Educ 6810 - Reading and Discussion #14

"Students of narrative believe that we formulate notions of ourselves by telling ourselves stories about who we have been in the past and who we want to become in the future."

Hull, G. (2003). At last: Youth culture and digital media. 229-233. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.fairmontstate.edu/docview/215345891

I chose this quote because I truly believe it.  I feel that telling a narrative like this helped me tell a story about where I have been, what I have been through, and how it has effected me, as well as, where I am now and in the future.  I feel that students will feel this same way.  Even though they may not have such a long past as some of us in this course, they have so much to look back on as well as looking forward to.



Retrieved from http://www.google.com/imgres?sa=X&biw=1280&bih=618&tbm=isch&tbnid=XqL_Ib1VzEHRlM:&imgrefurl=http://www.susangaddis.net/2011/10/how-to-live-free-of-your-past/holy-in-the-daily-past-present-and-future-signs/&docid=FK98YsCXDTukYM&imgurl=http://www.susangaddis.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Holy-in-the-Daily-Past-Present-and-Future-signs-.jpg&w=400&h=300&ei=e_6YUtaBBs7eoAS_koDQBA&zoom=1&iact=rc&page=2&tbnh=179&tbnw=239&start=10&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:27,s:0&tx=110.4000244140625&ty=82.80001831054687

 I chose this picture because it shows that we are coming from our past, learning in our present, and then moving on into our future.  I feel that this was great for this quote.


1. How does digital storytelling support academic literacies?

Digital storytelling supports academic literacies in so many ways.  English is one of the most prominent.  There is a lot of writing going on while making a digital story.  There may be stories read aloud, however, it is still written at some point.  Also, there are many things that are typed and the viewer has to read the text.  It is also problem solving.  The author has to think of the problem or the story that they are going to discuss and then decide how to put it all together.

2. Now that you have created your own digital story, do you think that using images, words and music to create a message is simplistic compared to traditional alphabetic print based argumentation?

Absolutely.  I feel that the entire process is a powerful message to people.  Most people that make these stories using images, words, music, and voice to tell their stories are telling these stories from the heart.  Therefore, they are creating a masterpiece.  It is much better than a traditional alphabetic print because someone can watch this powerful piece as opposed to being forced to read a long drawn out piece of work.

3. After creating your own digital story, do you see how digital storytelling can help develop a stronger sense of agency in their own lives? Do you think this might have a positive impact on students academic lives? How? Why?

Yes.  I feel that after creating my digital story, I now feel that it can help develop a stronger sense of agency in one's life.  Also, it has a positive impact on students in their academic life.  By utilizing this technology it is not only a way to learn how to use the computer program, it can actually be a fun assignment.  I know that I always enjoy making assignments like this.  Once again, it is helping the students in their English Language Arts skills as well as problem solving skills.  This is a great project for developing agency and academic skills.