1. whcalhoun

    Donut Fonts

    by
    My wife and I have always laughed about the Dunkin Donuts font that looks like sausages. It does its job, though - you recognize it immediately, and you couldn't possibly use it for anything else. The font, by the way, is called Frankfurter, and it wa...
  2. anniemelzer

    Looking for a new job or maybe a new career path because of this class? Look no further.

    by
    For my first digital story I chose to watch a TED talk. Amy Cuddy’s “Your body language shapes who you are,” is a fascinating look at the power of nonverbal behaviors.  I was immediately drawn to this video because she spoke about a “free no-tech life hack, and all it requires of you is this:… More Looking for a new job or maybe a new career path because of this class? Look no further.
  3. thejasondunbar

    New Literacies – Chapter 1 Review

    by
    Throughout the next 8 weeks I will spend an ample amount of time reviewing “New Literacies: Everyday Practices and Social Learning” by Colin Lankshear and Michele Knobel. The authors challenge readers to shift focus from the traditional definition of literacy, a difficulty reading and writing, to a notion of new literacy, acknowledging how social, economic, and cultural factors influence learning.… More New Literacies – Chapter 1 Review
  4. thejasondunbar

    New Literacies – Chapter 1 Review

    by

    Throughout the next 8 weeks I will spend an ample amount of time reviewing “New Literacies: Everyday Practices and Social Learning” by Colin Lankshear and Michele Knobel. The authors challenge readers to shift focus from the traditional definition of literacy, a difficulty reading and writing, to a notion of new literacy, acknowledging how social, economic, and cultural factors influence learning.

    This week I am reviewing Chapter 1: From ‘reading’ to ‘new’ literacies. It is my aim in this post to identify and draw parallels to some of the terminology and concepts I interpret in the readings to my knowledge, experience, and understanding of the world as I see it.

    Traditionally, when I hear or see the term literacy I immediately think of “illiteracy” – those who struggle with reading and writing. However, Lankshear and Knobel argue that literacy should be carefully examined by other factors – such as social, political, and economic influences. For example, the authors highlight how a nation’s economic growth may have direct correlation to the literacy level (Lankshear I Knobel, 2011, p. 8). As a learning specialist (corporate trainer), I have encountered many participants who have migrated from all over the U.S., as well as other nations. This is partially due to my home (San Diego) being a military hub for the Navy and Marie Corps, whose service men and women hail from various states or whose families are from overseas. Considering the adult learners I encounter in class may have varying educational and socioeconomic backgrounds, interpretations of words, phrases or technologies may be foreign to them.

    Change Management, a focal theme of interest, serves as a key element in corporate America for the continuation and assimilation of new literacies, specifically media literacy, within organizations. According to the Center for Media Literacy (CML), “media literacy is a nexus for change because it links the outside world to gain competencies need for 21st century citizenship (Change Management, 2015). For the corporate staff that attend our training program, it is vital that they are able to develop critical thinking skills and use sound judgment when business policies/practices are ambiguous or are not “black and white”.

    Another interesting fact that was mentioned is how some countries, either at a state or local setting, had (or may even continue to) offer incentives to companies and organizations that provide literacy competency programs and workshops for their staff (Lankshear I Knobel, 2011, p. 14). The idea here is to increase literacy so workers could be more proficient in what they do. This is core to what my mission as a corporate learning specialist is – ensure staff are proficient by providing training on systems, policies, procedures, and concepts that are specific to the organization. One could argue this as technical literacy.

    This chapter mentioned several committees and reports – too much for me to call out here. However, there was one report that was published in 2007 by the US National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) that caught my eye. Per this report, English Language Arts should:

    …prepare students for an increasingly focus on ‘problem solving, collaboration, and analysis’, as well as on ‘skills with work processing, hypertext, LCDs, Web cams, digital software’…(Lankshear I Knobel, 2011, p. 24)

    I’m not sure whether or not this is truly happening within the current U.S. education system (K-12). However, as an adult learning in an online graduate program, the expectation was set that I would need to become proficient in digital and online collaborative tools (i.e. Google Hangouts, WebEx, Zoom, etc.) For the adult learners who enter my training room, however, there seems to be a struggle with simple tasks such as typing and using basic computer software (i.e. Microsoft Office). Thankfully there are plenty of resources within my team to ensure staff are prepared for what is expected once they leave the training room.

    Looking forward, I hope that future chapters will provide a little more insight into digital storytelling – a competency I currently lack proficiency in.

    References:

    Change Management. (n.d.). Retrieved June 12, 2015, from http://www.medialit.org/change-management

    Lankshear, C. & Knobel, M. (2011). New Literacies: Everyday Practices and Social Learning. New York: Open University Press.

  5. lisadise

    Flowers for Emily

    by
    Dear Emily, These flowers are for  you.  A little reminder of life in Pennsylvania.  My lilies just opened this week and my roses are nearing the end of their first bloom.  Like a new beginning and an end.  I hope you like them! Today’s daily create had us take pictures of flowers and send them […]
  6. jamesboneill

    Original Prompt – Create the background story for a photo of two…

    by


    Original Prompt - Create the background story for a photo of two people falling in love.

    They had grown up in separate parts of the country and attended separate schools, but they shared one dream: to become Muay Thai grand champion. 

    Over decades of preparation they trained, taut sinew and striated muscle, their bodies like hard plastic.  And now the time was here, the American Muay Thai Championship in Denver, Colorado.  Both advanced easily to the final round, their competitors stood no chance, and finally, with the end in sight, they gave in to their friends’ demands that they go out and enjoy themselves. What could one little drink hurt?  

    Jason sipped his whiskey slowly.  He knew to pace himself, his whole life had been a war between his mind and his body, and his mind had emerged the victor.  Now his body did only what he told it do, like kick through the door of a Volkswagen.  

    Just down the bar Samantha sipped her vodka/tonic.  Her friends always begged her to stop being so serious, and she’d decided to indulge them - one drink before the big match.  Besides, she knew she was in phenomenal shape, her body would metabolize the alcohol seconds after she imbibed it. Her body did what she wanted it to: like kick through the door of a slightly smaller Volkswagen.

    Samantha was finishing her drink and crafting her get-away speech when she heard a commotion at the end of the bar.  

    “You’re Jason Throatkicker! You’re the most famous Muay Thai fighter in America!” A slightly disheveled man was yelling at another man bent over his drink farther down the bar.

    “Happy to meet you,” Jason replied, “I was actually just on my way…” Suddenly Samantha’s friends jumped up excitedly and yelled: “He’s not the most famous Muay Thai fighter in America! Samantha Firefoot is and she’s going to be grand champion after tomorrow!”  A crowd had begun to gather.  The chant began quietly at first then grew louder and louder.  “kick off…Kick Off…KICK Off…KICK OFF!  KICK OFF!!!”

    Samantha sighed, this was not what she had planned…

  7. lishna68

    Beauty And The Beast – TDC

    by
    Sending flowers to my fellow Colorado DS106ers. We may be drowning in the endless deluge but, oh my, the lovely flowers.Assignment: Send Flowers to DS106 People Who or why is up to you! To one person or to many up to you too! Remember, tell us who they...
  8. amalthea13

    Heritage Conservation: Celebrating Culture and Designed Spaces Through Adaptive Reuse

    by
    #DS106  #VisualAssignments  #VisualAssignments1701    When I saw this assignment in the DS106 bank, I immediately knew what photo I wanted to use. The challenge was to color change a photo, creating a new or different perspective on the environment. I lived in this building, the old Hot Springs High School, during the year I spent in Arkansas. President Bill Clinton attended high school here and graduated in the class of 1964. My studio loft was a largely unchanged classroom with massive windows
  9. kirklunsford

    A Critique of Visual Mastery (RSA Animate)

    by



    Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk: Changing educational paradigms (animated by RSA animate)

    https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms

    Assessment criteria: As part of authoring critiques of digital storytelling in INTE 5340 three criterions are selected from Jason Ohler’s assessment traits.


    Digital craftsmanship (Score 1-10: 10 Points)

    Mastery of media: use media is appropriate, well-crafted, and supports the story. Media application is free of errors.

    Comments:
    The use of white-board media creates a 'hand-made' aesthetic. The attention to detail and ability to draw and communicate ideas with this medium as an animation is incredible. The animation appears to be free of smudging or errors yet it doesn’t look overly reproduced digitally, or retouched. The evolution of the drawings takes shape into a larger picture of the lecture to support the story in a very creative fashion.

    Flow, organization, pacing (Score 1-10: 10 Points)

    Information presented makes logical sequential sense; story pace is easy to follow.

    Comments:
    The lecture followed a logical sequence as demonstrated by the drawings and animations that evolved over time. The pacing was a little fast for the “deep” concepts but the drawings and animation completely makes up for this by accurate visual depiction.

    Problem solving and innovation (Score 1-10: 10 Points)

    Obstacles to presentation and access to story overcome. Creative use of media that demonstrates innovation.

    Comments:
    This video demonstrates a unique ability to express complex interrelated social concepts through the use of visual imagery. The use of a white-board and marker to express the concepts as they take shape over time is really innovative yet accessible.


    Total Score 30/30


    Other characteristics this assessment fails to capture:

    The limited assessment criterions do not necessarily capture the planning or process of the incredible undertaking of this story. How many times did the artist(s) have to draw the images to get it right? Was it highly edited? Were some of the drawings made digitally and then crafted to look like ‘marker?’

    How could this digital story be improved?

    This story and execution of creative visual media is an excellent digital story. There is not much room for improvement, but perhaps video of Ken Robinson giving the lecture could have been added as well. I can see this as being a small window in the corner showing his ‘presence’ as the animation takes shape. Perhaps this was attempted by the creators but it was decided it was too distracting? I would love to see ‘the making of’ of this digital story.
  10. jamesboneill

    RAK

    by

    When you make it an acronym, it looks pretty aggressive.  My random act of kindness occurred last week, but I feel like it’s close enough to count.  A woman’s car was broken down on a major road.  There was steam coming out of the hood and she looked frazzled.  I jumped out of the car (much to the dismay of my fiancee) and ran over to help her push it off the road.  When I arrived, she didn’t speak English, so we communicated through some purposeful charades. I got her to turn the heater on, put the car in neutral and steer as I pushed.  Another kindly soul pitched in and soon the car (and driver) were safely off the road.  I left her to call a tow truck and addressed the 4 missed calls by my, now very angry, fiancee.  She looped back and picked me up, but I was given the silent treatment all the way home.  Sometimes RAKs have unintended effects: :(

  11. emilysmayy

    Learning to Critique: Assessment of Digital Storytelling Series – Part 2

    by

    For guidelines on the critique process, please refer to my 1st post in the series.   Overview: For my 2nd critique: assessment of digital storytelling series, I’ve chosen a digital story from the DS106 Mashup Assignment Bank titled “Music Mashup.” In addition to photography and traveling, music is another passion of mine so I was interested to explore this assignment… Read more →

    The post Learning to Critique: Assessment of Digital Storytelling Series – Part 2 appeared first on Emily S. May.

  12. thejasondunbar

    Digital Story Critique: Path to Technology

    by

    The video can be found at here.

    While searching for digital stories on change I came across a website called Stories of Change. The site has a catalog of many interesting stories, most of which are filtered based on categories of interest.

    In the span of 30 years, Dominguez Vazquez worked hard to make a living. He spent 15 years as a shipbuilder, remodeling luxury cabins for cruise ships. He then spent an additional 15 years as a saucier at a hotel in San Francisco, serving food to the privileged. One day he had enough and needed a change. 

    His story takes us on a journey from leaving the shipyards and restaurant industry to learning web design and serving his community.

    Note: My method of critique is derived from Jason Ohler’s Digital and Traditional Storytelling. The three traits I will focus on for this digital story will be 1) originality, voice, and creativity, 2) Media Application, and 3) Flow, Organization, and Pace. The reason I chose these three traits is partially due to the authors’ design decision for his story. This story was of a personal nature and the design decision made reflects the authors’ creative methodology. 

    Originality, Voice, and Creativity (10/10 pts)

    The author did an exceptional job telling his story by providing a brief occupational history and leading up to his decision to make a change after 30 years. The story had many themes, but the two that stuck out the most were change and community - both were conveyed well in the presentation.

    Media Application (8/10 pts)

    The author used pictures to accompany his narrative. The photos were appropriate, however they were fuzzy and difficult to make out most of the time. The audio was also muffled at times too. If the author used a better microphone and perhaps a different recording area (i.e. quiet room, no florescent lighting, etc.) the quality of the audio may have been better. Likewise, the use of a higher-end screencast software may have resulted in a better looking final product. For these reasons I deducted 2 points from this category.

    Flow, Organization, and Pace (10/10 pts)

    The overall flow and pace was appropriate. It was directional and encompassed a beginning, middle, and end to the story. I really enjoyed reviewing this story because it was like watching a 2 minute movie of an individual who, after reflecting on his life, makes a change that benefits him and his community. He truly finds happiness with this change.

    Total Score: 28 pts

  13. thejasondunbar

    Flower’s for MomToday’s Daily Create is to send flowers to…

    by


    Flower’s for Mom

    Today’s Daily Create is to send flowers to someone a person of you choice.

    These flowers are for my mother, who I have not seen in over 6 years. We live in separate states, roughly 560 miles apart. As a single parent of three (1 girl and 2-twin boys) my mother did what she could to get by. Sometimes that meant working 2-3 jobs at a time. To this day, at 62, my mom wakes up at 5:00 am to get to work nearly 40 miles away from where she resides. 

    We didn’t always get the most expensive toys or have extravagant vacations, but we always had each other. I miss her deeply and hope that some day she can see her grandchildren in person.

    The photos above are of the same image, taken using my iPhone 6. I used an iOS application called ProCam 2 with the Kaleido II setting to get the image on the right. I then used another iOS application called Diptic to get the side-by-side profile.

  14. thejasondunbar

    Jason Dunbar 2015-06-12 11:57:19

    by
    Flower’s for Mom Today’s Daily Create is to send flowers to someone a person of you choice. These flowers are for my mother, who I have not seen in over 6 years. We live in separate states, roughly 560 miles apart. As a single parent of three (1 girl and 2-twin boys) my mother did what… More
  15. emilysmayy

    Learning to Critique: Assessment of Digital Storytelling Series – Part 1

    by

    As part of the coursework in my Learning with Digital Stories class at the University of Colorado Denver, I will produce a series of weekly critiques that examine and review two digital stories or media(ted) narratives driven by personal or professional interest. Initially, I will use Jason Ohler’s assessment traits as a baseline for each critique. My goal is to… Read more →

    The post Learning to Critique: Assessment of Digital Storytelling Series – Part 1 appeared first on Emily S. May.

  16. kirklunsford

    A Critique of A Hero: Sir Ken Robinson

    by


    Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk: How schools kill creativity

    https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity#t-185891


    Transcript

    https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity/transcript?language=en


    Assessment criteria: As part of authoring critiques of digital storytelling in INTE 5340 three criterions are selected from Jason Ohler’s assessment traits.



    Voice, creativity, originality (Score 1-10: 10 Points)

    Tone is appropriate, pacing is good, intonation, inflection, diction, overall quality of speech. Use of anecdotes, humor, and personal experiential knowledge.

    Comments:
    Sir Ken Robinson is always a pleasure to listen to. His humor, his tone, and relatable anecdotes instantly grab the audience. The use of humor followed by critical story points gives the audience a chance to recall the information because of the recollection of a humorous story. The expression of creativity in his stories paints an authentic picture of the topic at hand.

    Story clear, articulated, compelling (Score 1-10: 10 Points)

    Personal expression, engaging, descriptive, persuasive.

    Comments:
    Ken provides several examples of creativity in children and how society and educational systems suppress it. He uses personal anecdotes to describe instances of creativity with humor. The audience is compelled to rethink the value of creativity and different types of thinkers.

    Research? Research clear, thorough, integrated (rather than listed)? (Score 1-10: 5 Points)

    Use of visual aids, statistics, multiple sources, seamless transition from story to statistical information.

    Comments:
    Although most of the lecture was anecdotal and humorous a few statistics were given in the speech. However no visual aid was used. A lack of multiple sources and visual aid is not as convincing.

    Total Score 25/30


    Other characteristics this assessment fails to capture:

    It is difficult to consume and “critique” digital stories to some degree because the author of the work isn’t necessarily aware of assessment criteria and thus to some degree the assessment isn’t fair. Also some works of digital storytelling have other constraints (such as a short time limit for a TED talk). It’s worth mentioning Sir Ken Robinson is a prolific author and thought leader on the issue of creativity in the educational system. It would be assumed as an audience that Ken is an expert on the subject and statistics and visual aids may not be entirely necessary given his status and knowledge. The audience should be interested and persuaded to learn more about the topic by reading Ken’s books.


    How could this digital story be improved?

    The wealth of personal anecdotal information that Ken shares is incredibly engaging. However, the use of media to present visual aids or demonstrations would be more convincing and persuasive. There is an animation created by the RSA as a visual narrative to one of Ken Robinson’s TED talks “Changing education paradigms.” I can imagine a most effective lecture with this animation playing in the background supplemented by statistical graphs and video instead of solely relying on the use of colorful anecdotes.
  17. kirklunsford

    New Literacies and Creativity are Intertwined: A Chapter 1 Response to Lankshear and Knobel

    by

    Background

    As a primer to UC Denver’s INTE 5340 Digital Storytelling course, I decided to take my professor’s advice and begin an early read of the course text New Literacies: Everyday Practices and Social Learning by Colin Lankshear and Michele Nobel.

    Source: Amazon.com

    When the book arrived three weeks ago I was intrigued to see a cover with what looks like web interfaces and digital icons for different social media platforms. I can honestly say that I could only identify half of the icons on the cover and only regularly use a couple of the platforms. I didn’t have a Twitter account until a couple of weeks ago and I have only used Facebook for a year. Never the less, I was excited to learn about these ‘new literacies’ and perhaps face the fact that in terms of literacy, in this context, I am in some ways ‘illiterate.’

    In conjunction with the course text for course work in INTE 5340, students focused on a theme of one’s choosing based on personal interest. As an instructor in a visual art related field, and a person that sees the world through the lens of a visual artist and educator, I chose to focus on ‘the importance of creative arts in education.’ My scholarship in this area is limited but my participation and inquisition to the subject at hand is somewhat broad. In the past I’ve been an art history tutor, and an artist in residence in my local library, and currently a teacher of design and drawing for nearly three years. I got the opportunity to, in many ways, see the issues directly through interactions with students and have the chance to make an impact in this area of interest.

    Because of this interest, I was drawn to the works of Sir Ken Robinson, a thought leader and prolific writer of educational works that focus on creativity and education. After reading the first chapter in “New Literacies” I was reminded of Ken Robinson’s TED talk: How Schools Kill Creativity because Ken mentions literacy and creativity in the lecture. Although I do not believe Ken meant to describe literacy as ‘new literacies’ at the time, I believe current discussions of literacy in education reform must include these new literacies to adequately describe literacy as a sociocultural concept. Therefore, I synthesised the ideas of creativity as Ken Robinson described it and literacy with the response to the first chapter in “New Literacies.” I believe 'new literacies' and creativity are intertwined and inseparable.

    Chapter 1 Response


    Chapter one, in review, was very important for setting the stage for the concept of literacy in a historical context. I deduced in order to better comprehend what was described as ‘new literacies,’ one must first understand the classic sense of literacy, how the concept developed, and how literacy is part of social structures. Lankshear and Knobel provided many examples from around the world, mainly Britain, USA, Canada, and New Zealand but he also mentioned the work of Paulo Freire who was influential in the establishment of literacy as a sociocultural theory (Lankshear & Knobel, 2011, p. 7). It is noteworthy to mention Freire’s “praxis of reflection and action,” (Lankshear & Knobel, 2011, p. 6) which in turn has the potential to bring about social change through “knowing the world better: more ‘deeply’ and ‘critically’,” (Lankshear & Knobel, 2011, p. 5). This may be compared to the current practice of digital storytelling courses, such as DS106, by exploring the many examples of critical consumption, creation, and dissemination of knowledge present in the works of the participators. In other words, DS106 serves as a means to become ‘literate’ in ‘new literacies.’ However, somewhat beyond the scope of DS106 are the essential tools to make quality contributions to the practices of digital storytelling courses which roots draw from creative arts and technology. For example, if one does not know how to effectively manipulate drawings in digital software how can one deliver an effective digital drawing assignment that can be consumed and has meaning and value? Essentially, to champion the efforts of ‘new literacies’ society must place high value in integrating creativity and arts education from K-12 through higher education instead of ‘killing it’ as Ken Robinson refers to in “How Schools Kill Creativity.”

    In addition to acknowledging the power of literacy to bring about social change, it is critical to note, according to Lankshear and Knobel, “To participate effectively and productively in any literate practice, people must be socialized into it. But if individuals are socialized into a social practice without realizing that it is socially constructed and selective, and that it can be acted on and transformed, they cannot play an active role in changing it,” (Lankshear & Knobel, 2011, p.18). As a society that is ultimately responsible for how K-12 students are socialized in education, since the young students would most likely be unaware of being socialized, it is important to encourage activities and creative expression that contributes to the socialization of ‘new literacies.’ In Ken Robinson’s point of view, students may actually be discouraged from creative practices that relate to being engaged in creativity, and thus, the means necessary to engage effectively in ‘new literacies.’

    “The thing they were good at in school wasn’t valued or was actually stigmatized. And I think that we can’t afford to go on that way.” Robinson, K. (2006, Feb). How Schools kill creativity.


    Furthermore, it should be expected that higher ed students contribute powerful and meaningful ideas that have value. As this has been the historical tradition of higher education and is part of our culture and society. If the future of ‘literacy’ is ‘new literacies’ how can we as a society expect college level students to be ‘literate’ when there may be a lack of deliberate and encouraging socialization into ‘new literacies’?

    The final lasting notes from Lankshear and Knobel in chapter one define ‘new literacies’ as two main concepts: ‘paradigmatic’ and ‘ontological’ (Lankshear & Knobel, 2011, p. 27). The paradigmatic approach is concerned with literacy as a ‘social phenomenon’ rather than previously established ‘psycholinguistics’ understanding (Lankshear & Knobel, 2011, p. 27). Where as an ontological concept would involve social practices that include new technologies. (Lankshear & Knobel, 2011, p. 28). I found that these terms adequately describe two key facets of ‘new literacies’ and they encapsulate what was described in chapter one. As I begin to develop concepts in ‘new literacies’ I will recollect these terms to describe ways in which ‘new literacies’ are being expressed.

    As I look forward to a deeper understanding of ‘new literacies,’ as described by Lankshear and Knobel in the following chapters, I hope to develop a broader sense of humanity or understand new concepts in ‘human ecology.’ As Sir Ken Robinson would put it:

    “I believe our only hope for the future is to adopt a new conception of human ecology, one in which we start to reconstitute our conception of richness of human capacity.” Robinson, K. (2006, Feb). How Schools kill creativity.

    Citations

    New Literacies: Everyday Practices and Social Learning Ed by Colin Lankshear and Michele Nobel. McGraw-Hill Education 2011.

    Robinson, K. (2006, Feb). How Schools kill creativity.
  18. burgoynem

    Daily Create #1: “Sweet Message”

    by
    Below is my first Daily Create experience:


    A Mile In His Shoes


    They say you shouldn’t judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes. And speaking of shoe metaphors, you’ve certainly left some big ones to fill. You might think it’s this time of year that is making me think of you but really my thoughts turn to you in the late hours rocking my own son to sleep. I think of you when I have to discipline my 3 year old and wonder whether you felt the same frustration. Did I also bring you to your wits end? Did you hate having to get mad too? When I sit and watch my boys experience life in their own way I imagine myself sitting in your spot on the couch watching me experience life in my way.


    Now that I’m a parent with sons of my own, my appreciation for you grows more each day. I understand the sacrifice. I understand the patience. I understand the worry. But most importantly, I understand what instant and unconditional love really is. Thank you for being a role model. Thank you for being a fan. Thank you for being indestructible. I hope I can be just like you. Thank you, Dad.

  19. thejasondunbar

    Jason Dunbar 2015-06-11 23:43:46

    by
    Digital Story Critique: Lucid Shadows Jonathan Sciortino, a fellow veteran of the United States Marine Corps, provided a narrative of his experience and reflection of the Iraq War – Operation Enduring Freedom. The following is my critique of the authors’ narrative as a digital story. Note: My method of critique is derived from Jason Ohler’s Digital… More
  20. thejasondunbar

    Digital Story Critique: Lucid ShadowsJonathan Sciortino, a…

    by


    Digital Story Critique: Lucid Shadows

    Jonathan Sciortino, a fellow veteran of the United States Marine Corps, provided a narrative of his experience and reflection of the Iraq War - Operation Enduring Freedom. The following is my critique of the authors’ narrative as a digital story.

    Note: My method of critique is derived from Jason Ohler’s Digital and Traditional Storytelling.

    Story (10/10 pts)

    The authors’ use of dialog and vivid imagery evokes an emotional response, which was clear, well articulated and compelling. Listening to a story on the loss of a friend/solider and hearing a solider criticize the military as a “machine” may persuade the audience to think differently about their own perception of wartime events. 

    It can be difficult for audiences to relate to stories without having shared similar experiences as the storyteller. However, the author did an excellent job with his account of certain incidents, such as using sensory phrases as “smell of gasoline” and describing a fire as “dull orange” as it was engulfing a Humvee.

    I feel that the story failed to in terms of story mapping. Essentially, the author provided a story with a problem but did not offer a solution. I appreciate the author’s perspective and offering such a significant story of his military career, but what alternative outcomes, if any, are presentable?

    Flow, Organization, and Pacing (9/10 pts)

    The story had a logical flow and was well organized with a beginning, middle, and end. There were several climactic elements within the story, emphasizing the authors’ main points. As noted before, drawing from emotional events makes a story more compelling and memorable for the audience. 

    The one drawback to this trait was the pace of the dialogue/narration. The pace at times seemed a little too slow. I assume the intent of the slow narration was to ensure that the audience can hear and understand every point made by the author. 

    Sense of Audience (10/10 pts)

    Nobody loves war, but everyone loves a war story. This story meets the needs of most audience members - those who appreciate the sacrifices of our service men and women. Likewise, most audiences never will know what it’s like to be part of a hostile environment where the outgoing military unit telling you “it’s not a matter of if you get blown up, but when”. Well told stories like this one puts the audience as close to the war without any real risk.

    The author did an excellent job telling his story. One element that is missing from this trait is a transcript or some type of text per slide. The visuals were powerful; however, for the hearing impaired they would not get the full story behind the narrative.

    Total Score: 29/30

UMW Spring 2024 (Bond & Groom)

Welcome to Paul Bond and Jim Groom’s Spring 2024 ds106

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