Wes, David Jakes and others have been talking about digital storytelling for a while now and I too have a vested interest in this medium. In our age it’s critical students have strong viewing and representing skills.
In the past teachers who have come across exemplary work in written form want to share it with others. It’s exciting and rewarding when students grasp the concepts of good writing. Joel is a 15 year old friend of our family who’s been creating digital movies for a few years. He has fostered his love of lego and made some incredible videos. He was asked by his teacher to create a video for the story of the Good Samaritan. The resultm as you will see, is quite amazing. Joel obviously has a gift for storytelling and I know it largely comes from time watching movies and television. As Steven Johnson says, “it’s not all bad.” As we move from our text biased classroom to a more rich offering of expression, we will undoubtedly find more Joels. After watching, visit the archive and leave a comment for him. Also, if you know of a place to enter this video, let me know.
Update: I need to point out that this video is actually a collaborative effort between Joel and his friend Teagan. While Joel certainly has more of the technical skills, Teagan made strong contributions in developing the storyboard and creative inputs into perfecting scenes. This is a key point. While the digital story process involves craftsmanship in technical terms, it also requires creative analysis and is best done in teams. Consider the people involved in any movie or digital production and it’s evident that even with powerful computing and editing tools, the need to challenge one another and critique each other’s work is critical in creating quality work. Excellent work Joel and Teagan.