Inspired by Doug Peterson, who was inpsired by ZeFrank that then inspired Stephen Downes and others I’ve created a little video of my life growing up in Morden, Manitoba. Thanks to the every growing database of Google Streetview, it’s now reaching even small towns like the one I grew up in.
This one’s mostly for me. Yet, it’s been interesting to learn about other’s experiences growing up. Lots of similarities largely due to a very different attitude toward safety and community. (By the way, I recall a blog post/website a few months back where someone detailed the changes in how far kids are allowed to roam from home, if anyone knows it please leave a link)
Besides the content, the use of Google Maps/Streetview as storytelling tools is largely underused as Alan Levine has said a number of times. Watching Jim Groom’s video, was like literally like going for a walk with him.
I created this with about 3 Jing movies stitched together and then uploaded to blip and youtube. One take. No rehearsal or editing, other than adding a title and one image I had handy. It lacks polish but most of our stories aren’t rehearsed, they’re spontaneous accounts of memory. I’m not advocating for us not to edit and craft our stories but we need to have room for many kinds of stories, some polished and edited to death and some a little rough around the edges. Bottom line is we need more stories about significant experiences. Google maps and street view is powerful tool for that. I for one would be happy to take a walk with people sharing significant stories about places that have meaning.
Here’s mine.
What’sWhere’s your story?
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by shareski: I have something to share(ski). My hometown http://bit.ly/d635uM As always feedback is welcome….
I love the personality and personable nature of doing this. It’s a great idea. I think students who aren’t crazy about their voice or wanting to do the screen recording could create kmz files in Google Earth also. There are so many other possibilities for touring this way. Thanks for sharesking!
Josh´s last blog ..The Master Learner
[...] call sense of place: sharing details about unique geographic places. Ze Frank, Stephen Downes, Dean Shareski, and others have created digital stories about the places they grew up, capturing not just the [...]
That’s a great video, Dean. I thought about doing one of my own, but 1) my parents still live in the house that I grew up in and I’m not sure how they’d feel about me showing their where they live and 2) while your small town is in Google Street View the suburb of Los Angeles that I grew up is not, which really surprised me.
Heather Ross´s last blog ..Social Capital Touches on Many Aspects of Life
@Heather,
That is surprising that it’s not on Streetview. I was quite surprised when I discovered Moose Jaw, (35,000) and then my hometown of Morden (7,000) in Streetview. I’m not sure how they determine what gives photographed and what doesn’t.
As far as a screencast, maybe a favorite vacation spot or neighbour playground and school? There are oodles of possibilities but I do really like the way you can navigate space in Street view.
Dean,
Awesome stuff, and this really is a fun form of storytelling. It is so easy to get lost in it. Right now I have a class playing with it, and the 5 minute minimum in Jing is pissign a few of them off. How did you stitch the three together with the SF files? Did you do a conversion? Anyinfo would be very much appreciated.
Jim Groom´s last blog ..Cr3d1t
Jim,
I just kept an eye on the time, stopped them as they neared the 5 minute mark and then brought them into imovie. No editing or file conversion other than the title and goofy picture insert. iMovie loves .m4v so this was dead simple. If you’re thinking Windows and simple movie maker software, you’ll need to do a conversion either using something online like Zamzar or with VLC. Extra steps but possible. Thanks for the inspiration. I watched yours last night and was immediately inspired to share my story. Watch out for those San Fillipos.
Awesome Dean, thanks. I got a download file of a swf not an m4v from Jing, so I have to see what I am doing wrong. We have run into the huge codec issues with mp4s and the like on Windows Moviemaker for another project, and what a headache that continues to be. In fact, I think the San Filipos are behind proprietary codecs
Jim Groom´s last blog ..Cr3d1t
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Meredith, schools4me, Debbie Gleason, Debbie Gleason, Sia Vogel and others. Sia Vogel said: My hometown http://bit.ly/aoIUw0 Very nice story from @shareski [...]
Nice job showing off Morden, Dean. I like how people who have tried out this project have made it very personal and added their own spin to the original concept. I hope that your efforts inspire others to create their own.
dougpete´s last blog ..My Current Top 10
[...] Posted on March 27, 2010 by ryanflood In Dean Shareski’s latest post on his blog ‘Ideas and Thoughts”, he passes on the idea [with credit to Doug Peterson, ZeFrank, Stephen Downs among others] that [...]
[...] 2010 by Keith Lyons Dean Shareski was my most recent prompt to think about hometown memories. In his post he points out that: Inspired by Doug Peterson, who was inpsired by ZeFrank that then inspired [...]