures from Christmas 2009.  These pictures tell a story of how I went out to a restaurant with my whole family on Christmas Eve and how I spent Christmas morning at my house opening presents with my sister, mom, and dad.
  I also researched how Digital Storytelling is important in the field of Education since I am a Special Education major.  I learned that there are seven elements of Digital Storytelling.  The first is point of view, what is the perspective of the author?  The second is a dramatic question, a question that will be answered by the end of the story.  Emotional Content is the third and is serious issues that speak to us in a personal and powerful way.  The fourth is the gift of your voice which is a way to personalize the story to help the audience understand the context.  The fifth is the power of the soundtrack which is music or other sounds that support the storyline.  The sixth is the economy and is using just enough content to tell the story without overloading the viewer with too much info.  The seventh and last one is pacing and is related to economy but specifically deals with how slowly or quickly the story progresses.  These are seven elements teacher can use in order to teach there students how to use digital storytelling properly.  This is a website to show how to integrate digital storytelling into the classroom, http://its.ksbe.edu/dst/.

Week 7- Visual Literacy

  This week in class we began learning about Digital Storytelling.  We learned about different computer programs like iMovie and Animoto.  You can use other programs to create a digital story including programs like PowerPoint.
  This Digital Storytelling can be used in my major which is Special Education.  It can because it can show a story about someones life or a story about a team using images.  Like I said in my last post, images are sometimes the best way to tell a story or the best way to teach something to children.
  This website, http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/, shows ways that digital storytelling is used for educational purposes.  The topics that are used in Digital Storytelling range from personal tales to the recounting of historical event, and from exploring life in one's own community. topics that are used in Digital Storytelling range from personal tales to the recounting of historical events, from exploring life in one's own community to the search for life in other corners of the universe, and literally, everything in between.

Media and Information Literacy

  This week in class we learned about visual literacy.  Visual Literacy is the ability to interpret, negotiate and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image.  It is based on the idea of pictures and we can interpret the meaning of visual literacy in a process of reading.
  My major is Special Education and visual literacy can go along with my major very well.  It will be able to help kids learn material in a process other than reading words.  I think that learning things visually is sometimes a better way to learn than any other process.
  This is a website from wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_literacy ,explaining the definition of visual literacy and the ways it helps children learn.