Digital Storytelling Week 5

 I have made good progress on my digital storytelling project about my late grandfather. I have finalized my StoryCore and my script, and now I am putting the finishing touches on my Story Table. I need to find a song to play throughout the video and make a list of references. To be prepared for Week 7, I need to put my video together and make sure everything is seamless and the story shows what I want my audience to see and feel. My Story Table will work as a great guide to show which picture goes with each part of the script when creating my video. For assistance, I think it would be beneficial to get some feedback from peers or instructors on how they feel about my story and if I need to add or retract anything from my draft. One of my goals for this project is to convey an emotional connection with my audience, and I want to ensure I am doing so before my presentation. 

    After reading the article from Ed Tech Teacher (2013), I feel that I have really stuck to steps 1-5 and will continue following the rest of the steps for the creation of the final product. For this project, I have decided to use Canva to produce my story. I have used Canva for a variety of projects, so I am familiar with the platform and how to navigate it. However, I have never created a video with Canva, so I am interested to see how it goes. Canva will allow me to add my own photos and text, which is another reason I am choosing this tool. In my classroom, we mainly use Google Slides as a Google district, but Canva could be a great tool to use with my students. In my opinion, Canva is easier to navigate than Google Slides, and there are more add-ons students can use to add to their slides. I use Canva for my own lesson presentations, so I think my students would be more than capable of using it for one of the projects instead of Google Slides. 

    In preparation for the Community Assignment for my Digital Storytelling Project, my main authentic audience includes my classmates and instructor. However, I want to extend even farther; I want to connect with my students, future teachers, and anyone who has lost a family member and felt like they lost a purpose because of it. My goal is for my audience to be able to connect with my story, whether it is from losing a family member, aspiring educator, or even a determination aspect. There are many ways for my audience to connect, and I hope at least one of these aspects will resonate with them. 

    From this experience, I have gained so many different skills and knowledge that I didn't obtain before this course. When I begin piecing my digital story together, I will learn more technology tools that I can carry over to use in my classroom. I also learned how to choose a picture that expresses an emotion that best matches what is going on at that point in the story. The most knowledgeable skill I have learned from creating my story is how to take a personal experience and turn it into a story where others can learn something from it. 

    By engaging my students in digital storytelling, they will learn how to tell a story in a different way than writing. My role will be sharing the tools and guiding my students on how to make a digital story.  It will build their creativity along with their presentation skills. Students could create their own digital story about themselves at the beginning of the school year to let their classmates get to know them. This is a low-stakes activity because students can share as much or as little information as they would like, but it all still helps when trying to build a classroom community at the beginning of a school year. I have every intention of carrying all of these tools and resources into my classroom with my students.

References:


Ed Tech Teacher. (2013). Eight Steps to Great Digital Storytelling. https://edtechteacher.org/8-steps-to-great-digital-storytelling-from-samantha-on-edudemic/

Comments

  1. Christina RadiciNovember 13, 2025 at 6:34 AM

    Hi Emma! Your progress is excellent. You have successfully finished the StoryCore and script, and the Story Table is a smart strategy for seamless visual pacing. Choosing Canva is a great, versatile choice for production, and your plan to seek peer/instructor feedback will be invaluable for ensuring that emotional connection you want to convey. Keep moving forward with your music selection and video assembly for a strong Week 7 share!

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  2. Brandon BeardNovember 14, 2025 at 12:44 PM

    Emma, I think that your story absolutely can resonate beyond just the original target audience. Everyone experiences loss. Sometimes it's hard for them to verbalize it, sometimes it's difficult to connect with others while going through that grief, sometimes there's no one to turn to for discussion. It's important that everyone understands that we all share some similar touchstones in our lives, no matter who we are or where we came from, and loss is one of those things. I think you're doing a great job by planning on extending the audience and really homing in on that aspect.

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  3. bbarker1223323November 15, 2025 at 5:35 AM


    Emma

    Hi Emma, you’re making strong progress on your digital story. It’s great that you’ve already finished your StoryCore, and script, and are now polishing your Story Table. Your plan to add music and organize your visuals will really help set the emotional tone of your story.

    -Bradley

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