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Essentially, the creative process itself isn't changed. I have a message that I want to convey to an audience, and so I have to make certain rhetorical decisions about how I construct that message to affect my readers. It's the construction itself that changes. But the rhetorical decision-making is pretty much the same. I have to consider who my audience is, and that affects my word, image, and sound choices. Regarding pedagogy, I still need to teach specific aspects of the writing process, just as I would do with a unit on persuasive writing or memoir or poetry, etc. The mode itself, however, poses some new challenges. The multi-modal nature of digital storytelling requires the author to think about rhetoric from several sensory angles now, including images and sounds. This is different than "traditional," text-only communication. As a result, certain instruction needs to occur that didn't in the past. For one, there's the obvious need to teach the tool (how to use iMovie, PowerPoint, Premiere, etc.). The need to investigate visual literacy becomes apparent now, too. How do different images affect the audience? How does choosing one image over another change the message? Transitions become visual in addition to textual, and that can also affect the message. Visual media require more critical reading skills, I think, just because there's so much more to deconstruct. The language is textual and visual and digital, etc. Another important difference is time. The piece I'm working on took me about thirty minutes to write textually. So far, I've spent several hours creating the digital version of the same story. So as a teacher, how do I adjust for time needs? Describe your current teaching situation, as well as the rubric(s) you might implement for digital storytelling projects. I have done a similar project with my English 2 classes (mostly sophomores). We used PowerPoint, which limited our options significantly in comparison to iMovie, but still allowed us to combine a vocal track with images and some transitions. My teaching situation allows for this because I'm in a small high school with good computer lab access. We have three labs of fifteen to twenty-five computers apiece, and as long as I sign up for lab time in advance, we can get the project done. Still, there is a lot of competition for lab time, so I require the students to do most of the work outside class. Our labs are accessible before and after school and during lunch. I also stay after school for several weeks to provide them with computer access. For assessment, I'd focus on content and composition, because they have also studied visual layout before this project. What are your thoughts about audience and voice? Audience and voice affect every written message. It's crucial to consider issues of audience when composing any message, from a grocery list to a novel. With digital stories, the issue of audience seems more important, or maybe more obvious. The inclusion of visuals requires some thought about the intended viewer. Will the audience know who is in the picture? Should they? There are numerous questions to consider in this situation. Digital storytelling can have a more direct impact than straight textual communication, though. Including visuals and music tracks creates a deeper, more emotional response in the audience. As a result, the rhetorical decisions made in composing a digital video seem to carry even more weight than in a solely textual piece. Describe your project and your workshop experience. I enjoyed the digital storytelling workshop a lot. I had a little experience with this process, but hadn't used iMovie. I appreciated the time and help to get to know this program better. It's also always energizing to work with brilliant colleagues at the Red Cedar Writing Project. They made amazing stories this week. As for my own project, I chose a (hopefully) humorous personal essay. I wanted to try a different genre, as I'd only seen personal narratives before. Also, I like to try to make people laugh. I fail frequently, but I seem to feel the need to keep trying. Hopefully this one worked. Overall, this was a great experience! Thanks.
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