This past week, in DS106, the center of focus has been storytelling. In particular, we have been exploring what it means to tell a story in the digital age. I’ve thought a lot about this over the years, and have been bringing different kinds of storytelling to my sixth grade students as a way to expose them to the possibilities.
I love that idea of “possibilities” when it comes to digital storytelling. In many ways, I don’t feel as if we are quite there yet with how best to express a story across multiple and connected technological tools and spaces. But we are getting there, right? More and more barriers are falling down, although we should continue to be worried about businesses coming into the gaps, and inflicting their vision of how we should be composing on us. Some of the best moments in my classroom come when a student finds a workaround or discovers a hack that uses a piece of software or a tool in an unexpected way.
This week, I thought about my own view of digital storytelling, and then reviewed a book about transmedia and comics as storytelling devices, and then dove into the Five Card Story site for visually constructing a story. Finally, I took part in the Twitter vs. Zombies game on Twitter (my second time.)
A few sample tweets:
I am hiding out in the classroom until further notice …. #TvsZ If any strange-looking school admins come in, I am out of here. 🙂
— KevinHodgson (@dogtrax) September 13, 2013
If the long day has me feeling like a zombie, does that mean I am a zombie? No. I don't think so. I am a human, darn it! #TvsZ vs #TGIF
— KevinHodgson (@dogtrax) September 13, 2013
Head Collecting by the Zombie King #tvsz https://t.co/AU4q61H8Fo
— KevinHodgson (@dogtrax) September 13, 2013
Need finger food snack to get through long night …. Boy, are they surprised! #tvsz anyone else hungry? pic.twitter.com/sajkXia77i
— KevinHodgson (@dogtrax) September 13, 2013
You might wonder: storytelling? You bet. The game is a story, but told in moving parts and on a fluctuating stage. The characters are us. The storyline might be expected (all humans eventually turn to zombies) but the participants are shaping the pace of the story.
Peace (in the thinking),
Kevin