Click through links that were selected to peak your interest. You might also try some of the special topics links within each one of the blog posts on this site. Today's topic is storytelling. You probably noticed as a follower of this site that I am highly interested in digital storytelling. See E-Folklore at http://efolklore.blogspot.com/. Of course, when you teach using digital stories, you bring in sights, sounds, and shapes in addition to the text. The storyteller blends what is inside the head with what is outside the head in your creation of their story. Sometimes students get carried away with personal details that need to be vetted before any public showing is done. Learning what is and what is not acceptable in school culture can be a great learning experience. Teachers must be vigilant to be part of the entire process so stories are a valuable learning experience and not something that students regret at the time or in later years.
Many domains support storytelling and it has become a very popular cultural phenomenon. StoryCorps http://storycorps.net/ is in partnership with National Public Radio in the USA. They encourage people to interview loved ones and other people of interest. The recordings are then put on compact disk and archived in the Library of Congress. The advantage here is that you can preview other examples of recordings and learn about the genre of this type of storytelling.
Another site that had proved valued is Story Arts Online http://www.storyarts.org.
Lesson plans and activities for classroom, library, and outreach are provided on this site as an education resource. The significance of storytelling in curriculum is explored.
This site includes lesson plans and activities for using storytelling in the classroom, a story library, articles about the importance and significance of storytelling as an educational tool, as well as a curriculum ideas exchange to share new ideas. Learn about upcoming storytelling events on this site, too.
Another site is the International Storytelling Center http://www.storytellingfoundation.net. Here you will find information about festivals and resources for storytelling. The site shows how lively the art of digital storytelling has become.
I hope you enjoy exploring these resources and begin to tell your own stories in the process. - K. Smith
