Introduction to Digital Storytelling

Instituto Polytécnico de Leiria

Tricia JenkinsExecutive Director, Digitales Ltd.

June 7th, 2014

DigiTales: started life as a pilot digital storytelling project that took place in six countries 2005 – 2007 as part of the Inclusion Through Media partnership funded by EQUAL - part of the European Social Fund.

DigiTales Ltd was established in 2008

After the EQUAL funding ended in December 2007, Digitales moved from Hi8us to Goldsmiths College, University of London

Ran a knowledge transfer in Sydney, Australia with ICE (International Cultural Exchange) partly funded by the British Council in Jan 2008.

Commissioned by the British Council through the Living Together / Imagine Your Future project (with young leaders in 9 countries in south-east Europe), including hosting a conference and delivering Train the trainers courses in Greece and Israel.

Ran DigiEssays workshops at Birmingham University as part of their academic development programme.

Recent Projects

DigiTales provided ‘train the trainer’ workshops for the EU Lifelong Learning Programme project ‘DiGem’ (www.digem.eu) with 7 partners , using digital storytelling to address barriers to employability and produced the DiGem Digital Storytelling guide. (2010 – 2012)

DigiTales led the ‘Extending Creative Practice’ partnership funded through ‘Grundtvig’ which ended in 2012, providing ‘train the trainer’ workshops – the fore-runner to Silver Stories. www.extendingcreativepractice.eu

Silver Stories Partnership

• University of Brighton UK (Lead)• Digitales Ltd UK• CUCR UK (Evaluation)• Laurea University of Applied

Science (Finland)• Mitra (Slovakia)• Digital Storylab (Denmark)• Trapezio (Portugal)• Instituto Polytécnico de Leiria

(Portugal)

Digital Storytelling – Some Definitions

• digital story (dig·i·tal sto·ry)

A short, first person video-narrative created by combining recorded voice, still and moving images, and music or other sounds.

• digital storyteller (dig·i·tal sto·ry·tell·er) Anyone who has a desire to document life experience, ideas, or feelings through the use of story and digital media. Usually someone with little to no prior experience in the realm of video production but time to spend a few days attending a workshop and developing a story with creative support and technical assistance from compassionate, highly experienced facilitators.

Digital Storytelling has

‘evolved to become an international movement of deeply committed folks working with story in virtually every field of human endeavour’

(Joe Lambert, 2013)

• Established 1994, San Francisco, USA• Center Director is Joe Lambert author of Digital Storytelling

Cookbook, Digital Storytelling – Capturing Lives, Creating Community and Seven Ages of Story

• http://www.storycenter.org/• Holds workshops across the world• Digital Storytelling in a Time of Crisis, Athens, May 8-10 2014• International Day of Storysharing – May 16th

Digital Storytelling: Methodology

DigiTales enables people to:

tell their own stories

learn digital media skills

build confidence and self-esteem

The method places the stories under the control of the storyteller.

Digital Storytelling: Methodology

Digital Storytelling is fun:

a way to reach people who think that education is ‘not for them’

can help to develop language and literacy skills through storytelling and script-writing

can give people a kick-start in developing their skills and improving their chances to gain employment

a way to engage thoughtfully with experience

Digital Storytelling in Higher Education & Vocational Education and Training

Akershus University of Applied Science (HiOA),Norway

• DS has been used in health and teacher education since 2007

• Developing students’ professional identity

• Use as a tool for self reflection – students make and share digital stories about their practice experiences.

University of Aveiro, Portugal• DS – helping to foster higher-

order thinking skills

• Developing digital literacy

• DS – “the aggregating element capable of turning our students into true 21st century learners” (Ribeiro, 2012).

Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa

• “a highly motivating strategy that can make reflection concrete and visible” (Wakefield, 2010).

• “a potentially powerful tool for rethinking and supporting assessment practices in higher education, which can lead to students acquiring high level reflection and as a result lead to deep learning and development of higher order thinking skills”. (Ivala, Gachago, Coundy and Chigona, 2013).

Personal, Reflective Stories

A digital story is:

a 2-minute film (~250 words)

a personal story

written, recorded and edited by the film maker

uses photos/drawings by the film maker (10-30 photos)

can also use video, animation and music

any images or music have to be copyright free

(eg. if you use images off Creative Commons, use the right section and remember to credit the photographer www.flickr.com/creativecommons

Part 1: Story circle

Create a warm, trusting atmosphere and get to know each other through activities.

My favourite object

Matchstick game

Story Prompts

Prompt 1 – Body’s Lessons

‘Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our gardens to which our wills are gardeners’.

William Shakespeare

We all have stories about the surprises of our bodies, tests where our body has somehow survived…times when our bodies disappointed.

Endurance, frailty, strength, limits, beauty, shame – these are all words we associate with stories we tell about our bodies. Share a moment when your body taught you a lesson.

Source: Seven Stages: Story and the Human Experience, page 55

(Joe Lambert, 2013)

Story Prompts

Prompt 2 – Scar Stories

‘If experience is not coming from the body, it is not known’.

Marion Woodman

All of us have scars – small ones from the scrapes along the road, large ones from the major bumps and spills. Some we can wear as badges of survival, some are not visible and are beneath our skin, beneath the surface, but have left their mark all the same.

Share a story about a scar.

Source: Seven Stages: Story and the Human Experience, page 55

(Joe Lambert, 2013)

Introduce storytelling through writing exercises

Hear each other’s stories

When your script is ready, record a voiceover

You need about 10-30 images for your film

You can scan photographs from your family album or take new photos

You can get creative with drawing

or use simple stopframe animation (stills camera on a tripod)

or animation software such as Flash

Once you have gathered your materials(voiceover and images) you can start editing

PC: Windows Movie Maker Mac: iMovie

Part 2: Editing

Then screen the films at the end of the workshop or at a later date - invite friends!

Exhibitions in public spaces

<---- BBC Big Screen, Liverpool

Films posted onto the Websites ---->

Two more digital stories…..

Think about the needs of the group you are working with and adapt the method.

Timescale of workshop ?

Language support ?

Artistic support ?

Educational knowledge and support?

With a refugee group in Leeds we had extra support to work one-on-one with the participants to help with writing the scripts and creating images.

Some people explored their story idea in their mother tongue first.

Story Circle

Every Picture Tells a Story

Who is telling the story?• Is it the person(s) in the

image? (So the story would be in the first person “I” or ‘we’).

• Is it the person’s mother, father, sister, brother, friend?

• Is it a journalist?• Is it a random encounter

with a stranger?

What does the background tell you?• Context – what year, time,

season?• What country?• What situation?

(e.g.Everyday? War? Peace)?

• What do the clothes tell you about the person/people?

Every Picture Tells a StoryWhere is the person/people looking?• Is the person looking at the

camera?• If there is more than one,

where are they each looking – at other people in the picture, outside of the frame – if so what is beyond the frame – another person, a situation (e.g. a robbery taking place; two people embracing?

If there is a main person in the picture……• Who are they?• Why are they there?• What is their background –

nationality? Profession?Member of an organisation perhaps?

Digital Storytelling, Health and Ageing

Instituto Polytécnico de Leiria

Tricia JenkinsExecutive Director, Digitales Ltd.

June 7th, 2014

• The Patient Voices programme was founded by social entrepreneurs Pip Hardy and Tony Sumner in 2003.

• “Aims to facilitate the telling and hearing of some of the unwritten and unspoken stories of ordinary people so that those who devise and implement strategy in health and social care, as well as the professionals and clinicians directly involved in care, may carry out their duties in a more informed and compassionate manner.”.

• www.patientvoices.org.uk

Working with people living with Dementia

Dangling Conversations

Seven people with early-stage dementia and one carer participated in making their own stories during a Patient Voices Reflective digital storytelling workshop in April, 2011.

• Working with those who are caring for people living with dementia – reflective practice

• Strategies for working with people with dementia

• Use of the stories

Working with trainee doctors

Physician, Know Thyself

How are you?

• Patient Voices created and ran Digital Storytelling programme at Kings College London, based on earlier work at the University of Leicester Medical School www.patientvoices.org.uk/lssc.htm) to provide a group of third-year medical students with the opportunity, environment, support and skills with which to create reflective digital stories of experiences that have affected them

Working in Mental Health

Dignity and Respect

Listen! Believe! Act!

The stories in the Dignity and respect series have been created in a series of workshops that began in November 2011. The series of workshops is sponsored by Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust, and is intended to explore the experiences of service users.

Stories for Change

Center for Digital Storytelling + Colorado Culture Change Coalition

• 3 day workshop with 10 staff members from 6 different nursing homes

• Stories of personal and professional transformations

• Staff members helped one resident from each of their homes tell their stories

• Share with staff, residents and communities

• Discussion guide

Stories for Change

Process as reflective practice• For the nurse or care

assistant, an opportunity to reflect deeply on their practice and their role at work – and the impact that it has on them as people – not just as professionals.

Using the stories to stimulate discussion and effect behaviour and culture change

“We hope you watch these stories with your staff, residents and entire community and discuss how the culture of care delivery is truly changing in nursing homes”.

Stories for Change

Still Here

Katie

Thank You

• • How can we give a new employee training that is above and beyond the

federal and state requirements to help them feel comfortable and confident

in their job?

• What programs do we have in place to assist people in advancing in their

careers or learning new skills?

 

Can we provide opportunities for non management staff to attend workshops,

presentations and conferences? Why is this important?

Thank You!

www.digi-tales.org.uk

tricia@digi-tales.org.uk