Collaborative Writing

There may be a lot of different uses for a wiki with writing, but I’m on the fence as to whether I would really dive into wikis. The only use I ever saw to fruition was in creating a classroom contract. Students would begin with a sentence already posted by the teacher and then add beliefs they thought were important. Think worked so well, we were able to have both fifth grade rooms get involved a help author a belief statement. To fully utilize a wiki, I would see it as a complete collection of thoughts and works, including a place to store files/student works. When we saw Elizabeth Boeser’s example wiki’s, I thought it was a wonderful way to study a book and a wonderful use of a wiki. I’m hesitant to think elementary students could take on the management and analysis/synthesis of such as project, but I have been surprised with what students are capable of.

Maybe my past experiences with wikis have tainted my view of their use, but collaborative writing can also take place via Google Documents. This summer I was part of a class where 10 of us worked on a word, and later a spreadsheet, simultaneously. It was great to see what people were coming up with as they typed it. One possible use is to have students work in groups on a jigsaw activity and then enter their information simultaneously on a Google Doc. Wiki’s are limited to one person at a time, and could lead to possible waste of time. For my “elementary” needs, I’m a Google Docs convert.

“Early bird special” The Eleventh Hour Blogger strikes before midnight.

What is digital story telling and literature? After seeing some examples, it seems to be a documentary of sorts encompassing many things. My favorite definition comes from the Center for Digital Storytelling and how they put it as “Every community has a memory of itself. Neither an archive nor an authoritative record ...but a living history, an awareness of a collective identity woven of a thousand stories.”

Digital story telling and literature is live poetry. It tells a story on so many different levels and stimulated senses. Catchy visual effect, auditory combinations of a man sharing a story with the sounds of ticking in the background are just some of the elements found. The ability to zoom into features, show the just right picture, transitions in to surprising pieces, and more are elements enticing and pulling the viewer in even more. I’m reminded of underground poetry joints, where people reflected and interacted with each other, but with a 21st century spin on it.

Digital storytelling and literature can be far removed from how a typical person may think of as storytelling. By now the Youtube image below got your attention. This digital storytelling video won first prize from the the Remix/Appropriation website given to us by our instructor. So, before you judge it based on the inital picture, just know that it blew my mind with how creative people can get. What seems like a typical MTVmusic video, X-Mas in NY City is really a collection of works already produced and creatively woven together.

Digital storytelling and literature is engagement. I related my earlier reflection to an underground poetry joint where people reflected and interacted. At first, I felt this was an interaction of sorts, but nothing compared to true connections with live people in front of you. I was then reminded of my brother-in-law who created one such group, MNKINO, http://mnkino.com/. This group explores digital storytelling, but with the goal to meet people, in person. Once again, there is harmony between the digital and real world.

What is digital storytelling and literature? A real/unreal life experience captured digitally and likely much much more.

Zax Outbax
“Digital is just another language like English, Spanish, or French. But remember, keep it real”