Week 4: 2/12 Exploring Digital Image Apps & Digital Resources for Storytelling (Uncle Ry and The Moon)

I used flickr as my digital image resource. It was easy to search for images and there were some really terrific options. I found a few I got excited about because they expressed the emotion and tone of the story in my mind. For me, the story has an unexpected twist-- It is the robber who is without power not the man who's dwelling is invaded by a stranger. It is the robber who runs away thinking the man in the hut is crazy. The story also seems a bit melancholy. The author chose simple yet descriptive words to depict a lonely picture. This man lives simply in a small hut only owning a few possessions. It sounds as though he is poor. I struggled to find all of the images I felt would best tell the story as I pictured it. I took my time and kept searching until I found those I thought would work well enough. In the future I will use multiple resources if I struggle. In this case, I was determined to use this site exclusively.

When I sat down to create my product, I explored Thinglink, Voicethread, and FotoFlexer. In the end I decided to work with FotoFlexor and flickr because I liked the way each allowed me to annotate, narrate and design my story elements using photography. In all, I have a total of six frames that tell the story. Below is the first frame (and google docs link). I chose this image because the small house looks isolated in the hills. This is the setting I envisioned as I read. An ominous sky with dark and  heavy low-lying clouds. A simple house nestled on the crest of a hill. It looks isolated and meager.

I like the idea of using a narrative and having students present what the story looks like to them, individually. An activity like this is a great way to reinforce tone, mood and setting within a text. It is another way for students to connect to a character, the setting, etc. CCSS ELA-Literacy.R16.7 allows students to integrate information presented in different media or formats as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue. In addition, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.2 is another standard that allows students to interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study. By using CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.4  students can present claims, findings, sequence ideas logically while using images as visual description. This is a great way to lead students into discussion about personal findings and meaning from their own perspective. This is a great way for students to compare and contrast information.

Uncle Ry and The Moon (via flickr & FotoFlexer)
Uncle Ry and The Moon (via Voicethread)