I-imagine Opens Up a World of Possibilities for Students
Imagine the power of creating your own future story—yourself in 20 years—as if it were happening right
now! Imagine moving beyond the
writing into directing and producing
your Vision Video as a full-fledged
digital media production. Which images would you choose to best illuminate the essence of your life? What
music or sound effects would lay best
behind your script? How would you
use and pace your voice to best convey
a realistic, believable story?
Students at Minot Public Schools in
North Dakota, USA, did just that at
the kickoff of I-imagine—Taking My
Place in the World, Bernajean Porter’s
newest digital storytelling project.
Grounded in new research showing
a positive impact on academic success, the I-imagine project aims to
help students realize that the world
needs their gifts and passions to make
a difference. More than 80 students
in grades 5–10 were immersed in the
creative prewriting, writing, planning,
assessing, and production phases of
their future Vision Video.
Students, parents, and teachers
experienced surprise, delight, and a
wealth of talent as students discovered
the best of themselves and answered
the question: How will you shine your
light in the world for good? They
quickly realized the I-imagine project
was more than a writing activity. It
was about activating their potential.
Change the story, and we change what
is real, acceptable, and possible.
reviewed the I-imagine: Waking Up a
Generation to Their Own Greatness curriculum project, the in-depth teacher’s
guide of resources and extended activities. They also read Jennifer Fox’s
book, Your Child’s Strengths, and Peter
Benson’s book, Sparks: How Parents
Can Help Ignite the Hidden Strengths of
Teenagers, which provided the research,
foundation, and guidance to forever
change the culture of possibilities for
students both in school and out.
Getting Started
After training five Minot teachers in the
art of digital storytelling at her summer
camp, Porter introduced the I-imagine
project. Prior to her arrival, teachers
Students Discover Their Best Selves
To begin the process, students
received their I-imagine Student
Scrapbook, a personal recording
place full of activities to help them
uncover their strengths, talents, interests, and light. Scrapbooks were
soon bursting at the seams as students
recorded their thoughts, ideas, pictures, doodles, creations, and more in
a safe place. Divided into Exploration,
Mining, Inventing, and Production
sections, their scrapbooks became the
foundation for their personal vision
screenplay.
Exploring. Students created “I’m As”
autobiographical poems, collages,
metaphors, and numerous other
creative and whimsical artifacts to
help discover their positives. Sharing
and displaying these personal pieces
promoted acceptance and respect for
individual differences and provided
students opportunities to celebrate
what they learned about themselves
and their peers. It was amazing to
witness students acknowledging
fellow students, honoring what they
knew to be true, and encouraging
and promoting each other’s gifts.
Mining. A definite buzz grew in
the room as students shifted from
exploring to mining for the best
of their best. The mining activities
had students “panning for their gold”
as they dug through their exploration
activities looking for common themes.
They narrowed in on what was unique
and special about themselves and then
explored how they could use that to
shine their light in the world.
