home

=Recording Stories Using Web 2.0 Technologies=

In the past I have given middle school students the assignment of interviewing a family member. The interview was to be recorded using a digital video camera, edited by the student and burned to a dvd for family archives. My purpose at the time was to give these students a real life experience with using video cameras and editing software. Students were enthusiastic about using the video cameras and they enjoyed seeing how titles and special effects could be added to their movies but the project often fell on its face when it came to doing an interview especially since it required talking to a family member. I had a seventh grade boy tell me that he didn't like anyone in his family and would not talk to them. (This was especially stunning since I knew what a wonderful caring family he had.) We talked and finally agreed that since he did like his family dog, he could interview the dog. This worked well since my goal was that he learn to use the camera and the editing program. Another student did the voice over of the dog and it became a class favorite out of all the projects. However, the problem of doing family oral histories with middle school students still haunts me. I have done some research on digital storytelling and can see that I only prepared my students for the technology skills. This unit is my strategy for making the storytelling the focus of the project and putting the technology in the background.

Day One: Examples of storytelling from Story Corps. Discuss what questions made these interviews hold our interest. Give students time to explore the other interviews on Story Corps.

Day Two: Whom to Interview Make a list of family members you might interview (may include family friends too.) (In some cases, students may want to interview individuals with certain backgrounds for example, war veterans, people with careers that interest them, senior citizens. Allow this?) Take home the letter to parents and talk to your parents about whom to interview.

Day Three: Skype with an authority on oral history. Class prepares questions and determines which will be used in the discussion. Why have oral histories recorded?

Day Four: Your Questions. Each student prepares his/her own list of questions for the interview.

Day Five: Overview of available equipment and how to use it. Introduction to the various web 2.0 applications available.

The next work will be allowed to stretch out over a couple of months as students arrange time and place to do their interviews. Days will be set aside occasionally for lab time in the computer as students edit and make copies of their work. A final due date will be established. A celebration of the work done will take place on a day when students present their interviews to their classmates and staff. Families and interview partners could also be invited to attend. Each student will send a letter to their interview partner thanking them for the talk and enclosing a copy of the interview on dvd, cd or a link to where the interview is posted on the internet.