Digital+Storytelling

Digital Storytelling Central Southland GATE Cluster 2011

**SESSION 1**
Hi everyone! We've had a great start to our Digital Storytelling exploration. Our first session was spent getting to know each other and finding out about what our passions and interests are.

Over the next few weeks we will explore digital storytelling tools, find out about what we'll be working on and getting to know our epals. I'm still waiting for a reply from the teachers, but once I get these we can email our new friends and find out more about them and tell them all about us!

**SESSION 2**
This session was spent exploring some of the digital storytelling tools that are out there. Basically these are any tools that can be used to tell our stories through images. We talked about the ones some of us are familiar with - iMovie, iPhoto, Windows Moviemaker, podcasting, etc and introduced a few new ones to have a play with. Click on the images below and it will take you to the sites so that you can carry on exploring.

Remember, there is no group this week - Week 8 - but I will see you in Week 9. I can't wait! You are a fabulous group of people to learn with!! I've added a few photos of our second session using another tool you might like to use for digital storytelling - it's called[| Photopeach.] Explore this and let me know your thoughts. :-) You can try out the basics for free but I've signed us up for the full version that we can use during our sessions at Lochiel.

media type="file" key="DIgital Storytelling example.mov" align="center" width="300" height="300"

Explore storytelling using art that has been created for this page for you to use. || **PHOTOPEACH** Add your photos to tell a story. You can use this for free to do the basics, but I've got an account for you that we can use when we meet. || ** MIXBOOK ** Another tool I've signed us up for! I have an account which you can use during our sessions. Here is an example of one of the books you can make for your digital story. || ||
 * **STORYBIRD**
 * [[image:reapgatecluster/Screen_shot_2011-09-19_at_2.15.16_PM.png width="172" height="123" link="http://storybird.com/create/"]] || [[image:reapgatecluster/Screen_shot_2011-09-19_at_2.20.15_PM.png link="http://photopeach.com/"]] || [[image:reapgatecluster/Screen_shot_2011-09-19_at_2.30.03_PM.png width="88" height="27"]]
 * Click on the picture || Click on the picture || Click on the picture ||

ExampleforDigitalStorytelling || || ||
 * ePals Digital Storytelling Information || Voicethread
 * [[image:reapgatecluster/Screen_shot_2011-09-19_at_2.38.32_PM.png width="251" height="42"]]
 * Click on the picture || Click on the picture ||

You might like to have a look at some of these too! (I'll keep adding more as we go. Any that you find, let me know and we can add them too!) You can try them out for free but I also have accounts that will give us greater access to the cool tools to tell our stories.

[|Smilebox]

[|Animoto]



**SESSION 3**
Hi everyone! I missed you last week - hope you've been learning great things. Have you had time to check out this page on the wiki - let me know what you think and what we need to add - what you'd like to see on here.

This week, our focus is on introducing the structure of epals and getting you access to your accounts. There has been a bit of a problem with our original epals and they are no longer available to learn with us. We will hopefully have our new ones from the Napa Valley in California by Thursday morning so you'll be able to get started communicating with them.

The programme for this Thursday is...
 * Get your epals addresses and log in to your accounts
 * Write our first emails to introduce ourselves if I've got the names
 * Find out more about where our epals come from and what they are thinking about for the digital stories
 * Start to brainstorm what we want to include in our digital stories
 * Storyboard what we could include
 * Decide on the platform we're going to use to produce the stories, e.g. Moviemaker, iPhoto, Podcasts, Voicethread, Mixbook etc. (You'll need to think about what will work best).

Below is an outline of some key elements of Digital Storytelling that you'll need to think about when you're planning your story. (Click on the link).

[|http://public.iwork.com/document/?a=p1075115170&d=Key_Elements_in_Creating_a_Digital_Story.pages]

I will also add screen shots of how to get into your epals accounts too, just in case you need a reminder. :-)

=**WALLWISHER **=

Below is a Wallwisher - some of you may have used this tool before. It's a way of sharing knowledge and creating new learning! Click on it anywhere and add your ideas as you find out more. How many facts can we find out before we get replies from our epals? Click on 'Post a sticky' and it will take you straight to the wall. :-)

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Basic Information About Where Your Epals Are From:

John Harrington - USA - - Mr Harrington is their teacher  From: Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School I am the technology teacher at a Middle School in the Napa Valley of CA, USA. I am developing a new course called 'Modern Media' in which my students will use modern communication tools (video, digital photos, websites, blogs, video conferencing/skype, twitter, etc.) to learn about other individuals and their cultures from around the world. I intend to break the class into groups and each student in a group will make a pen pal connection and then build a website focusing on everything they learn about this new pen pal and their community. || SAINT HELENA, California, USA ||  ||
 * Project Description
 * || **Location**

= **YAY!!!!! Epals Logins Are All Go!** = ====Sorry about the problems with these this morning lovely people. They are all sorted now and you can log straight in. The password is winton1 - all lowercase with no space. (It's okay to put this on here as you all have unique usernames so no-one, apart from me, can get into your account).====

= First Login - When you first login you will go to this page.= As soon as I have the names of your epals - probably by tomorrow morning - I will forward your emails onto them.

I was incredibly impressed with the quality of the content of your emails. It was obvious that you had put a great deal of effort into thinking about what the reader needed to know so that they could understand what you were writing about. (Particularly in relation to rugby!!)

I will put lots more information on here over the next few days and will let you know the names of your epals.

TO LOG IN AND SEND EMAILS
Go to the page above and type in your username and password. (Remember your username is the one with your first name, initial of your second name with @epals.com. So mine would be justineh@epals.com

Go to your Inbox and open the email by clicking on the subject - it will be in blue. (This is a hypertext link that opens the email).

To reply - click on Reply and start typing in the box - always at the top.

Click on Send when you've finished.

** ANY PROBLEMS ** - Please send me an email and I will be able to help you. :-) justine.hughes29@gmail.com
//Thank you for a fantastic morning!! You are a fabulous group to work with! :-)// = = =EPALS LIST= Hi everyone! Below is the list of who you've been buddied up with as your epals. I've forwarded your first emails on so we should have at least one reply from each this week!

Kaelym - Jorge, Nicholas George - Rusty, Brian Mitchell - Campbell, Drew Hamish - Michael, Cole Annabel - Olivia, Maddie Jack - Noah, Izzy Emily - Connor, Sophie Phoebe - Alonso, Ellie Olivia - Alessia, Maritza Logan - Cam, Jay Emma - Ben, Bianca Adam - John, Morgan Anahera - Patsy, Scott, Vicky Ellie - Ana, Elizabeth, Cynthia Meg - Jose, Megan Lukesh - Stephan, Erick, Xochitl Lachie - Douglas, Kili Brodie - Marco, Alex

Here's a Smilebox creation just for you - this is one of the tools you might like to use to create your Digital Story. (I've signed us up so that we have access to more music, tools and styles!)

media type="custom" key="10694426" = =

SESSION 4
This week the plan is:


 * Log in to ePals and check your mail - not all replies are in though.
 * Have a look at how the emailing process works so that you can email over the holidays and get to know your epal.
 * Anyone ready to start their digital story?
 * Photos of each other
 * Download photos and create a digital story to tell your epals more about you (This will also help you know how to use the tools if you want to work on these over the holidays
 * Start to search for resources to use to support your digital story
 * Recap on holiday jobs

= **A TASK FOR YOU OVER THE NEXT WEEK - AND THE HOLIDAYS** =

Collect at least 20 photos of your life in New Zealand. These will be some of the photos to be used in the digital storytelling that you will share with your epals. If you can get quite a few for next week, you could work on completing the first part of your stories over the holidays. I know some of you are going away, so you will be able to get some great shots - I can't wait to see them!

Remember to write to your epals if you have time. I will keep checking and forwarding the emails on to you.

Could the students who have an extra epal, please try and write to them too.

There is one person who was missed off the list:

Adanari black0012@epals.com If you would like to write to Adanari, please email me and let me know :-)

Hope you're all having fantastic holidays!

= Saturday, October 15 =

**Hi everyone - your epals have sent at least 2 emails now, so you can check your inboxes and reply. They'd love to hear from you.**
= = = FINAL WEEK OF DIGITAL STORYTELLING - to be uploaded for you before Monday, Nov 7 =
 * Here are some of the Storybirds we've been working on. I will add more over the weekend. Some of the Photopeaches used Youtube clips and they can't be downloaded away from the Photopeach website due to Youtube restrictions. I will be sorting this out over the weekend, but may need to change your music.**
 * You have been the most fantastic group to work with!! Thank you for your energy and enthusiasm.**

= **STORYBIRDS** = Go to [|Storybird] Type in your username: authors8 Type in your password: kakapo8

Go to the toolbar and click on YOU. Go to the storybirds - either published or unpublished and click on 'see all' and you will be able to share your Storybird with your friends and families. I will leave the password / username linked indefinitely so that you can continue to use these. Your teachers may want to use this tool too - you will be the teachers and show others how to use them. If they want to do this, it would be a good idea for them to set up their own accounts.

= PHOTOPEACH = I've uploaded as many as I can at the moment - turns out to be a longer process than I thought :-). I will upload the rest during the week. (Slight wee hiccup - I've uploaded them minus the captions - not sure how I managed this - very skilled I do not think! I will correct this and upload the ones with the captions this week. These still look fantastic though!).

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