Digital Storytelling: Synthesizing My Multimodal Journey with #WalkMyWorld 2016

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. – Maya Angelou

WEEK NINE: Collect and curate how you used different modes (i.e., images, text, video, and audio content) to reflect on your past, present, and future identities. This week, #WalkMyWorld invites you to produce a digital story that synthesizes your journey over the past eight learning events.

Digital storytelling weaves multiple media sources into a compelling narrative that moves beyond stating a sequence of events by inviting the audience to think about what they believe and challenges them to consider a different point of view. When you have time, watch Emily Bailin's 17 minute TED talk as she explains her research with the power of digital storytelling.


Notice how Emily Bailin starts with a question,"Where am I from?," and then applies the inquiry process to examine her life's journey as an educator, until the finished digital story has a captivating beginning, a compelling middle, and a convincing end. Using the same mentor poem, Where I’m From, by George Ella Lyon, I synthesize my digital story using three different mediums. How does your engagement with my story change when you engage through different mediums:
1. I used Storify to collect and curate a few tweets from each learning event, click HERE.
2. I used Google Docs, to write my poem using words, click HERE.
3. I used Animoto and Soundcloud to create my digital story, click below.

Invitation: COLLECT your multimodal content from the past eight learning events. CURATE your digital story using digital tools like Storify or Diigo Outliner. SHARE your creation on Twitter using the hashtag #WalkMyWorld #LE9. It’s time. What will you share? Explore.Play.Create.Learn.

Interested in learning more about #WalkMyWorld, visit: walkmy.world

Be Mindful of Voices during a Turning Point: #WalkMyWorld #LE5

Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what. – Harper Lee

WEEK FIVE: Explore how the human voices in your world guided you during a turning point in YOUR Story. This week, #WalkMyWorld invites you to identify a turning point or roadblock in your story and how sounds of human voices helped you overcome that challenge?

The human voice is a powerful tool that can be used to entertain, empower, and encourage people of all ages. Yet, many educators neglect to teach students how to be mindful of their oral voice (i.e., the spoken word) and their inner voice (i.e., the thinking word). The meaning of a word can be conveyed differently by making adjustments to the human voice through four affordances:

• Pitch - high/low
• Tempo - fast/slow
• Tone - sharp/soft
• Inflection - animated/monotone   

TEDEd Lessons Worth Sharing: One of the best tools I have used to increase students' awareness of the power of their voice is through TEDEd Lessons Worth Sharing site. Each lesson provides four different components that empower students' voice through listening and speaking. First, students can WATCH Steven Claunch tell the story of how he overcomes obstacles. Then, students THINK (inner voice) about the message of the story through 5 multiple choice and 2 short answer questions. Next, students can EXPLORE resources to compare what other people are saying about the topic. Finally, students can SHARE their own voice through an online discussion forum. There is also an option for educators to customize the lesson.

Sound Cloud: I am starting to play around with www.SoundCloud.com, a free website and app that allows you to record, collaborate, and share sounds. LISTEN to my voice as I describe how Walker Clark, a brilliant life coach, guided me during a turning point in my life:

 

Invitation: THINK of a turning point when you had to overcome an obstacle. RECORD your voice using Sound Cloud and tell the story.  SHARE your creation on Twitter using the hashtag #WalkMyWorld #LE5. It’s time. What will you share? Explore.Play.Create.Learn.

Interested in learning more about #WalkMyWorld, visit: walkmy.world