Digital Storytelling

Digital Storytelling: Extending the Potential for Struggling Writers
by Ruth Sylvester, Wendy-lou Greenidge
The Reading Teacher
Vol. 6, No. 4 (Dec., 2009 - Jan., 2010), pp. 284-295
Published by: International Reading Association
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30249378

The first video tape recorder arriving at UH in 1953.
Courtesy of Special Collections,
University of Houston Libraries.

"Using digital technologies, students can turn a one-dimensional writing composition into a digital story that can be published and shared to a small, intimate audience or with the world."

This article is geared toward teachers who might look into utilizing digital storytelling in the classroom.  The article also outlines the different kinds of 'literacies' in the world today: technological literacy, visual literacy, media literacy, and information literacy.  It discusses how students today are 'digital natives' and might be better suited to use this medium over traditional writing.  Next, the article looks at three different types of elementary students and shows how digital storytelling will help them become better writers.  Also, the authors briefly discuss the history of the Center for Digital Storytelling and outline the seven elements for Digital Storytelling (p287 of article if you're interested in looking at these).  This article really breaks down the individual steps to complete a successful digital story and provides information on a possible outlet for struggling writers who cannot cope with the structure of traditional writing.  There are also countless websites for different things like music sources and sound effect sources that we all might find handy!

Enter Here: Personal Narrative and Digital Storytelling
Sara B. Kajder
The English Journal
Vol. 93, No. 3 (Jan., 2004), pp. 64-68
Published by: National Council of Teachers of English
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4128811

"While I was working here to lead students to understand published personal narratives, my goals were much bigger.  Not satisfied with having students only read someone else's words or experiences, I wanted students to struggle with their words and experiences, to work as writers and readers, and to reinvent their understanding of how they functioned within that role."

OK, so I have ended up with two articles on the topic of using digital storytelling to enhance writing and reading in education.  This article focuses high school students using digital storytelling to understand personal narrative and enhance their reading abilities.  I'm going to throw in one quote here that really shows the impact of digital storytelling on these students-- "We started class with where I was instead of starting with everything I didn't know and because of that, I'm starting to know where to begin." Some of the students that the teacher engaged in this project were told by the state (through standardized tests) that their reading and writing levels were subpar, so they entered the classroom every year believing that they just couldn't 'hack it.' Personally, I think this is a wonderful use of new media to educate students on  subjects that they either felt disinterested in or felt ill equipped to do.

Alumni Philanthropy Questions

When interviewing people, it has been my experience that simple questions lead to the best (and sometimes the longest) responses.  People always appreciate someone willing to listen to them, so that has always been my approach in interviews.  So, here are a lot of the questions we discussed in class with a couple of new ones sprinkled in! I believe that with this topic the majority of questions will have to be made up 'on-the-spot' depending on alumni answers to the questions below.

a) How long have you been a member of the alumni association (this number doesn't have to be precise)?
b) What drove you to join the alumni association?  What was the one experience in your time at UH that brought you to give back to the university? (follow-up questions to get a better description of this event/occurrence/encounter will be necessary depending on what the answer is)
c) What do you do to stay involved now? (if applicable)
d) What have you seen done/what would you like to see done with your gifts?
e) How has your giving changed over the years? (allocation, different organizations or aspects of UH)
f) What do you think brought about this change? (if applicable)
g) How are you thanked for your giving to UH? (This might be something that needs to be rephrased...or discussed in a subtle manner, but it is also something that the Alumni Association will probably want to know too!)

Digital History Today

When researching digital histories, I thought it would be interesting to look for websites pertaining to my concentration in history.  I found a couple that will probably be good resources in the future.  Digital histories like these are revolutionizing the way in which research is conducted.  By placing primary sources and images on the web, research no longer has to be conducted solely in an archive, let alone in the same city as the archive.

Digital History Websites

A photo of me with The Death
of Marat by Jacques-Louis David
at the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/

George Mason University's Center for History and New Media created this website dedicated to information regarding the French Revolution.  The website boasts "12 topical essays, 250 images, 350 text documents, 13 songs, 13 maps, a timeline, and a glossary."  This website is gauged towards almost anyone looking for information on the French Revolution.  There are essays outlining general themes and theories concerning the revolution along with more specific digitized original documents.  It is easy to search for articles and images related to specific topics and people on this website.  One historian from UCLA and one from George Mason authored and edited the information on this site, so the website appears as reliable as other scholarly publications.  A companion book and CD-ROM of all the information available on the website is also available.

Napoleon.org

http://www.napoleon.org/en/home.asp

Napoleon.org is the history website of the Foundation Napoleon.  The foundation is committed to the study and preservation of Napoleonic heritage.  Much like the website mentioned above, Napoleon.org provides a multitude of images, texts, timelines, and maps pertaining to Napoleon.  A very neat aspect of this website is 'thematic mini sites' that are available.  These 'mini sites' are usually run in conjunction with another organization/museum and pertain to a specific topic related to the Napoleonic era.  Napoleon.org compiles tons of information pertaining to this period in history, and it seems to be a valuable resource for anyone researching this subject.  A section labeled "Kids' Corner" is broken down into activities for ages 3+, 6+, and 10+ and teaches Napoleonic history through age appropriate activities.  This website is useful and for all ages and all purposes, and the information is not questionable in the least bit.  

Digital History Reader

http://www.dhr.history.vt.edu/index.html

The Digital History Reader, created by Virginia Tech, is intended to serve as a survey of of United States History and European history at the college survey level or advanced secondary level.  The website is broken into US and European History, which is then separated into modules.  The US section has ten modules, and the European section has six.  This website is more geared toward a general knowledge of US/European history.  The information available on the website looks very much like information in a textbook, so it would be helpful for anyone looking for a basic foundation in these two areas.  My search for French Revolution digital histories brought me to this website, although the revolution is summed up in one minor paragraph about suffrage.  All of the people involved in the production of this website are history professors or graduate students.  For purposes of research, this website would not be helpful, but if it was just going to be used for general information, then it would be perfect.  

Digital History Articles


What is Digital History? A Look at Some Exemplar Projects
by Douglas Seefeldt and William G. Thomas
published in the May 2009 issue of Perspectives on History
http://www.historians.org/perspectives/issues/2009/0905/0905for8.cfm


"For history, the future digital environment might challenge some of our traditional methods, perhaps even the craft-oriented practices of our discipline. Our sources alone in the future will be almost entirely digital—instant messages, e-mails, doc files, pdfs, digital video, podcasts, and databases. Their scale and complexity will demand that historians use tools and techniques not yet a part of our practice to create their own digital sources and employ those created by others."


Tenure, Promotion and Digital Publication
by Joseph Raben
published in the Spring 2007 issue of DHQ: Digital Humanities Quarterly
http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/001/1/000006/000006.html

"The generation of students in our graduate schools today has already become completely at ease with computers and online communication. Even in their non-academic activities, theses students rely increasingly on computers for access to information of almost every sort. In their academic activities they download electronic information to such an extent that their instructors must plead for at least the partial use of print media. Now, with the drive promoted by Google to scan the contents of several major university and public libraries, the time is drawing close when very few reasons will remain to argue the superiority of books and print journals over online databases. Thus the arguments for directing publishing scholars toward the devious route of publishing new material in print, only to have it then scanned for online access become increasingly illogical."


These two articles both discuss how a movement to complete digitization will take redefining some of the bounds of historical publication.  Both articles also acknowledge that the student base is ready and capable of utilizing this technology.  The first article gives some really great examples of digital histories available on the web today.  Both of these articles give insight into the present state of digital history and the possible future of digital history.  

University of Houston Themes

Alumni Philanthropy

Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries. UH Digital Library.

Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries. UH Digital Library.

Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries. UH Digital Library.

I think it would be interesting to learn about the philanthropic giving of alumni to the University.  Alumni, especially members of the alumni association, are proud of the University of Houston, and something impacted their time at the University to drive them to give back to UH.  So, it would be wonderful to know what exactly lead them to want to give back to their University.  Although this might cover a number of themes, I think it will really incite thoughtful responses from alumni.

Student Philanthropy


Expanding on the topic of fraternities and sororities mentioned on Mika's blog, there are countless philanthropies associated with different fraternities and sororities (i.e. Chi Omega and the Make-A-Wish Foundation).  Depending on when chapters of different greek organizations were established at UH, it would be nice to examine different aspects of students giving back to the community either through greek life or through other campus organizations.

Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries. UH Digital Library.

Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries. UH Digital Library.

Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries. UH Digital Library.

The Blaffer

On the eve of the remodeling of the Blaffer, it would be nice to look into the past of the gallery and examine its impact on student life at UH from 1973 to present.  In 2008, the gallery received a substantial gift of photos from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Performing and Visual Arts, and in 2009, they received an award from the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences.  Gifts from the prestigious organizations just listed are not easy to obtain, and it shows that the Blaffer is a true contender in the art world.  

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...figuring it out!