Category: Digital storytelling

Tech Geeks Help with Constant Changes in Digital Tools

valibrarian

For 14 years now, I’ve been working with machinima in Second Life and other virtual worlds. I have always been disappointed in my video quality because getting those screen settings set up correctly has been troublesome! First, the viewer has to record with a good graphics card. Then, you have to capture the video in the highest possible quality. And, finally, you have to have the correct settings in the video editor.

Here is my very first machinima recorded at ISTE Island back in 2007. My daughter met me inworld and I took a shot of her crossing a bridge before heading over to the library (what became the Community Virtual Library). Okay- I know it is unwatchable quality! But the memory of that first capture is so vivid and real to me, I just want to keep it in the archives!

Learning to work and help learners in virtual environments requires juggling multiple programs. It is difficult to keep up with the format changes, especially as video has improved with HD and formats (mp4, etc). Having a PLC (professional learning community) is essential and a colleague just took the time to share screens with me and go through all my settings! Thanks so much, Sitearm.

Juggling Multiple Applications and Screens

Sitearm working in Virbela and sharing tools

Searching for Help Online

During our screensharing session, Sitearm and I looked up free open source editing software (Shotcut) on Selby Evan’s blog because we found the problem with my poor quality machinima. I was using an old outdated version of Adobe Premiere that is incompatible with the higher quality video available now. Free open source software tools may not have all the “bells and whistles” of professional software, but hey- the price is right!

Machimima Quality Comparison

Take a look at these two versions (raw footage) of our recent CVL tour to 3rdRock at the immersive storybook Alice in Wonderland.
First, the video exported using Adobe Premiere (720×480) at 30 fps. Scroll to minute 2:14 or so to get a good comparison.

Wonderland Version 1

Now- compare with this higher quality version of Wonderland from Shotcut (1920×1080) at 60 fps. Scroll to minute 1:19 to see the same scene as the one above.

Wonderland Version 2

Shooting, editing, and sharing machinima can be time-consuming and I do not consider myself a professional. However, archiving educational experiences in virtual environments is important in order to document the potential they hold for learning in the future. Digital archival has become essential for us all- both professionally and personally- as much of life is spent online.

We can share tips and tricks on youtube as tutorials are plentiful. There is no way we can individually keep up with all the changing technology tools available but developing a PLC (or a PLN if you prefer to call it a professional/personal learning network) is sure a big help. Visit the Community Virtual Library if finding colleagues in virtual learning environments would benefit your teaching, learning or life.

Through the #VR Looking-Glass to Wonderland

valibrarian

A group of us (librarians and educators at the Community Virtual Library) visited the virtual world of 3rdRock to experience Alice in Wonderland in a 3D immersive environment. Wow! This was not only reading but entering the book!

A librarian at the University of Hawaii created this immersive storybook complete with various scenes from the story with passages of text. Thinking about how children (as well as readers/learners of all ages) will experience literature in the future was a fascinating topic during our tour. Talk about metaliteracy! We enjoyed conversing at the Mad Hatter’s tea party!

While we were fully immersed in the 3D storytelling, we were not wearing virtual reality headsets. Virtual worlds are viewed on a desktop and we believe they are part of virtual reality. Desktop VR allows for many productive tools built into the interface and is less uncomfortable than the “trapped feeling” I get with my VR headset. Of course, as VR evolves, it may become more comfortable. Who knows what the future holds for VR but it may not be ready for young people since research has not been done on how it impacts developing minds. In a virtual world, students could create their own storybook content or develop 3D objects on various subjects. Building in VR currently requires additional programs like Unity or Unreal Engine.

Watching a machinima of our Wonderland virtual field trip does not do is justice! You really need to “be there” inside the story, but this video is meant to archive the event. The group started out in Kitely at the CVL Hypergrid Resource Library and then jumped over to 3rdRock to visit Wonderland as part of the ACRL Virtual World Interest Group which is part of the American Library Association.

Personal Branding: a Part of Digital Citizenship

valibrarian

There is no escaping the concept of personal branding! Anyone who participates in networked culture (and only the rare hermit doesn’t) develops digital footprints. The tricky part is understanding how to separate your “public self” from your “private self”. A product, service, knowledge or expertise in a subject holds value when people need or want it. Yet, without a clear focus on the value of what one contributes to others, a personal brand is nothing but self-promotion, if not full-blown narcissism.

Way back in 2009 (before influencers completely overtook marketing), Twenge and Campbell warned us about The Narcissism Epidemic as everyone started using social media to share their “beautiful life experiences” and parents raised children with praise about how “unique and special” they are as individuals.

The authors suggested, “With cultural-level narcissism accelerating, many people with merely average levels of narcissism are getting sucked into the maelstrom of vanity, materialism, and entitlement'” (2009, p. 282).

Twenge, J. and Campbell, W. (2009). The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement. First Free Press: New York.

Forbes writer Caroline Castrillon says, ” The term ‘branding’ used to be reserved for businesses, but with the advent of social sites and the gig economy, personal branding has become fundamental”.  Without understanding of digital citizenship in relationship to online identity, an individual may leave a very messy trail behind them.

The importance of a personal responsibility for an authentic online identity which balances ethical behavior with participation in networked culture is critical to our future. How to instill this responsibility in digital citizens at an early age is a concern for us all. A digital identity develops in numerous online platforms including social media profiles, icons, apps, content curation and avatars within virtual communities.

Two college educators (Library/Information Science and MultiMedia/Graphic Art fields) explored the creation of avatars as personal brands in a research study using hermeneutical phenomenology to tell their own professional development stories. Through the use of an avatar, the educators facilitate learning across distance in sustainable immersive learning environments such as virtual libraries, museums or historical simulations. A recognizable persona helped to create trust across virtual communities.

Four essential elements for the creation of professional avatars emerged from the stories examined: 1) authenticity, 2) purpose, 3) persistent embodied presence, and 4) personal responsibility for digital citizenship (Hill and Brock-Richmond, 2015, p. 21).


Hill, V. and Brock-Richmond, R., (2015). Exemplifying Professional Avatar Creation through Hermeneutic Phenomenology. Journal of Virtual Studies, (6) 3, 7-23.
Valibrarian and Zinnia (educators as avatars)

Avoiding the pitfalls of personal branding

Each of us has a personal journey through life that creates a dynamic story and digital storytelling provides new ways to share stories that provide insight, encourage empathy, uplift us or give us a new perspective. Yet, problems arise when narcissism overtakes the contribution an individual can make to the community.

Today’s culture admires power, wealth, fame, and above all “lots of followers”! We are often impressed by videos that “go viral”. Social media tends to encourage viewing the moments of our lives as opportunities to create an edited performance in which each of us plays the starring role. Perhaps we need to revisit some old-fashioned concepts like humility and duty. Maybe we should think about a few points that would combat the pitfalls of personal branding:

  • I am not the most important person in the world
  • I am not not all that special
  • I have a duty to help others
  • I have a responsibility to contribute
  • I need to have empathy for others
  • The thousands of platforms where “I have a voice” do not guarantee that I have something to say

Stories and Art in 3D: Wander the Watercolours

valibrarian

Artists and writers have new media opportunities to explore with digital tools.  For example, artist CK (Creakay Ballyhoo in the virtual world of Second Life) created watercolour (spelled that way in her part of the world!) paintings in 3D to illustrate a story presented in a virtual world.  Read the story of a little girl on a watercolour wander.

A group of educators, the Virtual Pioneers, take virtual field trips to simulations in Second Life.  A recent trip allowed the pioneers to wander through CK’s story paintings.  This machinima shows the educators inside A Watercolour Wander.