"…life in the Tecosystem." That’s what Jason Ohler calls his blog which I forgot to include in last Friday’s post about his resources. I would actually subtitle it the “Blog of Revelation” because all of his posts so far are about digital storytelling revelations he has had over the years as technology and the Internet have become more a part of his and our lives. I am looking forward to meeting him on Wednesday and hearing his keynote and presentations at our Illinois conference. I just hope he’s in a talkative mood after spending all day winging his way down from Alaska.
A couple of good questions surfaced yesterday during Kay Teehan’s (soon to be archived) EdTechConnect webinar: What camera should I buy? How do I connect my camera to a computer?
I will offer a few answers below, but I hope some of you will also add your thoughts and experiences. Though this might not be very high in the order of thinking skills, it is a fundamental link in the chain for many types of digital stories.
Let’s split the camera question in two and answer the connection question with each type of camera.
Digital still cameras have some sort of little flash memory card that acts as the “film.” You can usually access these through a USB cable to the computer. The card then may show up like a thumb drive or even trigger a program on the computer that will offer to download and store the pictures. Since camera cables can be proprietary and easily forgotten or lost, I carry a card reader in my camera bag and invested in multi card readers for the media labs in my former schools in order to be able to turn any of the many styles of memory cards into thumb drives and easily download their contents. Still cameras can also take passable movies, though usually limited to thirty seconds. These can be downloaded and imported into your editing software just like the stills. I find that I am more likely to have the still camera handy than the DV camcorder when my granddaughter is performing. Download AddieCounts.MOV
I don’t know if there are analog camcorders (8 millimeter, VHS, Compact VHS) on the store shelves anymore, but avoid them if there are. Stick with digital and mini-DV tape. You will have to decide on what balance to strike between quality and price.
I feel that any DV camcorder with a digital out port is good enough for digital storytelling in a school. Three chip cameras are only worth the investment if your work will end up on the cable channel or you can really notice the difference. In addition to a variety of brands and models that we bought for our media labs in my former district, I saw a vast array of family camcorders come through the door. I can’t say I ever saw one whose quality I would label as inferior. DV camcorders now come in basically two “flavors,” going on three: tape, DVD, and hard drive. Almost every Digital 8 and mini-DV tape camcorder sold in the last five years or so have a tiny FireWire/iLink/IEEE 1394 port hiding behind a one of the little trap doors tucked here and there around the camera body.
You may have to look hard to find it. Some cameras come with the connecting cable and some don’t. PC users need a cable with the same small four pin connector at both ends. Mac users need one with four pins on the camera side and six on the computer side. These may look a little like USB cables, but they are not, so never force a cable into a port. Keep in mind that many DV camcorders also have still photo capability and have a USB port to export photos from its memory stick. A bit newer on the scene are camcorders that write to a mini-DVD. My limited experience with them had us putting the DVD into the computer (slot loading DVD owners should NOT unless it’s a full size DVD) and importing the video files from disk. The third and newest “flavor” on the scene actually has a hard drive built into the camera. I have absolutely no experience with these, but I am sure that they must connect via cable and just show up like any external hard drive.
Not to forget non-digital media, you can still scan any piece of paper or photograph. I encourage doing that at high resolutions for better video quality (see “Scanning Basics and Beyond” in the December archive). You can import VHS tape a couple of different ways. Many newer DV camcorders have “pass through” capability. You can connect the output from a VCR or laser disc player to the camera’s input jack and run the signal through the camera and out the FireWire/IEEE 1394 cable into a computer. Check your DV camcorder’s manual and/or menu screen to see if it has this capability. We also invested in media converters in my former labs more so for exporting the final project to VHS than importing original footage. All of our classrooms have VHS players and the export could be done in real time.
This is a perfect opportunity for many of you to share your experience with cameras and importing. Please leave a comment and let us know what you use and how.
Those are the last few words of the title of the book Digital Storytelling in and out of the Classroom by Kay Teehan. And though she makes a great comparison between digital storytelling and her favorite hobby, scrapbooking, as the outside activity, I think she (and anyone else promoting these kinds of projects) are sharing a life long skill that is extremely applicable outside of the classroom. Students who make and show their own digital stories don’t look at film/video or possibly even television the same. And if you don’t think that making AND sharing your own video isn’t already as common and far more popular than any letter to the editor ever was, then you’ve probably never heard of or visited YouTube.
On that note, a friend just sent me (it’s back up now!) a link to a video on YouTube in Norwegian or Danish? (don’t panic, it’s subtitled) that is probably very close to the reality of the dawn of two millennia. We can all have a good laugh at the old monk trying to make the transition from scroll to book and having to wait for the IT guy to show up. Do you think in the sequel he’ll need a new scriptorium and have to update his quill and ink? For almost a decade now, I’ve kidded about how this millennium is starting out exactly like the last one - give or take a century or two. I even tried to make a whole presentation out of it once. Where “they” struggled with moving from losing control over who reads, writes, AND publishes (with the appropriate permissions and in Latin, of course), we find ourselves in a similar spot. Language and writing are not always being used according to “accepted norms,” but they are being used constantly. The printing press freed people to write about absolutely anything in their own language. The Internet, cell phones, personal publishing, etc. are doing it in ours. I wonder what the first faculty or board meeting where someone proposed teaching the vernacular was like.
The genie’s been out of the bottle for quite some time. We can’t stuff him back in, but we can guide him somewhat. And I think that’s where one of the great payoffs of using digital storytelling in education is. That “language” is readily available and pervasive in our students’ world. They need to be savvy consumers and producers of multimedia messages. Especially “…out of the classroom.”
Join us and author Kay Teehan this Wednesday afternoon at 5:00 EST for the DEN’s February EdTechConnect offering. There is still room and time to register. All you need is a phone and an Internet connection, whether you are in or out of the classroom.
That’s what Dr. Jason Ohler lists as his occupation. At least that vocation is at the top of the list ahead of college professor, columnist, author, conference speaker…you’re probably starting to get the idea. “Renaissance man” comes to mind too, but that might date him (and me).
We started trading emails a few years ago when I was looking around for keynote speakers with a digital storytelling bent for our spring state conference here in the Chicago area. I am happy to say we finally landed him for the keynote and a couple of breakouts this year. And though we’ve been sharing emails for years and winter weather for the last two weeks, I have yet to meet this digital humanist from Alaska. I feel like I know him somewhat though. I’ve enjoyed his Techwit column off and on over the years, we both seem to lean heavily towards digital storytelling as an important classroom tool and 21st century skill, I’ve read a pre-release copy of his book Telling Your Story: Putting the Story into Digital and Traditional Storytelling, we’re both Apple Distinguished Educators (a usually like-minded group), and so I trust him enough to lend him my guitar for his keynote presentation at our conference in two weeks.
Just in case you won’t be able to catch Jason at our Illinois Technology Conference for Educators on March 2nd, you might want to pick his brain and benefit from his wisdom online. My recommendations would be…
Art, Storytelling, Technology and Education. You just knew I’d start with his storytelling page, didn’t you? He seems to see a strong tie between art and the art of storytelling.
Handouts Here’s a gold mine of resources. I especially like his different takes on the ebb and flow of a story. And I can’t wait to see him explain some of the slides in this very comprehensive PowerPoint described in Handout Category #3 .
The Quotes
Lots of fun like Three variations of the Catch 77 of the technological age:
1. We do, because we can.
2. Because we can, we must.
3. Yes! Whether we need to or not.
The Wisdom Lists a very scholarly bibliography/greatest hits of research applicable to integrating technology in education.
Jason’s video clips page is down as I write this, but hopefully, it will be back up soon and you can get a look at him in action. If not, you’re always welcome to join us the first two days of March in St. Charles, IL and you can even stop by the Discovery booth and room while you’re there.
I’ve been a bit glib about tying digital storytelling to standards. I think the benefits of teamwork, authoring for a real audience, and hands-on project experience speak for themselves and so I generally skip right to showin’ and makin’ movies. STAR Discovery Educator Kay Teehan, among others, does not take that step for granted and makes a strong argument for how digital storytelling fits in with the computer and media literacy standards outlined in NCLB as well as most states’ information literacy standards. She spends a whole chapter in her book Digital Storytelling in and out of the Classroom making the connection and pointing out the higher order thinking skills stimulated in digital storytelling projects. She uses one of my favorite student projects as a great example. It’s how a report on the culture of China became a moving story of women’s rights in that country.
“Grass Born to be Stepped on” was a 1st Place winner a few years ago in an Apple sponsored call for work using iMovie in the curriculum. Four middle school girls combined an interview with a mother of two Chinese orphans with images illustrating the attitudes and policies that have lowered having a girl baby to the status of the video’s title.
You can join us for a discussion with Kay on this and other salient points in her book on Wednesday, February 21st at 5 p.m. EST. Click here to register for this month’s EdTechConnect webinar.
My wife spotted an article in our local paper last Thursday and sent me off to a student video festival in a neighboring suburb on Friday night. Apparently, a high school freshman (a lifelong movie buff) wrote the Village of Schaumburg last year and suggested that they were just the kind of town to host such an event. They agreed!
I was delighted to find almost two hundred film fans, friends, and family in the Prairie Center theater, complete with popcorn, for the first annual Screen Test Student Fest. We were treated to almost two hours of student films and directors’ commentary from high school comedies, animation, and experimental film to a 5th grade musical documentary on properly caring for a paint brush.
The videography was impressive and the writing was exceptional!
One video was a love story with no dialogue. The couple connected and communicated through a “lost” still camera. And the director had a solid enough plan and poise to convince a local Starbucks to be the main setting for his story.
Another story involved dozens of classmates in a rush to sign up for a popular P.E. class. If you ever thought you’d never be able to get from one side of your high school to the other in time, this video is for you.
A third was so cleverly and comedically delivered that it reminded me of a Saturday Night Live skit. In a movie about making a movie, a team of film makers tries to sell their project about turning any romance novel with a “Fabio” on the cover into a bankable feature. Great jokes, great videography, and great acting!
But the surprise ending of the night went to a group of 5th grade art students who took festival honors with their musical documentary “Young Sloppy Brush.” Through interviews and reenactment, a group of artists’ paint brushes with google eyes and clay mouths remember and sing their way through the rise and fall of a great young brush’s life.
How many students have a story to share but no stage to share it on?
It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was basking in the October sunshine in Dallas and listening in disbelief on the phone as my wife described Chicagoland’s first pre-Halloween snowfall in who knows how long. I was at the ISMF celebration of student work then and managed a few blog posts. I also promised to tip you off to the call for submissions. Consider yourselves tipped. They will be accepting entries from February 15th until May 31st, 2007. Apparently, the guidelines are still under review so you may not want to rush your submission in right away. There is a $20 entrance fee for each entry, $5 for a single photograph.
There are nine different production types from still photographs to posters to videos that are further defined by “purpose” which is another six categories that range from instructional to entertainment. Not sure where your work might fit in? They have a clever little wizard that will walk you through several question screens and then let you know. You can also buy a two DVD set of last year’s judges’ favorites to get an idea of what the level of competition is like.
And that brings me to the judging. One of the things I was most 
impressed with (besides all the student film makers in attendance and their work) was the award system that included “best of festival” and “judges’ favorite.” They really seem to go out of their way to honor and encourage students’ creativity.
Actually, I was so impressed with everything about the festival that I may have to drag myself out to Anaheim at the end of October to duck any possible pre-Halloween Chicago snow while watching for your students’ work.
Game over! Let the second guessing begin! Except for Lori’s comment on the previous post, it looks like you’re going to let me do the talking. But feel free to chime in anytime. So here’s what I saw…
First off, I have to agree with Lori. I liked the mouse in the Blockbuster commercial too. And if memory serves, the computer mouse got it’s name from Mickey’s little cousin.
Next, ya gotta love Oprah and David Letterman in love. What a surprise that was! And what a great example of a few simple shot angles. You can revisit their spot at CBS News Early Show “Smackdown” post mortem of the commercials, about 4 minutes in. Without giving much more away, it starts with a close-up, goes to a two-shot, and then backs up and finishes with a medium-long shot, all in ten seconds. Usually, we start with a long, establishing shot and then move in.
How about a comparison between Frito-Lay and Coke’s Black History Month tip of the hat? Both did a fine, low key job in two completely different ways. Frito-Lay used vignettes of a variety of African-American fans watching their favorite teams. I really liked the Bears fan hyperventilating (we had a few Irish-Americans doing that too). Coca-Cola went with an all text message (with some great piano) that depended on the viewer’s knowledge of history. I wonder if that started any discussions in family rooms. Just who was #42, anyhow?
E-Trade had two clever twists. One had bank employees donning masks and robbing their customers. The other was on what you can do with one (close-up) finger that ended discreetly with a no-shot of what you could do with THE finger to quit your job. Not a line you want your students to get too close to.
Finally (for now at least), what did you think of the “Amateur Bowl” of ads? Chevy had a contest for college students, but Doritos took it with their two homemade entries. I liked "Crash" done by a husband and wife team and a cameraman on roller blades. It is a simple combination of close-up and reaction shots with just a few medium-long shots. Supposedly, the total cost was just $12.50.
I used http://sports.aol.com/nfl/superbowlads to study the commercials.
OK, I admit it. I watch the Super Bowl every year, but just for the commercials. The whole Brennan clan uses it as an excuse to be together half way between our Christmas celebration and our St. Patrick’s Day party. We gather at my brother’s house every year to kind of watch the game and scrutinize the commercials. Because we all live in Chicagoland, this year I have a feeling that we will be scrutinizing every play too.
My attention will be divided between the commercials and the Bears’ fortunes, so I need your help this year. Good commercials are almost always very good stories. They can tell us as much about ourselves and the human condition as they do about the product that would like to pry away some of our money. And at the going rate for ad time during the Super Bowl, they do it very concisely.
Watch for character development. In just a sentence or two and/or how they dress, what do we know about these people? Where are they? Why? Consider the barbarians in the credit card commercials or the cave men in the insurance ones.
How does the story build? Do they count on our prior knowledge? Even in thirty seconds, there is a beginning, a middle and an end. What must the storyboard look like?
Parody! What can you turn into an exciting thirty or sixty second assignment to “sell” one of Newton’s laws or a Shakespeare play or a historical event?
Go Bears!
I have just touched on some of the different genres that you can employ when creating your own videos for learning: commercials, public service announcements, movie trailers, etc. A documentary can be one of the most challenging because you have to extract the story as it unfolds through your interviewing and it may not go in a direction that you had planned. You can, of course, make carefully scripted historical documentaries, “you are there” kind of productions. But to really go out and solicit people’s opinions, balance points of view, and document your subject requires some journalistic thinking on your feet - on site and at the editing station.
C-SPAN’s Student Cam national student documentary contest offers middle and high school students an opportunity to share their observations in a maximum 10 minute video documentary exploring an issue that matters to them. Teams of up to three students will be eligible for forty-five prizes totaling $25,000. All awards are monetary and some include money for the school to buy equipment with. Submitted documentaries may then be shown on C-SPAN or be made available on their website.
The rules stipulate that each entry MUST use C-SPAN footage, either recorded off the air or from their archives. That may seem odd at first, but this is a good opportunity to emphasize fair-use guidelines to students as a right in education. Documentaries must be received by March 30, 2007.
C-SPAN also offers plenty of advice and video examples, including last year’s winners and an interview with faculty advisors. A bit like AFI’s five step program, they have a nine point list of things to keep in mind for your documentary.
What’s on your students’ minds? Global warming, cell phones in school, learning via video games, tatoos?
Via RSS
