Category: focal theme

Digital Story Critique: Kindertransport

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Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-S69279 / CC-BY-SA 3.0 [CC BY-SA 3.0 de (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons

During most of my semester in the Learning With Digital Stories (INTE5430) class, I have been focusing on the theme of adversity.  The World Wide Web offers a wide variety of digital stories from people who have either experienced adversity first-hand or knew of someone close to them who experienced it.  On the University of Houston’s Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling site, there are several digital stories that relate to this theme of adapting and surviving from sudden change.  One such story is Kindertransport: The Unknown Children of the Holocaust by Eliz Markowitz.  Markowitz talks about how her grandmother and grandmother’s twin sister were rescued from the Nazi regime before the start of World War II.  As in previous critiques, I judged this digital story on the following assessment traits (as established by Jason Ohler in his book Digital Storytelling in the Classroom):

Research – Markowitz gives the viewer lots of historical and personal background information.  She includes details such as her relatives’ upbringing in Austria, the fallout of Kristallnacht and how both her grandmother and twin sister were able to leave for England.  Also, she incorporates an abundance of historical photographs, family pictures and Nazi propaganda posters.  Some of the images are disturbing, but she includes them to make the viewer understand the impact of the Holocaust.

Originality, Voice, Creativity – Markowitz gives a unique perspective of a person who has been impacted by the Kindertransport rescue.  Her images range from happy family portraits to horrific photos of concentration camp execution chambers.  At times, the juxtaposition of images feels sporadic and puzzling, but maybe that’s because it characterizes the insanity of war.  Markowitz’s narration is clear and calm, but at times, I wish she would slow down and give the viewer a moment to absorb the emotional subtext of the story.  I like how she used the song “Sunrise, Sunset” from Fiddler on the Roof as a music bed.  I just wish she used a second piece of music instead of repeating one song over again.

Citations – This is an assessment trait that is the weakest.  There are no citations to the archived photos in the video.  I would like to have known where she found them.  Plus, Markowitz does not cite the copyrighted music from Fiddler on the Roof.  In previous videos from this website, I’ve noticed other digital storytellers that have omitted citations as well.  I think the digital storytelling facilitators at the University of Houston should make citations a requirement.

Overall, Markowitz did an impressive job of telling how this major event of compassion saved many lives and preserved future generations of Jewish families, including her own.

Digital Story Critique – “Opening Doors”

Immigration is a very hot topic.  From American politicians (or pseudo-politicians) advocating a ban on Muslims from entering the United States to European leaders closing their boarders to Middle Eastern refugees from war-torn countries, there is a lot of concern regarding immigrants.  Most of the soundbites come from influential people in power.  The immigrants, many of whom come legally for educational or employment reasons, rarely get an opportunity to give their perspective.  That’s why it’s refreshing to watch “Opening Doors“, a StoryCenter video created by Tahira Hussain, a student from Pakistan.  She carries the responsibility of being the first person in her family to go to college.  For this critique, I judged the digital story on the following assessment traits (as established by Jason Ohler in his book Digital Storytelling in the Classroom):

  • Story – Hussain draws the viewer in by telling her story first-hand.  She gives a glimpse into the cultural traditions of her community in Pakistan, including the staggering difference between how a family is treated when a daughter, rather than a son, leaves for college.  Even before she got accepted into a college, she admitted she was “too scared to apply.” She also comments that she could not go to the local doctor by herself because she was “not allowed to go out without a man.”  By the end of the story however, Hussain seems more confident after completing her studies.  In addition, she remarks how she has inspired other women in her Pakistani village to get an education.
  • Originality, voice and creativity –  If Hussain had told this story in her native language, there might have been a greater emotional undercurrent in her voice, but she does a solid job of unfolding the timeline of events in English.  She includes a number of personal photographs from her childhood in Pakistan as well as her schooling in the United States, including photos of her creating banners in support of environmental causes.  There are also a couple of images, including a video clip of rippling water, that add abstract emotional layers to the story.
  • Media grammar –  It’s fairly evident that this was Hussain’s first time creating a digital story.  Some of the photos were scanned at lower resolutions and the audio level of the narration varies throughout the video.  Still, it’s not bad for a first effort.

As a tutor at the Community College of Denver, I often work with students from far-off places in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.  I sometimes wonder if each of these students have their own story to tell about leaving the world they were born into then and the world they live in now.   Even loud-mouth politicians could learn a thing or two from them.

 

Scholarly Response: “Story Time”

Recently, I was skimming through On Wisconsin, the alumni magazine from my alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  In addition to articles about noteworthy alumni, there are often stories about professors and students conducting innovating research projects on the Madison campus.  One such article, “Story Time”, detailed a unique storytelling project involving UW students and military veterans at a Madison-area Veterans Administration (VA) hospital.  The project, called “My Life, My Story“, was initiated in 2013 by a UW School of Medicine and Public Health psychiatry resident and has since been adopted by six other VA facilities across the country.  The program gives veterans an opportunity to tell their stories about what they have gone through in military and civilian life.  A volunteer, usually a medical or literature student, acts as an interviewer and writes a 1000-word story.  This personal testomony enables a health care provider, such as a VA doctor or nurse, to better understand the background of a patient.  The article gives some enlightening examples of patients telling their stories and students commenting on the significance of the project.

It’s a remarkable how storytelling can help people discuss about the adversity they have encountered in their lives.  In cases such as this, it enables medical professionals to look at something other than a chart to get a better picture of a patient’s history.  Especially if a patient has put his or her life in harm’s way.

Digital Story Critique: “1st Squad, 3rd Platoon”

From time to time, I’ve listened to episodes of StoryCorps that have aired on NPR.  The simplicity of personal stories using audio recordings is remarkable.  At times, you can hear the emotional undercurrents as people discuss pivotal moments that have forever altered the course of their lives.  A number of these audio recordings have been supplemented with  animation.  To be honest, I’ve often associated animation with comedy genres (“Looney Tunes”, “The Simpsons”, “Futurama”, etc), but I was amazed how the animation work done by the Rauch Brothers complimented the adversity story “1st Squad, 3rd Platoon.” This reflection is told by Marine Lance Cpl. Travis Williams, who talks about how he’s been able to cope with life after a roadside bomb killed all his team members in Iraq back in 2005.  For this critique, I judged the digital story on the following assessment traits (as discussed by Jason Ohler in his book Digital Storytelling in the Classroom:

  • Story – Williams unfolds his experience in chronological order, which gives the viewer time to absorb his story.  The narration feels genuine.  I could hear the sadness and struggle in Williams’s voice as he talks about returning to an empty barracks after the roadside bomb killed his comrades.  Fortunately, the story ends on a positive note as Williams admits he is finding ways to reflect on his good fortune and cherishing every day in civilian life.
  • Originality, voice, creativity – In addition to Williams’s earnest narration, the Rauch Brothers animation’s adds visual context to the digital story.  The expressions on the faces of the characters match the tone of Williams’s voice over.  At no point did I feel the visual element draw my attention away from his narration of tragic events.  The StoryCorps project producers (Lizzie Jacobs, Maya Millett & Mike Rauch) deserve a lot of credit for giving Williams the room to tell his story.
  • Media grammar – Excellent.  Having working in television production, I could recognize the stellar production quality of the entire StoryCorps production team.  Williams’s audio recording was crisp, clean, and rich in detail.  In one instance, I swear I could almost see him crying by listening to the narration.  The video and sound editing are smooth and efficient.  There is some nice instrumental music that adds to the tone of the story.  As I stated earlier, the animation by the Rauch Brothers was impressive.

This was a very emotional story to absorb.  It took me a while to condense my thoughts in a blog review.  Still, I plan on coming back to StoryCorps to check out more personal reflections about people dealing with adversity in their lives.

 

 

Weekly Reflection: Getting Farther Away From the Campfire

256px-Campfire_Pinecone(Photo by Emeldil at English Wikipedia [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

In chapter 3 of Digital Storytelling: Capturing Lives, Creating Community, author Joe Lambert discusses a live stage project of one of his collaborators, Dana Atchley.  In 1990, Atchley began performing a one-person show in his San Fransisco studio called Next Exit,  a guided tour of his life traveling across the United States.  Part of his performance involved a campfire, or more specifically, the image of a campfire on a video monitor.  Atchley would tell stories about meeting “offbeat Americans” and interact with video segments projected on a backdrop.   This metaphor made me think of the times I would be with fellow campers, camp councilors or friends and there would be an exchange of stories near the fire.

In recent years, however, I feel that I am getting farther and farther away from that friendly circle of warmth.  I’ve worked a variety of temporary, seasonal, and part-time jobs since getting laid off from my full-time employer in 2010.  What’s worse, that was the third layoff from a full-time job I’ve had to endure since 2003.  During this time of economic uncertainly, my relationships with work colleagues and friends have weakened.  The shame of not having a steady job makes a person withdraw.  I have two part-time jobs now, but there are semester-dependent positions through higher education institutions.  Come mid-May, I may have to find some other steady work as a source of income.  This employment instability, constant job-searching and feeling of embarrassment has kept me from coming closer to the campfire.

To a certain extent, being enrolled in graduate school has improved my self-esteem and given me a better idea of a possible career track.  The total online nature (and dramatic lack interpersonal engagement) of the Information and Learning Technologies program, however, is giving me some off-campus blues.  WordPress blogging, Twitter exchanges and Zoom meetings are useful, but there’s still a great distance between the “camper” and the “campfire”.  Plus, it seems I am not the only person in my INTE5340 class that has succumbed to disengagement.

Truly, I do want to get closer to the campfire and engage again with my friends, former coworkers and current students.  My fear is that even if I talk, will anyone really listen?  I hope so.