A preliminary study on some elements of making digital stories

Discover the beauty in life, study and work. Small stories and big principles, be a person with stories.

We often find that educators, celebrities, and leaders of various countries are very good at telling stories. They often use small stories with sincere feelings to explain the big truths. This makes people emotionally integrated and no longer strangers to each other, producing a great publicity effect. And that's the power of story.

Today, the high-tech information age has arrived. Using digital technology to tell stories, so-called digital stories, have entered daily life, entered the front line of education and teaching, and been adopted by teachers and students. In teaching activities, use multimedia technology to display the thoughts, growth, actions, touching deeds, etc. of the characters you want to express. Use this as story clues and add media elements such as text, images, and music to create a process of visually reproducing the characters' storylines. It’s a digital story. It is the deepening of traditional story form, the essence of classroom teaching, and a very important educational method that is indispensable for teachers and students. It puts a new spin on traditional storytelling. Although digital storytelling is short in production, it uses a new form of multimedia, which turns storytelling into an art and can easily arouse the excitement of teachers and students. As long as we make every touching story carefully and from the heart, I believe it will surely generate a strong life force.

Producing digital stories is similar to writing stories. For example, both excellent characters and events must be perfectly narrated through storytelling, and wisdom and truth must be conveyed through the reproduction of plots to give people To enlighten. The difference is that some media elements such as animation, video, and sound must be added to the digital story to create a visual effect. It is more real and intuitive than paper books, dictation, etc. A digital story is also a story. It contains all the elements of a story, such as time, place, characters, causes and consequences of events. These elements should not be missing. It's just displayed in digital form.

What are the elements of digital storytelling?

For example, the stories to be discovered must be touching stories in life and work. The deeds do not matter whether they are big or small, and the characters do not matter whether they are male, female, old or young, but the material must come from true feelings. The story must be moving and typical, and it can serve as a demonstration and have guiding significance for readers. Usually we must be good at observing and discovering the touching things around us. To write good stories, we must be thoughtful people.

Having a good subject matter also requires artistic creation of the story, which includes the writing of the story text and the design of the resources used when making digital stories. Generally speaking, in terms of writing, the number of words for a number is about three to five hundred words. Don't make long statements, and strive to be vivid and concise.

According to the content of the story and the elements to be displayed, select pictures, audio and video, and modified text that are closely related to the theme of the story to make full preparations for production. These are just the most basic. Digital processing of digital stories is also required, and efforts are made to make digital stories operable, systematic, interesting, practical and scientific.

The value of digital storytelling lies not only in the viewing effect of the image, but also in the entire creation process. If teachers, students and even parents can participate and explore together, they can experience the fun. At the same time, the creation of digital stories is conducive to the improvement of teachers and students' information technology and literacy, and enhances their aesthetic concepts and moral cultivation. Digital resource construction also provides a way for teachers to grow professionally. Teachers and students get to learn from each other through entertaining and entertaining.

Let’s take an example and introduce the Sha High School Library to readers in the form of digital stories

The steps are as follows:

1. "Story of the Library" text The description is as follows:

Our school library was founded in 1914 and is well-known for its elegant and profound cultural heritage and inspiring teaching. In his memoirs in his later years, Mr. Wang Fuchang, my country's famous nuclear physicist and the father of the atomic bomb, fondly recalled studying at this school. Mr. Wu Xiaobang, the founder of my country's new dance art and former chairman of the Chinese Dancers Association, also served as an English teacher in this school. In 1992, the school accepted and passed the provincial key middle school inspection. In the same year, the school built a new comprehensive building and moved the library into it. In 2000, the school built a new library according to the overall construction plan. In September 2000, the library was moved to the new location.

In October of the same year, the library was rated as a provincial first-level library. In the past two years, the old campus has been upgraded and renovated, and new construction has begun as a supporting library.

The new library is located in the southeast of the school and is a modern four-story building. The current library is divided into three areas and eleven rooms: the management area, the student borrowing area and the staff borrowing area. The space is spacious and the environment is elegant, making it a good place for teachers and students to study.

In the years to come, the library will continue to uphold the tradition and serve the purpose of education and teaching wholeheartedly, providing help for teachers and students to answer questions and acquire knowledge.

2. Editing Story Script

Three time points illustrate the changes of the Provincial Shagao Library; the memoirs of the main characters Wang Fuchang and Wu Xiaobang; modern architecture and internal display; teachers and students Display of reading scenes; administrator’s style; display of students’ reading activities.

3. Digital adoption

⒈Pictures of the Shagao Library site, focusing on the modern library and the display pictures of the eleven departments;

⒉Photos of teachers and students borrowing books in the library;

⒊A collection of reading quotes from teachers and students;

⒋The production of MV for reading reflections;

⒌Displaying books Pictures of various activities held by the library, certificates of awards received, etc.;

⒍Introduction to previous librarians and their quotes;

⒎Introduction to the importance of reading activities, etc.

4. Production Tools

①PPT2003

②Special effects processing of pictures and text, artistic processing of pictures

③Use of PPT production skills Make necessary beautifications for each slide. Such as switching, custom animation, adding effects (entry, emphasis, exit, action path), etc.

④Insert background music. In this example, you can select three parts, namely classical, elegant, and modern music. Moreover, elements such as music background, text and picture explanations must be properly distributed.

⑤Using the rehearsal timing in slide design, you can automatically play the PPT, and the total time is about five minutes.

At this point, a beautiful digital story of the school library is completed.

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Digital storytelling is a new way of learning and expression

Abstract: Use Digital technological means to tell stories, as a new teaching tool and teaching method, have received more and more attention. This article introduces the emergence and development of digital stories in foreign countries, and takes the "Charm of the World Expo·The Beauty of Teachers' Morality"-Shanghai Female Teachers' Story Contest as an example to focus on analyzing the key points of the production and evaluation of digital stories.

Keywords: teaching methods, digital stories, story contest

In today's changing times, with the rapid development of network and information technology, we are already in the ocean of information. The amount of information is large and easy to obtain, and its value is correspondingly reduced. Whoever can organize information, make it contextual, and express it emotionally is extremely important. This is the sense of story. Storytelling is an ancient art, and like other art forms, it can also rely on modern technology to keep pace with the times, and digital storytelling has emerged.

1. The origin and development of digital storytelling

In the early 1990s, Dana Winslow AtChley, as the pioneer of digital storytelling, I used a computer to combine old photos from the past with my own narration to create an autobiographical short film, which was well received by everyone. Subsequently, Atchley and his friend Lambert began to help others narrate their own personal digital stories. More and more people began to invest in this form of creation, and the first digital video game was established in San Francisco. A digital media center, which is now the Center for Digital Storytelling (CDS). At the end of November 2002, representatives from 8 countries and 25 states in the United States gathered together to establish the Digital Storytelling Association (Digital Storytelling Association). Since then, digital stories have quickly become popular in countries around the world.

The author believes that digital stories are produced by combining the traditional art of storytelling with multimedia technology (subtitles, pictures, audio, video, animation, etc.), and are provided to people in digital form for self-expression, communication and learning. The Center for Digital Storytelling CDS summarizes the seven elements of digital storytelling: (1) main point; (2) a dramatic question;

(3) emotional story content; (4) from your " "The gift of sound"; (5) the power of music; (6) the "economical" handling of various elements; (7) the ebb and flow of the story's rhythm. Digital stories are different from video shorts. The scope of video shorts only stays within the scope of video works, and there are no high requirements for storytelling. The most important feature of digital stories is storytelling. It is not just a work in the form of a video, but also a production Authors can use any digital form to express their inner thoughts.

At present, the main form of digital stories at home and abroad is a 2-5 minute multimedia work produced by an individual, which integrates pictures, subtitles, video, audio, animation and other forms of media, and can be uploaded to the Internet for widespread dissemination. and communication. In the field of education, digital storytelling, as a new way of communication and learning, plays a positive role in cultivating students' expression ability, problem-solving ability, creativity, media literacy and the development of students' multiple intelligences. Burmark (2004) conducted a study and found that integrating text with visual images can enhance and promote students' understanding of the content. The University of Houston in the United States has established a digital storytelling education application website to provide teachers and students in K-12 and higher education schools with information and cases on how to create and use digital stories in teaching. There are mainly three types of digital story cases provided: personal or perspective stories, stories used for reporting or teaching, and stories about historical events.

2. Production and evaluation of digital stories

From April 20, 2010 to September 6, 2010, the Shanghai Women’s Working Committee of the Education System and the Shanghai Education Union Female Teachers The Workers' Committee organized the "Charm of the World Expo·The Beauty of Teachers' Ethics - The Story of Female Teachers in Shanghai" PPT design competition. The works were required to be digital stories within 5 minutes. A total of 97 works were collected in this competition, and 35 were finally selected. Excellent works, and 19 outstanding works were selected for exhibition review. For this digital storytelling competition, the required production tool is PowerPoint.

(1) Production of digital stories

The digital story production process used by the author is the basic procedure provided by the Digital Storytelling Initiative (DSI, Digital Storytelling Initiative): finding stories from experiences (Finding the Experience), organizing the story (Telling the Story), creating the work (Creating the Piece) and publishing the work (Publishing the Work), etc., and making certain changes based on the author's own production experience.

1. Find stories from experiences

Everyone has his own life experience, but how to express it using storytelling techniques is a science. Regarding the difference between stories and facts, Professor Li Jiahou gave a typical example, "The queen died, and soon after, the king also died. This is a fact; the queen died, and the king was very sad because of it. , became ill over a long period of time, and famous doctors from all over the country were helpless about this disease. On a stormy night, the king also died of illness. This is a story. "It can be clearly felt that the story is emotional. It is more powerful than mere factual telling. The experience of exploration and discovery can help us identify potential story points, and then focus the story on a specific point to unfold the story. The outstanding work "Ode to the Nightingale" tells the story of Mr. Zhou Xiaoyan, a tenured professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. This work went through several drafts, and the final version shows the audience in poetic language how much Mr. Zhou treats his students, his music career, and his motherland. Infinitely hot love.

When describing his feelings about the production, the creator of the story said that he reads Mr. Zhou’s deeds and early reports and introductions every day. There are many stories and details that cannot be fully displayed, but precisely because of the process of studying Mr. Zhou’s history, The creation was completed based on a little in-depth understanding of the protagonist

2. Organizing Stories

After fully understanding the story behind the digital story, you need to think about and organize your story well.

(1) Design and production of storyboards

Whether using PowerPoint or using software such as Movie Make, the first important step is to require digital story creators to design and produce storyboards , used to design the flow of the story and the arrangement of materials. The article provides a story design template, as shown in Figure 1:

Figure 1. Digital story production storyboard

In the process of creating digital stories, creating a storyboard is important and important. Another necessary link, it can visually and intuitively display the visual effect of your work after it is completed. The storyboard is like a visual "map" that guides the story creator to organize the materials you can see and hear from the beginning to the end of the story. It serves as a guide for editing digital stories, making it easier for you to think and arrange various things intuitively. Materials (photos, audio, video, and other forms of artwork). Otherwise, you will stop in the middle of the production process and frantically search for the visualization material you want, which not only wastes time but also interrupts your thinking.

Finally, it should be noted that the design of the storyboard is not static. It is just a draft. You may have to constantly revise and redesign during the process of making digital stories. The key lies in the content of the story. Creator.

(2) Choice of storytelling techniques

The most important thing in telling a story is to grasp the main line of the story. For example, the excellent work "Ode to the Nightingale" uses "Nightingale" as the image throughout the story; the excellent work "The Career Taking Root Downward" uses a pair of cloth shoes as the main line to highlight the protagonist's steps one after another on the road to the development of early childhood education. "footprint".

A good ending design also has unique artistic charm. For example, the ending design of "Following the Dream" says, "When everyone is watching this PPT, she has already started a new voyage - the expedition to the North Pole", which to a certain extent conforms to O. Henry's ending technique and gives the audience a sense of spirituality. The *** on the top chirps.

3． Create the work

After the preparation work is completed, it is easy to create the work. The producer follows the guidelines of the storyboard and uses software (PowerPoint, etc.) to integrate various materials and insert pictures, audio, video, etc. Materials are produced into complete digital story works.

4. Publish works

After the digital story works are completed, they can be used for self-appreciation, peer exchange and reference, work display and sharing, etc. Producers and organizers can publish and save the works according to different uses and requirements. For example, the works of this competition were saved into PowerPoint 97-2003 version software for on-site evaluation. In a theater environment, the female faculty and staff of the Shanghai education system received an education of love and were moved at the same time. After the public evaluation, the organizers will burn the outstanding works into DVDs and distribute them to various schools and departments for sharing, exchange and learning.

(2) Evaluation of digital stories

In conjunction with this competition, the author participated in the design of the digital story evaluation rubric, mainly from the aspects of storytelling, artistry, technology and

Evaluated in four aspects of innovation. As shown in Figure 2:

Figure 2 Digital Story Evaluation Rubric

A good story is the key to the success of your work. Therefore, storytelling has the highest weight in the evaluation rubric. In addition to objectively evaluating digital stories from the four dimensions of storytelling, artistry, technology and innovation, the most important thing is actually the subjective feelings of the audience. Therefore, the author believes that it is also necessary to add an overall evaluation column to combine subjective and objective evaluations. This makes our evaluation more reasonable. The most important thing about digital stories is the expression of emotions. The story that can best attract the audience and arouse the audience's excitement should be a successful digital story.

3. Digital stories need to be redesigned

The "Charm of the World Expo·The Beauty of Teachers' Morality - The Story of Female Teachers in Shanghai" PPT design competition covers 28 universities and 39 schools in Shanghai For primary and secondary schools, it is currently the most widely organized digital story competition in China with the widest coverage and the most successful organization. Through this competition, the level of artistic design of PPT by front-line teachers in Shanghai has been improved as a whole. For the first time, digital stories have been truly promoted and practiced in the field of education. At the same time, it has praised Shanghai in a novel way of expression. The lofty teaching ethics of outstanding female teachers have given employees in the Shanghai education system a spiritual baptism and an education of love, which has played a certain role in improving the overall quality of teachers. Although some works have reached a high level in terms of story content organization, PPT structure, picture art design, music processing and PPT technology, there are still some shortcomings in the works collected in this competition: the focus of the story is not prominent, and there is a lack of let-down. Theme that touches people; the accumulation of stereotyped and empty rhetoric, turning digital stories into work summary reports; the protagonist of the story is described as "tall, big, and complete", lacking a sense of reality; the pictures, background music, narration, and animation are unreasonable Application has become an interfering factor, etc. These problems need to be studied and solved in future practice. Postscript:

The "Shanghai Outstanding Female Teachers' Story Contest" is the first digital story competition with the largest scale and significant effect held in China. I participated in the entire process of the competition and also participated in the design. and revised some excellent works. In the competition works, through real and touching digital stories, we can feel the greatness and extraordinaryness of female teachers in Shanghai, although they are all standing on the front line of ordinary positions. As mentioned in this article, this competition seems to have lost the flavor of a competition. It is more of a love education and a spiritual baptism for the staff of the Shanghai education system. I write this article to record this competition and also to promote digital stories. I hope that front-line teachers can use digital stories, a new way of learning and expression, in their education and teaching practice. Education is not only the transfer of knowledge and skills, but more importantly, the cultivation of emotions, attitudes and values.