i n Action
Share Your Digital Stories
JenniferRagan- Fore,directoro f
new media and member communities ,
talks about the power of storytelling
Remember the first time you were dazzled by a
story you watched unfold on a movie screen?
Whether it was The Wizard of Oz or Star Wars
(depending on your generation), Hollywood helped you
see something you couldn’t see anywhere else. And although you might have been amazed by the Emerald City
or the Moon of Endor, it wasn’t really about the special
effects—it was the movie’s heart, its core truth telling,
that stayed with you.
These days, we all carry devices in our pockets that
give us the tools to be a Victor Fleming or George Lucas.
Through the power of digital media, we can each share
our unique realities with the world with relative ease and
often at little or no cost.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of ISTE and
NECC, and we’re celebrating our collective stories of educational transformation—those first “aha” experiences in
the classroom, technology projects that have motivated
and inspired, moments that unlock learning and break
down walls.
This is where you come in: As educational professionals who use technology in your everyday work, you are
at the heart of these stories. Share your experience, your
tales of transformation, and your creativity to help us
capture the full picture. And if a picture’s worth 1,000
words, then surely a video is worth 10,000, which is why
we’re inviting you to submit your story as a short film.
We kicked off this story-gathering initiative in April
with a monthly video contest. We will show our three
favorite videos at NECC and let the audience choose the
grand prize winner. Although we can’t provide that filmmaker with a corner office on the Paramount or Warner
Brothers lots, our winner will go to Denver for NECC
2010—on us! Don’t miss out on this opportunity to
showcase your work and win amazing prizes. Learn
more at www.iste.org/digital-stories.
RESOURCES TO GET YOU STARTED
Did you know that ISTE recently introduced a Special Interest
Group for digital storytelling (SIGDS)? Led by storytelling guru
Bernajean Porter, SIGDS hosts a wiki chock full of resources to
help you craft your story. Story prompts, free webinar archives,
and video examples are at
www.iste.org/digital-stories.
NECC is a terrific place to learn more about digital storytelling
concepts, tools of the trade, and classroom integration ideas.
Visit
www.iste.org/digital-storytelling for this year’s lineup of DS
sessions at NECC.
Finally, often the best place to start when approaching
a creative project is by seeing other examples. ISTE’s new video
portal hosts all of the videos submitted by your peers. Visit
www.istevision.org to view videos from other classrooms, other
countries, and other realities. All submitted videos will be featured
on the portal and onsite at storytelling kiosks during NECC.
