Digital storytelling: Some kind of wonderful

by ALISTAIR BOMPHRAY

A few weeks ago, I blogged about accidentally showing porno to my students while teaching them how to make audio slideshows. Well, it wasn’t actually porno, but it might as well have been.  If you missed that post, you can read it here.

I’m happy to report no pink slip yet. I’m even happier to report the audio slideshow unit went over remarkably well—especially considering its inauspicious beginning.

All ten groups successfully completed a 2-3 minute audio slideshow. They edited the audio with GarageBand, the pictures with Photoshop, and the slideshow with Soundslides. I’ve never seen a roomful of teenagers so disinclined to play weird shooting games, look at Prom dresses, or Google image search Anime characters. These kids were focused.

Here’s one called “Living a Lie” by Carlos Joachin and Lucero Lopez. If your school blocks YouTube, you can see it here.

Tugs at the heartstrings, right? I especially love the laughter at the end—captures her personality perfectly.

The assignment was to tell the story of one person at our school, a la the New York Times’ running feature, One in Eight Million. But Carlos and Lucero’s slideshow is about so much more than Michelle—it’s about a moment in adolescence, beautiful in its awkwardness.

Damn, kids. Y’all choked me up.

I hope Michelle watches it ten years from now and thinks, “Hey, that was me.” Or even further down the line, shows her own seventeen year old daughter.

If you liked what you saw, leave a comment. I’ll pass it along to the filmmakers—it’ll make their day.