Email 8

Email 8: ASP Digital storytelling course - the days ahead
(sent 29 August 2014)

Getting your story to me 

1.     The easiest way, when you only have one story to send, is to email it to me.

2.     OR...you can share your story with me easily in Dropbox even if you haven't joined Dropbox via Dbinbox.com.  Dbinbox.com  is a marvelous little Dropbox application that allows others to send their files to your Dropbox account regardless of whether or not they have their own Dropbox account. Dbinbox.com accepts files that are below 50MB in size. I have written a blog post on the course blog showing you how to do this. 

3.     OR...you can send your story to me via Google Drive. It is also easy to share your file with me using Google Drive. There are several ways of doing this and I have outlined two of those ways on thecourse blog

Blog posts last week

Last week was the final week of the course and it was an optional week where those who were interested in doing so were given the option of adding different elements to their stories such as narration and music.  We looked at ways of presenting the stories online and even converting the story to a video and posting it online. 

·  Week 5.1 A recap of Week 4

·  Week 5.2 The week ahead

·  Week 5.3 Uploading presentations to the web

·  Week 5.4 Webinar today

·  Week 5.5 How to convert a presentation to a video

·  Week 5.6 Creating a video with a free application called Screencast-o-matic

Just to recap...

I'll be in contact with you until the project officially comes to an end at end of September and into October. Here is a recap of requirements:

1. The stories must be written in a presentation application such as PowerPoint or similar and must contain a Title page, an End page and 6  -  16 'chunks' or paragraphs each with an illustration. (If the stories are written in another language they need to have an English translation sent in on a separate Word document.) 

2. The stories can be written on one's own template or you can use the African Storybook template found in Downloads on the blog 

3. There should be a Creative Commons license copied and pasted under the author's name as shown in Week 4.4 The six Creative Commons licenses in a copy and paste format.

4. Stories must reach us by 30th September or before if possible. With regard to your students writing we can accept stories in October as well.

5. For a certificate from the African Storybook Project one needs to provide an illustrated story suitable for a beginner reader according to the Levels on the website following the guidelines provided in 'Week 2.6 Webinar recording and downloadable presentations' where Lorato's presentation entitled 'Beginning Readers and Project Levelling Guidelines' However Lorato did say in the webinar that if you feel more comfortable writing for Level 3 or 4 you should continue to do so.

6. We'd love you to get your CLASS writing, if you are a teacher with a class. 

7. We'd love YOU to continue writing for the African Storybook Project! 

8. Please, please, PLEASE send us photos of you writing, your class writing and any little experiences with regard to your participation in the DigitalStorytelling course that I can convert into blogposts to use on the course blog. I have placed two examples on the blog from last year's participants. 

Blogposts on the course blog for this week

·  Week 6.1 A number of options showing how to get your story to us

·  Week 6.2 Just to recap...

·  Week 6.3 Example of a report back from a writer in 2013, Sue Holmes, the librarian at Grantleigh Schools

·  Week 6.4 Example of a teacher report back, writing with a class in 2013 from Nikki Steyn from Crawford Preparatory School in Pretoria

·  Week 6.5 Record of stories received

Thank you so much for joining us on this digital storytelling venture! I will still be communicating with you regularly until the course proper comes to an end at the end of September and into October. Lorato and I are waiting in anticipation for your stories...

Warm regards

Fiona and Lorato