The Power of Digital Storytelling
Here is an excerpt from Fritz’s post at Digital Storyteller about a recent conference he attended:
Two toolboxes
The NPPA News Video Workshop, for the last 49 years, has brought the concepts of visual storytelling to news photojournalists.
The reason I am here is to build two conceptual toolboxes: the first will be used to tell better visual stories in my lectures and on line teaching. The second toolbox will be used when I teach a graduate seminar in Storytelling in Leadership scheduled for winter term on our campus. Teaching storytelling on a medical campus is a skill that will help current and future leaders understand was to effect change, improve quality, and guide their organization through the overwhelming challenges they will face in their careers.
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement writes:
“Anyone involved in quality improvement efforts knows that scientific principles are at the center of this work. But even the most evangelical quality engineer will caution that this is only part of the solution. Improvement strategies and measurement tools are most effective when embedded in an organizational cultural that ensures that changes are embraced and sustained. And there is no better means of inspiring cultural change than through the simple craft of telling stories. As Donald Berwick, MD, MPP, puts it, ‘Measurement is important, but it’s the stories behind the numbers that are the most enduring wellspring for change.’”
How this relates to education
Storytelling — and video storytelling — does not supplant the lecture or the textbook. But it can add emphasis, pacing, and sequencing to learning. Done well, a visual story can lead a student to understand and synthesize ideas. it can illustrate concepst in ways a text book can not. The key, for the educator, is to learn the craft of storytelling first, then move to the digital media and learn how to adapt the storytelling techniques to the medium.
While there are limits to cameras like the Flip, the price point of $200 makes HD video affordable in the classroom. The techniques taught here can apply to the simple Flip as well as the $60,000 cameras. When learners see how effective storytelling can be, they can then be better prepared to use storytelling and the techniques with the professional equipment brought by their AV departments, communication firms, or local television outlets.
Read the whole post at http://www.digitalstoryteller.com/2009/04/09/nppa-news-video-workshop/.
