Digital Storytelling

     I am just a bit jaded when it comes to digital storytelling presentations. I know I can and will always learn something, but it’s also something I’ve spent a lot of time on. So last week at our (Illinois) fall state EdTech conference, I was absolutely delighted to wander into “Digitelling for Educators” with Sue Black and Bev Frett of Robert E. Clow Elementary School in Naperville, IL. What sets this presentation and school’s program apart is that Sue is a professional storyteller. I unfortunately missed the first few minutes, but by the time I settled in Sue was asking for volunteers to give her one thought about dogs. She brought the five respondents up to the front, coaxed them with a few of her starter questions, rearranged them like they were sentences, and then when they each spoke their part, we had a nice mini-story about dogs. Since Sue is a traditional, oral  storyteller, she encouraged her dog lovers to re-think and re-phrase their lines with, “How could you say that to make us LEAN IN?” I like that “lean in” image! Check out the resources on the Illinois Storyteller’s page and don’t forget to watch the stories that Bev and Sue help the Clow students craft on their examples page. Sorry, Mac users. The videos don’t seem to be in a format that plays on Apples: audio, but no video.