Week 1 Reflection: Creating a Personal Story

I did enjoy the assignment this week, even the part about finding a partner.  I was a bit nervous about trying to find a partner on an online class when I really don't know anyone.  It also didn't help that somehow my cohort group got divided into different sections so people I might normally have chosen to work with were off limits.    I posted on the discussion board I needed a partner and someone answered my call for help.  I have worked with them for the duration of the course and have enjoyed the collaboration.    We used Google docs to share ideas and to communicate back and forth:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mQlYlVeaC4y9AenLq_C2RQ1QFJic64jCpAAbs90v5QY/edit

The assignment itself was good as I had to work through storyboard development, script creation, and project execution.  Deciding on the idea was the hardest part for me.  My grandmother was dying at the moment and I thought about a tribute video for her, but that was too close to home at the moment.  My next idea was a video to explain my family of 16 siblings.  I decided to pursue that idea that included my parents finding pictures of the kids at the age they were adopted.   I choose to use Photo Story to create the project as I like the control it gives you to combine images and narration. The story-boarding process helped me focus what type of images were needed and how to keep the script short and sweet.   I am proud of the result of this assignment.

I often work with teachers on creating digital projects for their students.   This assignment helped me reinforce the need for a good idea, a developed storyboard, and a well-written script.  I have used this assignment to talk to teachers about what their students need to create a great digital story.