Digital Storytelling: ED 677

3 Credits

Course Location: Web Based
Meeting Times: Via Google+ Hangouts, as arranged
Instructor: Skip Via, wwvia@alaska.edu | Instructor Page

Office Hours: Google+, or by appointment
Contacts:

Text message: 510-842-7547

Google+ wwvia@alaska.edu

Twitter @skipvia

Prerequisites

ED 431, ED 659, and ED 654. Students must either be admitted to the School of Education M.Ed. program or obtain instructor permission to enroll in this course. See https://sites.google.com/a/alaska.edu/ed677sp17/home.

Required Text

Alexander, B. (2011). The New Digital Storytelling: Creating Narratives with New Media.  Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.

Other Required Readings/Viewings

Jenkins, H. (2010, August 23). How new media are transforming storytelling in four minutes [Web log message]. Retrieved Aug 20, 2011 from http://henryjenkins.org/2010/08/how_new_media_is_transforming.html

Iwancio, P. (2010,June). Seven elements of digital storytelling in four minutes. [Video FIle]. Retrieved Aug 20, 2011 fromhttp://vimeo.com/12672069

Additional readings and online resources are attached to specific assignments.

Catalog Description

This course examines the principles of storytelling in general and digital storytelling in particular, paying close attention the use of digital storytelling to inform, persuade, and entertain across a variety of social and cultural institutions. Elements of digital storytelling will be investigated and used to create original digital stories in a variety of media.

Alignment with School of Education Mission

The School of Education prepares educators to work in urban and rural Alaska and to work with K-12 students from many backgrounds, with a particular focus on Alaska Native languages and cultures. We are particularly committed to enhancing the educational opportunities for Alaska’s rural and Native populations. Through the UAF rural campuses, we are responsive to local and regional needs within the state.

Through our programs and professional development courses, we promote the following goals.

• Increase the number of qualified educators for Alaska’s schools.
• Enhance the professional skills of Alaska’s K-12 educators.
• Develop and support ongoing systemic educational collaborations with Alaska schools and communities.
• Conduct collaborative research on cross-cultural and multicultural education.

This course supports the UAF School of Education’s mission by providing students with the skills necessary to design thoughtful individualized instructional environments utilizing technologies and strategies appropriate to all learners. Students will acquire skills in the management and implementation of technology that will enhance their professional qualifications based on ISTE and Alaska teacher standards for technology and instructional design.

Course Goals

• investigate the history of storytelling
• understand the storytelling process from initial idea to final presentation
• research the forms and elements of digital storytelling
• understand the impact and purpose of digital storytelling as manifested in education, business, entertainment, and other social institutions
• critically examine digital stories for audience, subtext, and effect
• understand and apply copyright law with regard to digital storytelling, including publishing under a Creative Commons license
• create and publish digital stories in a variety of media formats

Learning Outcomes

Students will be to:

• detail various aspects of the history of storytelling.
• utilize the storytelling process to clarify the idea, develop the story, and create solid finished product.
• apply the aspects of storytelling to a myriad of applications.
• examine and assess the impact of digital storytelling for various licenses.
• utilize the storytelling process in a variety of media, formats, and communications.

Course Fees

Students will be required to maintain a personal web domain for use in this course and throughout the duration of the ONID program. (This process will start when you enroll in ED 431 Web 2.0 Fundamentals: Participate, Produce, Publish and should already be in place by this time.) The required platform is WordPress. If you already own a personal domain, you may use that and install WordPress there.

Instructional Methods

A variety of instructional methods will be used, including asynchronous delivery through podcasts and videos, backchannel communication using Google+, Twitter, Diigo, Internet research, reading assignments, asynchronous discussion, reflection, peer review and evaluation, occasional synchronous discussions using Google Hangouts, and hands-on practice. There will be optional online meetings  throughout the semester to assist students in being successful in this course.