Email 3

Email 3: Week one activities Tuesday 22nd July 2014

Dear All

Hello there again! This is the third email of the Digital Storytelling and the African Storybook Project course which started yesterday today via thecourse blog. It is great to have you on board. By now you will hopefully have joined the Facebook group. Remember,if you are not keen to join Facebook  you can always comment on the blog. 

Introductions
Did you look through some of the introductions on the course blog? It is always interesting to see who else is here! Thank YOU for joining.

This week’s activities
For the rest of the week I plan to write a few information posts about:
a) Thinking about Digital Storytelling – what exactly is it.
b) Creative commons licensing. Often when we use digital writing on the Internet we don’t think about licensing anything you place online, but it is actually VERY important to know a little bit about how it all works.
b) Taking a look around the African Storybook website

Webinar on Thursday this week
The course is supported by optional webinars each week, and you will see the webinar programme each week  on the blog as well as in this email (plus the reminder email I will send out on Wednesday of each week.)  . A webinar usually around 15 - 30 minutes in length.  Lorato and I are going to present the webinar on Thursdays at 3:15pm (GMT+2) Remember that if you can’t make it to the webinar the recording with the presentation will be placed on the blog for you to listen to in your own time. Of course, if you can make it to a webinar you can chat to the others via  chatbox, and ask and answer questions.

Thursday 3:15pm -3:45pm
Meeting Name:  Let’s look around the African Storybook project (Lorato) and learn how to add a Creative Commons License to our stories (Fiona)  

Summary: Let’s look around the African Storybook website  to see what they are looking for in stories (Lorato). But, what is the deal when we post information online? Can anybody use it? Is it still mine if someone uses it? We look at the licensing supplied by Creative Commons and see how to apply it. It will also show the free licensing we will use for our digital stories.
When: Thursday 24th July at 3:15 PM
Duration: 15-30 minutes
To join the meeting: http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/digitalwriting/

All you have to do is click on the link and you will be taken to a sign in page of Adobe Connect.  If it is your first time on Adobe Connect you will be asked to check your computer to see if it has an add-in installed – and if you don’t you will be taken through the process. Thereafter you sign in as a guest with your name and you join us. You can chat in the chat box but can unfortunately not chat verbally unless I give you microphone rights. Our Adobe Connect webinar sponsorship allows 25 attendees – but as I mentioned everything will be available for you to listen to in your own time.

The week’s tasks
This week is more of an information week giving a bit of background which will support digital storytelling such as the licensing issues. However, there will be a short task for you. We would really like you to add a reflection on what you have learned in the Facebook or on the blog. This helps us know where everyone is at. The African Storybook team is eager to monitor our experiences of the process of learning about digital storytelling. You are quite at liberty to say that your week has been too busy, you had Internet problems or whatever you like! If however you would prefer to email me your comment instead of having it posted on the blog that is also acceptable.   

Certificate
At the end of the course you will receive a Certificate of Completion if the requirements have been met. The main requirements for this course are:
a) A reflection comment each week
b) The submission of a short story for a Level 1 reader following our guidelines

Of course, if you are in the classroom we are very keen for you to get your class contributing stories. We’d love those by the end of the third term if possible so there is another five weeks or so after the course finishes.

Applications to use on the various devices
I said I would add these in this email but I hope you won’t mind if I leave that till the end of the week.  

Bye for now. Meet you online…

Regards
Fiona