For this week, we were to finish reading chapters 13 through 17 of our textbook, then briefly sum up each chapter. Here goes!
-Chapter 13- Applications of Digital Storytelling
This chapter goes into some of the different ways (obvious and not-so-obvious) that we can use digital storytelling as a tool and an art form. Some of the ways mentioned are things like persuasion, calling people to action, causing reflection upon oneself or others, informing, and making connections between demographics. It discusses the idea that human expression will find its way to the digital platform in every context, somehow or another, as well as touches on the importance of telling stories with people in mind while simultaneously staying current with new technologies.
-Chapter 14- Silence Speaks (An Interview with Amy Hill)
This chapter introduces Amy Hill, the director of the Silence Speaks initiative, which addresses various gender, health, and human rights issues. Amy touches on how important and valuable it is for victims of trauma to use vulnerability and sincerity within their storytelling to really make an impact and avoid canned/unrealistic storytelling experiences. The program allows participants to explore their issues in a safe, non-judgemental environment, bond with their peers, and receive really great support.
-Chapter 15- Listening to Change: Stories from Alaska's Native Health Communities (Interview with Laura Revels)
This chapter introduces us to Laura Revels, a community outreach health worker in Alaska. She is an avid advocate for health education and information being shared with the Alaskan Native peoples. She goes into some of her philosophies of storytelling, detailing that storytelling is a way that people can talk about the issues that affect them from a position of strength, rather than defeat or weakness. It is all about showcasing their strength and their feats rather than the problems they face.
-Chapter 16- Humanizing Healthcare (A Conversation with Dr. Pip Hardy and Tony Sumner)
This chapter introduces us to Dr. Pip Hardy and Tony Sumner and the way they have implemented storytelling into learning materials for improving healthcare. In the Patient Voices program, the storytellers are patients, professionals, and any others who are involved in family care. Their implementation of this program was not initially meant to serve as a therapeutic process, but it ended up being so anyways simply because storytelling in itself is inherently reflective and spurs healing.
-Chapter 17- Transforming Education through Story Work (A Conversation with Dr. Brooke Hessler)
This last chapter introduces us to Dr. Brooke Hessler, who describes that the basic uses of digital storytelling include classroom-based and engaged community learning. She strives for students to end up learning not only about themselves, but about the world around them in telling stories and listening to others tell theirs. She references digital storytelling as a research tool that can document personal and professional growth and/or change, and emphasizes the importance of never constructing a story with priority on speed of completion. This can result in shallowness and superficiality.
Thanks for reading!
Here are some details about our textbook in case you're interested in checking it out.
Digital Storytelling: Capturing Lives, Creating Community
5th Edition, 2018
By Joe Lambert with Brooke Hessler
{Today's mind/heart/soul-healthy challenge: Tell somebody you love a story about something you love.}
*MAKE TODAY STORY-WORTHY.*