Video #2: Breaking Down in Mechanicsville: Fear, Fire and Doing the Locomotion

When I was first on the golf tour, they didn't pay for travel or rooms for us, so we traveled in groups, staying seven or eight to a room, sleeping on the floor and bribing the hotel housekeepers for extra towels.

It's funny that those memories can bring such happiness, considering how tired, broke and uncomfortable we all were! But then, mishaps have provided me with some of my best memories. 

By the way, I originally had two songs in this video, (the Locomotion, of course) but YouTube had an issue with that. Anyway, I think it works this way, too. 

I started to do a video about my background. Then I realized -- this is really the story of me these days. When I got home tired from the F2F meeting today and I had so many other things I should have been doing -- I set up the slip-n-slide and called for Lottie and Paul and their cousin Ian. 

I never really have enough time -- but I'm glad I have these times.

Chapter 12: All the Pieces

This chapter had a lot of really great information for building digital stories. I can see how the how-to's could be very helpful to someone bringing videos into their classroom. There was also, however, a lot of really helpful structuring. By delineating the process, Ohler creates a framework that can help an editor/director create a cleaner, truer piece.

This actually happened with me when we were storyboarding our videos for next week. I started to skip steps, but ended up with a more powerful and personal piece when I was (reluctantly) compelled to follow the process.

I also found the idea of deputizing students a helpful one to be reminded of, although I made a regular habit of that when I was in the classroom. Kids love to help. And the also like being a little smarter than you. And why wouldn't they?

Chapter 9: But one day...because of that...

When I was very young, my dad confronted me about something broken and I yelled out, "I did it ON PURPOSE!" which I thought meant "by accident." My dad thought I was being a smartass, which understandably pissed him off, so he sent me to my room, where I cried stormily. I was outraged at the injustice -- I clearly hadn't meant to do whatever it is I did.

My mom figured out the misunderstanding, and my dad came in and explained the difference between on purpose and by accident. He then said, "You tried to explain and I didn't understand. I apologize." Even though I was no longer in trouble, and even though I had, in my view, been proved right, I suddenly became aware of the fact that my dad had just told me that there was a circumstance under which he could be wrong -- and this brought on a huge storm of renewed wailing. My poor father just patted my back in confusion until we moved on. After that, my world was a little bigger and a little scarier.

When I read Ohler's suggestion to ask a grandparent about any story that he or she remembers, this story came to my mind right away. In this story, you can see the elements of conflict and transition. I was conflicted by my father's misunderstanding, and I was transformed by my realization that he could ever be wrong. At the end, my resolution was that I felt better from the incident, but I was changed by my more mature understanding of my father as a fallible person.

Looking at that story with a story spine, it's easy to see how using that framework is a useful tool in storytelling.

Chapter 8:

I think it's interesting the Ohler proposes using Bloom's Taxonomy to help with Digital Storytelling. It's an interesting hybrid of the old and new.

There really are many different ways for a character to have a revelation, and using Bloom's is as succinct a method as any for delineating them. I was a little disappointed to see Neo from the Matrix come up on the list -- two times, actually. I'd rather see Vivian from Pretty Woman than Neo, for Pete's sake. You know, when she leaves the money as she starts to go the first time, thus showing us all that the Hooker with the Heart of Gold has transcended and become the Ex-Hooker with a Heart of Gold who will soon be attending community college with an eye toward improving herself. Which I guess comes in at what, Level 5? Really, the only female character he could come up with was Baby?

Anyway, the idea of using Bloom's to help with storytelling is a great idea. I also appreciate the fact that Ohler urges not only helping students to tell more effective stories, but for teachers to understand the students better, thus emphasizing that it really is a two-way street between teachers and students. Finally, the concept of helping students grow through their stories is the most important application of the framework.

Chapter 7: Thinking outside and inside the box...

There were so many helpful insights and strategies in this chapter! It is a great skill to be able to help people find stories by asking the right questions. I also commend Ohler's method of writing all possible aspects of a story down, but placing the things that will be included in the story inside the box while writing the things that might color the story (but should not be included in it) outside of the box.

I also agree that sometimes the most personal stories can be universal. I remember saying one time that "To Kill A Mockingbird" is the great American novel and the guy I was talking to countered that it was "just about racism." I couldn't believe that he and I had even read the same book. It is about racial inequity, but it's also a story about morality, empathy, courage, dedication, strength and kindness. All of these things wend through a personal story -- a story of a little girl and her family -- but the story is absolutely universal. 

And, as Ohler says, just because it didn't happen doesn't make it not true.

Chapter 6: Studies versus Stories (PS, stories win)

This chapter offered some very insightful commentary. I enjoyed seeing how the story changed as Ohler manipulated the different elements to demonstrate how to build tension through conflict, transformation and resolution.

I realize that Ohler was exaggerating the different stages to make a point -- but I often find myself really annoyed by manufactured conflict in stories. I think a heavy-handed interpretation of this particular tactic is the death of a good story. It can be seen in the waning days of every television drama; just keep your eyes peeled for a trailer for A Very  Special Episode of ____ (insert series name here) and then go ahead and watch it to see how ridiculously the conflict is ratcheted up. So, I guess the trick is to use conflict judiciously. Unless you don't mind me putting on my best Monster Truck voice when I make up trailers for your show. 

Another thing I really responded to was Ohler's contention that "...if you heard a lecture that cited the findings of 10 great studies conducted by ten famous scholars that proved the effectiveness of kids helping adults with technological problems in 10 different ways, you probably would have forgotten it by next week. But there's a good chance you'll remember this story."

Jason B. Ohler. Digital Storytelling in the Classroom: New Media Pathways to Literacy, Learning and Creativity (location 1334) Kindle Edition, cloud reader.

Well, yes. 

Chapter 5 - And You Don't Have to Worry About Leftover Parts

I always understand things better once I've taken them apart and put them back together. This applies to things that shouldn't actually be taken apart, like old pocket watches, and to more abstract creations, such as stories. In this vein, Jason Ohler's description of creating story cores illuminates a process for understanding stories in more depth.

The structure for this analysis is simple: challenge, transformation and resolution. An author can gain perspective on his or her story by breaking it down into this components and then extending it into a story map.

The part of this chapter that stood out to me was the comment by Ohler, "When teachers use story mapping with their students, an amazing thing happens: students talk about their stories rather than their technology." The fact that this can be given to students as a tool and that it can also be used as a form of assessment is extremely useful.