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Digital Stories @ UMBC

November 11, 2009

Digital Storytelling Workshop for Faculty Jan. 20-22 2010

A three-day digital storytelling workshop for faculty will be held at UMBC on January 20, 21 and 22, 2010. Staff from the UMBC’s New Media Studio will conduct the workshop, during which participants will learn about the digital storytelling process while creating their own personal story.

Bringing together writing, photography and audio, the digital storytelling process facilitates the telling of personal and reflective stories in the form of digital movies. Through the process of producing their own digital stories over a three-day period, workshop participants gain insight into potential application of this approach in their own teaching. Here are samples from last summer’s workshop.

There are a limited number of seats available for faculty from other area institutions. The fee for non-UMBC faculty will be $500. If you are interested in reserving a seat please contact Bill Shewbridge at shewbrid@umbc.edu . Preference will be given to those who have not taken one of our workshops before, however alumni are welcome to join us if space is available.

October 16, 2009

Digital Stories from the Shriver Center's Peaceworker Program

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Students in the Shriver Center's Peaceworker Program have created these stories reflecting on their service and experiences abroad.

Finda Hawa
Let Me Tell You About You
Joby Taylor
Digging for Peace
Lindsay Walberg
What's in a Name?
Dustin Hogenson
Dusty's Digital Storyline
Meghann Shutt
Catching a Cow
Jennifer Robinson
Black Water
Robert Dietzen
Moving Day
Katie
Honduras
Sarah Hill
Second Chance
Joby Taylor
Mystery With a Capital "M"

September 10, 2009

Deepening Student Literacy with Visual Assignments - Nicole King

Who doesn't like a good show and tell? Now, this favorite grade school assignment is finding its way into more UMBC classrooms as digital stories: short (3-5 minute) digital movies based on personal photos, artifacts and a vivid memory of the students who produce them. In addition to assigning digital stories to develop or harness student media skills, many faculty are finding visual assignments deepen textual literacy, too. Starting with a 300-word focused narrative that students share in a story circle, Nicole King, Assistant Professor of American Studies, and a digital storytelling peer faculty trainer, shares how and why she offers visual assignments, how she evaluates them, and what she and her students are learning from the process.

September 4, 2009

AMST 325: Studies in Popular Culture Spring, 2009

Nicole King, Assistant Professor of American Studies, used a digital story project as a culminating assignment in "Studies in Popular Culture." Students posted their films on YouTube and submitted their projects as a link. Here is the collection:

Daniele W's digital story
James' digital story
Ben's digital story
Matt's digital story
Chris' digital story
Roger's digital story
Danur's digital story
Maria's digital story
Emily's digital story
Winona's digital story
Catherina's digital story
Daniele S's digital story
Jeff's digital story
Melanie's digital story
Faith's digital story
Rob's digital story
Maureen's digital story
Joel's digital story
Jason's digital story
Tim's digital story
Nick's digital story
Mark's digital story
Nam's digital story
Ashley's digital story
Bianca's digital story
Katie H's digital story
Heather's digital story
Eytan's digital story
Steve's digital story
James' digital story II
Shane's digital story
Katie S's digital story

June 5, 2009

Digital Stories from SPAN 305 Fall 08: Spanish for Heritage Spanish Speakers II

The MLL Department worked for the first time using Digital Stories with Spanish 305 for Heritage Spanish Speakers during fall 2008. This course is an advanced Spanish course for Latino students at UMBC (3-credit course) taught by Dr. Ana María Schwartz and Adriana Val as Tech Assistant.

The goal of this class is to connect the students with their Spanish heritage language and culture, as well as to prepare them to be competent bilinguals who can use Spanish for academic and professional purposes. Students participated in face-to-face as well as online projects to improve their oral, writing as well as technical uses of the Spanish language.

One of the projects designed by Dr. Schwartz was the use of Digital Stories. Students worked during the semester choosing their own topics, writing narratives, collecting photographs, and finding appropriate music to accompany their verbal narration. All students participated in peer-review in class, reflected with instructors and classmates about their narratives, and worked in the computer lab under the assistance of Ms. Val, personnel from the IMC such as Ms. Joan Costello, and video experts from the New Media Studio at UMBC. The product of this powerful work is the collection of the first digital stories from the first Heritage Spanish speakers who work intensively to share their personal stories.

Elver Alarcón: Todo sobre mi familia
Cristina Dalton: ¿Qué soy yo?
Ana Torres: Hacia los Estados Unidos
Claudia Zuniga: Mi mamá, mi héroe

Globalized Communication, Fall 2008

Students in this graduate seminar explored the intersections of communication and culture within a framework of global digital exchanges and new media. We investigated the unique challenges and opportunities in the public sphere of the internet for global and intercultural communication, collaborative knowledge production, political and personal stories and narratives, and participatory media. Two students made place-based digital stories that are described and linked here.

Negotiating the Ameristani Kitchen by Autumn Reed
This story takes place in my and Amar’s kitchen in Millersville, a suburb south of Baltimore in Maryland, USA. In appearance the kitchen is typical of what one would expect to find in the United States, but the food cooked within is anything but typical. Food is not the only thing made in this space, but also cross-cultural and cross-gender connections. The multiethnic foods prepared in this space serve as a mediator both linking and mixing the East with the West and the male with the female. This kitchen is a borderland; a place where barriers are broken down and stereotypes transcended and not only those of an American female but also those of a Pakistani male, for culture flows in both directions. Therefore, at one level, this story is about two individuals working out their differences in the kitchen, but at another level, it serves as an example of the potential that we have, as cultural beings, to learn from one another.

The Secret by Lori Edmonds
I had been wanting to make a video about raising “my” children for some time. Partly, I wanted to do this because I wanted to document that very rewarding and crazy time of my life and partly I wanted to do it because I had a very unique family and I thought others would find the story interesting. I was nearly finished writing it when a horrible event occurred with one of my children that I had not expected. I decided not to tell my original story after all but with encouragement returned to my original plan because it would also help me to emotionally deal with it. The result is one story that, in some ways, tells many stories. Yet, it is a simple story of life with its twists, turns, predicaments, and secrets.
Thank you for being part of my audience. This story was made for you. If you are one of my children, I hope this reminds you of the experiences we have had together and the power of our relationship because of the experiences we have shared. If you are watching this as a native of the Westside, I hope you enjoy seeing your city through my eyes. If you have not lived in this city (or another like it) I hope you are intrigued by the power of this place. When I speak of power, I’m referring to the unlikely way that the previous history of this space spilled over into our lives. I am also talking about the ability this space had to knit together the lives of four people and their four different stories. I hope that you are moved as your unique experiences interact with this story. In that way, the power of that place will continue to live.


June 4, 2009

BCPS Summer 2009 Workshop in Digital Storytelling and Oral History

During the summer of 2009, UMBC’s New Media Studio teamed with the Center for History Education to offer a two-week workshop for Baltimore County K-12 teachers exploring the intersections of oral history and digital storytelling. The workshop was the culminating activity in CHE’s two-year “Making Master Teachers” program. Year One of the program focused on reading and research, while Year Two focused on incorporating primary sources in the classroom. The program was funded through the U.S. Department of Education's Teaching American History Grant Program.

Teachers had an opportunity to learn classroom skills for creating their own work and developing student projects.

Information for attendees :

This summer workshop provides you with the opportunity to learn skills of digital storytelling that you will be able to use in your classrooms, both in delivering your own content and as a project option for your students' original work. In addition it will allow you to disseminate the work you did on Baltimore '68 and will provide UB with an innovative addition to its Baltimore '68 website.

Since we are working under time constraints, we hope to come to the June sessions with a good idea of the form of the project, although the content can evolve over the course of the workshop. I propose that the Baltimore County high school group break into two teams and produce two digital stories about the uprising of April 1968 in Baltimore. I would suggest that each team takes a section of the UB Baltimore '68 driving tour (voted "Best Driving Tour for Visiting In-Laws" by City Paper and available at http://archives.ubalt.edu/bsr/timeline/index.html) and flesh it out with primary documents, excerpts from oral histories, music, images and anything else that would be illuminating. Before and after shots would be particularly effective in telling the story of the events. The finished products could find a home on the UB and CHE websites.

This project would build on research you have already begun, could draw on the resources we have collected on the website, and would contribute greatly to UB's effort to make this time period understandable to the public. I hope you will consider it

Recommended readings

We recommend reviewing these first articles during the initial week and
guide the discussion around the question: What makes an effective digital
story? Other questions could be: What is a digital story? and How might
I use digital storytelling in the classroom?

The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling
The Art of Digital Storytelling

These next two articles will be discussed in the second week. The discussion
could may on: What are the barriers to implementing digital storytelling
in the classroom? As an advocate, how could I overcome these hurdles?

Implementation of Digital Storytelling in the Classroom
Digital Storytelling: Moving from Promise to Practice

ALSO, here is a link to the introductory chapters of the Digital
Storytelling Cookbook:
http://www.storycenter.org/cookbook.pdf

May 29, 2009

Summer Digital Story Workshop for Faculty 2009

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On May 25, 26 and 27, UMBC's New Media Studio conducted a three-day introductory level digital story workshop for faculty. In addition to producing a digital story of their own, those attending the workshop gained insight into digital storytelling as a pedagogical and research tool.

The workshop was facilitated by a team of faculty, staff and graduate assistants who have over the last few years have worked extensively with digital stories in a number of ways. These included Bev Bickel, Jason Loviglio, Steve Bradley, Paul Iwancio, Bill Shewbridge, Polina Vinogradova and Satarupa Joardar.

One of the highlights of the workshop was a session on audio conducted by Steve Bradley of Visual Arts. Steve covered recording techniques and sound effects with a hands-on demonstration of creative techniques for building soundtracks.

The Stories

 
The Last Dog Bob Sloane
My Dearest Alexandra Taryn Bayles
The Best Laid Plans Susan Mundy
Lost and Found  Shuhua Bloom
See-It-There Olga Kritskaya
Trashy Art Sandra Abbott
My Movie Theater Nicoleta Bazgan
13,500  Feet Bob Reeves
Hair Matters Kimberly Moffitt
Everyone Should Be So Lucky Jim Milani
Everything I Need to Know in Life I Learned from the Obama Inauguration Christine Mallinson
Those Shoes Constantine Vaporis
Diss-Eeese Barry Casey

ELC 054 Cross-Cultural Communication 2009

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The Project

Yhe English Language Center works with digital stories within the course “Cross-Cultural Communication and University Life” (ELC 054), an advanced English as a Second Language course. The 3-credit course is taught by Heather Linville and Tsisana Maysuradze in the spring and by Polina Vinogradova in the summer.

The goal of this class is to help students recognize and analyze a number of cultural concepts as they are seen in a variety of new media genres. For example, in class, the students talk and read about the Iceberg Theory, individualistic and collectivistic cultures, cultures that use high and low context communication styles, identity, culture shock, and aspects of verbal and non-verbal communication.  At the same time, the students watch motion pictures, documentary films, online advertisements, and digital stories applying the cultural concepts they had learned about. The students also participate in discussions, both face-to-face and on-line, in which they apply what they have learned to an analysis of their own culture and the culture they have experienced in U.S. campus life.

The final project of the class is a production of individual digital stories.  The process of working on the stories throughout the semester includes choosing the topics, writing the narratives, collecting photographic images, and choosing the music to accompany their verbal narration. The students also discuss their stories in class, peer-review their narratives, and complete online journal entries which allow them to reflect on their progress and express their doubts and concerns to their instructor. The students also intensively work in the computer lab putting their stories together under their instructors’ guidance. Several digital stories that were produced in these classes can be viewed here.     

The Stories

Spring 2009


Tsisana Maysuradze’s class (054_8011:
Giovanna Melillo
Shinaporn Leksrisakul
Ibrahim Toure
Chakaphan Pornsatit
Thuy Van Thi Nguyen
Jin Kyoung Kim
Ga Eun Lee
Suk Min Yoon
Ibon Ruiz Escribano
Ga Eul Lee
Chanmi Song
Hang  thi Nguyet Nguyen
Chih-hua Lee
Dilma Monteiro
Tuyen Duc Pho

Heather Linville’s class (054_8010):
Ovgu Guner
Hella Almansour
Ae Kyung Kim
Huong Vu Mai Huynh
Hawoong Shin
Maha Aldhahi
Byungchang Kim

 

 

Fall 2008

Ahmad Alkaabi
Bibo Zhang
Duong Bach Nguyen
Eunji Lee
Eunjoo Jung
Fadi Maiga
Goun Rhee
Kevin Wespi
Mengyue He
Na Young Kim
Saphassorn “June” Santijitrungruang

Summer 2008

Spring 2008

 

May 15, 2009

Stories from Intercultural Communications MLL 495/695

MLL 495 Intercultural Video Production
MLL 695 Intercultural Filmmaking

This course introduces the history and practices of the field of intercultural communication, including its diverse theoretical and conceptual approaches; its analytical and methodological tools of evaluation and assessment; basic principles of training and professional and career development opportunities in the various areas of the discipline, particularly as it is practiced at UMBC.

Since its beginning in 2004 this course has used digital storytelling as an introductory exercise, allowing students an opportunity to create personal reflective works. Telling their own story provides valuable insights into the filmmaking process as they prepare to tell the stories of others.

The Stories

Camp Hilarity Ryan Riehl 2008
With My Eyes Closed Joey Ofori 2008
UMBC Women's Lacrosse Team Suzanne Sweeny 2008
Egolandrysm Landry Digeon 2008
Out West Eric Robillard 2008
Sunday Dinners Mallory Aaronson 2008
You Make a Wonderful Cup of Tea Wambui Kamiru 2006
Goodbye to Pops Doug Glynn 2006
Bitten by the Adventure Bug Daniel Hall 2006
My Roots Tsisana Maysuradze 2006
To My Parents (english) Polina Vinogradova 2005
To My Parents (russian) Polina Vinogradova 2005
Ode to My Family Brian Greenan 2004
Second Chance Sarah Hill 2004