Digital Story Rough Draft

Media Message Activity

Magazine Cover

1.  Who is the author and what is the purpose?
Miami Harold Home & Design Magazine.  The purpose of the issue is to address colors in the magazine and how you can utilize color choices in your home design and decor.

2. What creative techniques are used to attract and hold attention?
The message on the cover is clear cut and exciting.  The issue is very limited with text on the cover, but the words and image used make it clear what the message behind the issue is about.

The creative techniques used to attract and hold our attention are the bold colors and simple arrangement of the items in the photo.  The selection of color is simple and elegant while also achieving excitement and sass through the bolder color selections.

3.  How might different people understand this message?
Some people viewing this issue may be deterred by the bold color choices and avoid giving it a second glance for that reason, but others who are more adventurous would be likely to pick it up or purchase it for a deeper look at what else the magazine has to offer.

4.  What lifestyles, values, and points of view are represented?

I think the magazine touches on more the upper-class lifestyles that could afford the sleeker name brand furniture and free-of-clutter and junk apartments in the city.  I think the chrome shine and white accents suggest metropolitan business-minded people who thrive on style and luxury.

Or, this could intrigue the thrifty middle-class like myself who would make it a personal challenge to recreate this style and sheek by up cycling current items in my home or making a cheaper version of my own creation.

5.  What is omitted?

Text information is lacking.  Usually magazine covers are overloaded with headings and sneak peaks at what is inside the issue to draw us in.  Here it maintains the sleek look and sophistication with the lack of text and information overload.

References

Hobbs, R. (2011). Research As Authentic Inquiry. Digital and media literacy: connecting culture and classroom (p. 57). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.

It is important for children to understand the importance of color theory in life and the many things they can achieve in fashion through this understanding as well.  Asking students to use color theory in design and fashion demonstrates how they can be unique and creative in their future lives while creating a space that is both relaxing, provides excitement or makes them proud.  In the deconstruction of this magazine cover, we can simply understand what colors and accessories are used to draw us into wanting to open the magazine issue.  I would extend this activity and allow the students time to create a space of their own using art, textiles and furniture that would culminate in a room they would be proud to have designed.  

This activity can be extended into discussions on taste, style, furniture, art, many topics that are relevant and meaningful in the art classroom.  I'm sure this lesson would show them how useful it is to have a grasp of color and how to utilize it in exhibiting ones own personal style in their future homes.  It would be fun!  I love color!

Addressing the seven Elements of Digital Storytelling

Addressing the seven Elements of Digital Storytelling.

Point of View. 

My digital story will be narrated in the first person.  This style is the most fitting for the personal backstories and the memories I will be sharing. 

Dramatic Question. 

Do you know a superhero?  I do!

or

Who wants a butzer?  

Emotional Content. 

The emotional content of my story will be shared in several ways.  I will discuss huge decisions I have made in my life thus far and the devastating losses I have also lived through that have shaped me as a person and helped me grow.  I will narrate my own story.

Soundtrack. My soundtrack will be that of softer/emotional melodies but ones that do not detract from the spoken words and images.

Economy.  This may be my most difficult aspect of the presentation.  I am good at getting to the point for the most part, but sometimes, especially with deeply emotional topics, it can be hard to know where to make edits, but I hope to be successful through practice and input from peers. 

Pacing. My pacing will be natural as I will be sure to practice for perfection.  I will keep it paced appropriate to the needs of the developing stories. 

Author: Laura Funk

Digital Story Name:  A Butzer for me!

Slide 1

From day one on this earth I had unconditional support from one special man.  His name was Richard Herbert Evert, but to me, he was gramps and he was the best!  He taught me so much in his 97 years on this earth, but mainly he taught me to be the best version of myself.  To be selfless and to be tirelessly true, honest and dependable no matter what or who I was dealing with.  In my life I am the rose between the thorns and he was my salvation.  My rock. 

Slide 2

It was special to be his favorite, and everyone else knew, which made it that much better for me.  But I earned being his number one girl, he and I had a connection and understanding that is shared only by kindred hearts, and his was the softest I’d ever known.

Slide 3

This man was a meticulous grapefruit cutter extraordinaire, he was mr fix it in every form of the word, he was patient and stubborn to boot!

Slide 4

He enjoyed reading the newspaper at breakfast, his cereal of choice being Raisin Bran and I remember he would always doze off in the evenings watching jeopardy.  The tv would startle him awake, and I recall his sweet smile and sleepy eyes mixed with a guilty look that clearly showed he wasn’t at all sorry for enjoying his few minutes of bliss. 

Slide 5

Grandpa always gave the best hugs.  He was over 6 feet of broad shouldered, strong man muscle, and it always felt like his arms wrapped around me twice.  He would kiss me on the cheek and would insist I return the butzers as he called them.  A butzer forever for you grandpa!

I have much more photos I want to share, but they are in my moms care at the moment, I am working on getting them for my story. 

I know I am going to elaborate on my grandfather and how he has influenced my life.  I am also going to comment on the importance of taking risks in life to be with the ones you love, as you never know when it will be your last time with them.  My main focus will be our bond and what a great man he was.  I have much more to say on the subject, but don’t want to spoil my digital story, so will leave some information for later.  This is enough of a preview of my intent to get me going.

Note Card Confessional

Quotes used/referenced:

1.  It is important to find "moral and ethical questions that are truly meaningful to young people who are learning to balance their natural idealism with a deeper understanding of social and institutional power as well as the complexities of human nature" (Hobbs p. 37).

2.  "With so many sources of information available, assessing credibility is difficult.  That's because with no editorial gatekeeper, the content available on the Internet often blurs the lines between amateur and professional, entertainment and marketing, and information and persuasion" (Hobbs p. 42)

3.  "People trust the sources that match our existing opinions and we distrust information that challenges our beliefs.  Awareness of this tendency can help people become more open and receptive to diverse sources and points of view" (Hobbs p. 43).

References
Hobbs, R. (2011). Research As Authentic Inquiry. Digital and media literacy: connecting culture and classroom (pp. pp 37, 42 & 43). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.

Reflecting on our LOVE/Hate Relationship with Media

Activity #2

A summary of our ideas as a group:

Reflecting on our Love/Hate Relationship with Media

Print Media – it seems we agree that we love the feel and emotional connection of books.  Many of us enjoy physically turning the pages and smelling the fresh book when it’s opened for the first time.  We love the way our imagination has to construct what it reads instead of being shown exactly what it looks like, as done in movies where our creativity isn’t paramount in forming the stories in our minds.  Many of us hate the wastefulness of print and how messy inky fingers can be. 

Visual Media – many of us enjoy the flexibility of being taught through video and expressing ourselves through the many avenues of creativity in visual media, such as drawing, photographs and videos.  We don’t like how much time is wasted when we get sucked into TV and many find more bland forms of video, like documentaries, boring and uninspired. 

Sound Media – It seems we enjoy the calm that can be created through listening, but we dislike the storage space audio files take up and many of the hassles involved in downloading, storing, or condensing music down to easily accessible avenues.  The iphones and ipod have made these difficulties much more manageable. 

Digital Media – We all like the connectivity of social media, but dislike the amount of time it consumes and how people convey mixed messages sometimes.  We enjoy learning about others through videos and music combined.  It is difficult to know our limits with sharing information and pictures. 

Option #1: Write a personal reflection of your own love-hate relationship with one of the four media forms, considering some of the key ideas that emerged from the classroom conversation.

I absolutely love sound media.  I often find myself preferring audiobooks to actual books because it doesn’t cause strain on my eyes at all to just listen!  I have never been a particularly fast reader, so listening to a voice read to me is a great middle ground for my desire to be creative in reading and experiencing the world through books.  I can still formulate pictures of events in my brain while focusing on the stories unfolding.  It is also fun to listen to audiobooks in the car, which makes for a quicker journey.  The voices depicted by the narrator also add a fun element that is not included when I read to myself.  Aside from audiobooks, sound media in music is a vast source of emotional subjects for me.  I love music and all that it provides me with, but where I tend to get held up is in preparation and organization of the files.  I absolutely detest dealing with renaming, organizing, or transferring audio files of any kind.  Luckily in the weak areas in audio for me my husband steps in with his wiz skills and patience.  He makes up for what I lack in this instance and makes sure files go onto my ipod where I can access them easily and without frustration.  I realize I am very lucky he takes this annoyance and hassle out of my life when it comes to audio files and music.  Overall sound media is a pleasure for me and I am very appreciative of how easily we can share and use all forms of media in our digital world today.  We are very fortunate!

Brainstorming my Digital Story

1.   Describe a positive scene from childhood in detail. What led up to this event? When and where did it happen? Who was involved? What were you thinking and feeling? Why is it an important event? What impact did it have on you?

In 1992, when I was in 2nd grade my family and I were living the normal suburban lifestyle in the growing city of Richmond Virginia.  My twin sister Emily, my big brother Tyler and I were all attending public school, riding the bus home to our lovely brick house filled neighborhood, but we were different.  The hustle of the city and the normal standards of the Pickett fence life weren’t enough for my free-spirited and adventurous parents.  So we sold our big house, packed all of our worldly possessions into a storage unit, and we drove south to Tampa Bay and bought “The Rooster” – a 30-foot sloop sailboat and my parents learned to sail in Tampa Bay in the Gulf of Mexico.  When my parents found there sea legs, we journeyed East across Florida on the Okeechobee waterway and proceeded North up the intercostal waterway.  My mother home-schooled us as we traveled and experienced wonders unseen by children stuck in a classroom. 

My father had been laid off from working at General Electric, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity for my parents to live out a dream of theirs.  My mom had grown a successful nanny training business and decided to sell up and use that seed money to buy the boat. 

This journey lasted for 6 months until my mother decided she wanted a home base on land, so we began looking for property while living with my Grandparents in Northern Virginia.  We eventually found and settled in WV where my parents bought a little farmhouse in the hills of Slanesville. 

I felt very lucky to have been given such a rare opportunity to spend such quality time with my family and our beloved dog Toby.  We had a closeness that is rare in families anymore, which is sad.  We played games, helped each other prepare meals, make crafts, we read stories aloud to each other, made art, wrote poetry, such richness of experience seldom seen in young years. 

I loved the colors of the water, the flow of the waves, the tilts of the sail, it was an explosion of color and adventure filled with wonder and adventure, stuff kids dream about in their backyards up in their tree forts.  I lived it!  It is the only time in my life that I was naturally sun-tanned and had bleach blonde hair from the constant exposure to sun on the water.  It was bliss! 

It is an important event because it shaped my creative and adventurous spirit.  It taught me to be brave and independent.  It taught me not to conform to societal norms and traditions if I wanted to be different.

2.   Describe a negative scene from childhood in detail. What led up to this event? When and where did it happen? Who was involved? What were you thinking and feeling? Why is it an important event? What impact did it have on you?

A negative memory from my childhood is when my father was badly struggling with alcoholism.  He was addicted and it was intense for my family.  I believe many things lead up to his addiction, but most stemming from his childhood of feeling inadequate compared to his Naval Academy Graduate older brother who overshadowed my father at every turn.  I think the past years of inadequacies and neglect led to him taking up drink to forget his woes and shortcomings of never measuring up in his parents eyes.  This event occurred off and on throughout my childhood, but it was much worse in our early years living in WV in the seclusion and quiet of the mountains.  My parents often fought about this subject and it led to my mother in tears and my siblings and I comforting her.  I felt disgusted that my father seemed so feeble and weak.  I thought he should man up and take care of us instead of being a coward and hiding behind his alcohol to forget.  It made me furious that he would drink and waste some of his life away and some of our precious years as kids and as a full family.  He missed out on so much due to his decision to drink.  We didn’t want to be around him and I think this fueled his addiction at times.  It is an important event because it showed me what I didn’t want to be, someone who lets their feelings and the past get the better of them.  It taught me not to be someone who isn’t strong enough to change for the better to enrich the lives of people around them.  It taught me to be strong in my convictions and to be a better person.  It shaped who I am today.    

3.   Describe a particular event from your teen-aged years that stands out in your memory today. This can be positive or negative. What led up to the event? What happened? Where and when? Who was involved? What were you thinking and feeling? Why is it an important event? What impact did the event have on you.

My parents fostered children when I was in middle and high school, this lead to my parents adopting 2 additional children into my family.  My baby brother Brandon, who is now in 9^th grade and Courtney, now in 6^th.  Both children have been in my family since they were very young.  Fostering children and sharing my family’s time and finances was a learning an adjustment.  We had never been wealthy, but having additional mouths to feed always complicates matters to a degree.  I have always loved kids, and having a twin sister helped me learn to be great at sharing.  I grew to become a leader, babysitter, friend and role model for my much younger siblings.  They are every bit of blood to me as my real, biological siblings.  I found that I was good with kids, I enjoyed being a mentor and spending time helping them grow and feel protected.  Even now, I continue fostering my positive relationships with them when they stay with me over summer break and holidays off school.  We have kept up this bond and closeness and I thank god everyday for bringing them into my life.  They helped piece together my family after some hard times (as mentioned in answer #2 above).  My biological siblings always felt threatened by the adopted ones, like they were taking something away from us by being in our lives.  I always looked at what they gave us, and continue to contribute.  I never saw them as a burden, but a huge and much needed blessing.  This mentorship lead me to my career in teaching and continuing to help shape lives of children in positive ways.  My need of giving second chances and helping kids see the potential in themselves. 

4.   Describe a vivid or important memory from any time in your adult years. Again, this can be positive or negative. It can be about anything – family, work, whatever. The scene stands out in your mind today as being especially vivid or important. Please describe what led up to the event. Then describe the scene in detail. What happened? Where and when? Who was involved? What were you thinking and feeling? Why is it an important event? What impact has the event had on you?

I had just finished my first full-time year of teaching in Hampshire County.  My first legit Art Teaching post successfully completed.  I had lived long-distance from my long-time boyfriend, and recent fiancé.  His job kept him in Fairmont.  He is a Web-Developer at Fairmont State and in his dream job!  I wanted to gain experience, so moved back to my hometown to gain some.  I lived in a small house with another young teacher who also worked at Romney Middle School, where I was employed.  I was happy in my job, loved my art room at the school, enjoyed my coworkers and living near my family, but the biggest strain was living away from my love.  We are two year apart in school, so spent 2 years of college long-distance, plus this year of teaching, so it was enough.  We were beginning to think about building a life for ourselves together and I had a big decision to make.  Resign from my job and leave what I had built behind or stick it out for more experience and a steady income.  We began looking at houses that summer, which made my decision easier.  We found the house of my dreams and I couldn’t visualize my career experience being worth it to sacrifice my life with Kevin and the house we had successfully bought together.  I made the tough decision and resigned from my job in Hampshire County and moved into my new house with the love of my life.  Nothing could have been a better decision than to go where my heart was, where the rest of my life was waiting for me all wrapped up in the perfect white pickett-fence package.  I made the move and never looked back.  It was a difficult decision, but it taught me that my instincts are always reliable and on target with the deep-seeded desires of my heart.  It taught me what truly matters and to have faith in what can’t be controlled.  I ended up getting full-time work as a substitute for that next school year, which provided us with plenty of extra income we needed to help support our life in our new home.  It gave me evenings free from grading to plan our wedding, which was scheduled for the following summer.  It lead to me fostering positive relationships with teachers across the North central WV counties I Subbed in.  It led to me eventually landing a full time teaching job locally in Morgantown, which is where I have been ever since. 

At the time of my decision, I was a whirlwind of emotions.  It was hard to leave everything I had built behind.  It was tough to give up a job of steady income and benefits to no guaranteed work and no benefits at all.  The leap was a big one for me at the time, but it was an important event in my adult life because it refocused my attention on the lasting importance of life itself.  To seek happiness, enrich your life and the lives of people around you, and to take risks for yourself, because you are worth it and happiness is worth fighting for.  Not staying somewhere because it is safe and comfortable or familiar, but to be bold and drastic when the time is right and to learn that the all mighty dollar isn’t anything if you aren’t happy or if you have to sacrifice a part of yourself for it.  These lessons are steppingstones and important ones for building character and strong relationships.  I know it was the right choice and I will never regret following my heart. 

5.   In looking back on your life, you may be able to identify particular “turning points” – episodes through which you experienced an important change in your life. Please choose one key turning point scene and describe it in detail. If you feel your life story contains no clear turning points, then describe a particular episode in your life that comes closer than any other to qualifying for a turning point – a scene where you changed in some way. Again, please describe what led up to the event, what happened in the event, where and when it happened, who was involved, what you were thinking and feeling, and so on. Also, please tell me how you think you changed as a result of this event and why you consider this event to be an important scene in your life story today.

My answer to this question is largely in the response to the question #4 above, but I have another example. 

My Grandfather was 96 this past Christmas and was growing more fragile and weak for the past several months following a series of debilitating strokes.  He was my special guy, my best friend and my favorite person in the whole wide world.  He was a HUGE influencer in my life, all positive experiences to boot!  He was my superhero!  It wasn’t convenient, but I decided to fly to San Diego California to visit him for Christmas.  I had been grappling with if I should go or not for a while prior to making the decision to, but finally decided it was the better choice.  We are never guaranteed time on this earth and best snatch up as much time as you can with the people you care about most.  I flew over in the busiest travel season of the year and grappled with lines and traffic, but he was worth every second, always.  He never disappointed.  One smile from that big bear of a man sent me into a million pieces every time.  He melted my heart.  He was over 6 feet tall, fairly broad shouldered, but tender as can be and very sweet natured and calm. 

I sacrificed my first Christmas with my husband (we had gotten married in June) to visit Gramps.  Kevin couldn’t come with me because he had commitments at work.  He was very supportive though, as we have been together forever and he understood how important my Grandpa was to me.  So I spent a week with my Grandfather and enjoyed his smiles, laughs, hugs and kisses over the Christmas holiday.  This was my last moments with him.  The last time I felt his powerful hug with his long, strong arms, the last kiss of his sweet lips on my cheek, he called them “butzers.”  My last moments with this treasure of all treasures.  Nothing could have compared to this, these last moments!  I didn’t know it at the time, but he would pass away 3 months later during the night, so this trip would be my last with him to share in the holidays and in the joys of this life. 

I got a call in the middle of the night.  I thought my dumb party-boy cousin was drunk dialing me at 2 in the morning when I received the call.  The tension was palpable through the wireless phone signal.  I was half asleep but I knew something was wrong.  My Grandpa would never give me a warm, strong hug again, I would never breathe him in and feel as safe as I did when I was a child.  I couldn’t hear his voice and touch him.  Pieces of me shattered inside as I clenched the cellphone and screamed from within.  No sound audible to my sleeping husband.  I changed in that moment, I lost my special guy.  A part of you is never the same and I hope other people in this class have felt this kind of love and admiration.  If you haven’t I hope you do  soon because it is a very special relationship that no one should be without.  I would have done anything in that moment to hear his voice again and see and touch him.  This is why is it so important to not forgo chances to see those you love because of weak excuses like I can’t afford to, I can’t take the days off, this, that, something else.  Unfortunately we find reasons in life to not do things or seek out and spend time with our loved ones and we end up with regret. 

I went and saw him when my gut told me to because it felt right in my heart, and as I said earlier, my heart knows best and it was the right choice.  I was the last one in my family (from the east coast) to see my Grandfather and all of them had equal opportunities to take the time but they didn’t.  They made excuses as to why they could and it didn’t happen. 

I miss my Grandfather to pieces but I know in my heart I did what I could and I was there to say my goodbyes.  Not in the end but close enough to the time so he knew how much he meant to me.  He knew how special he was to me and that I loved him to the moon and back.  Our bond will not be broken by death.  I will see him again one day and will feel his warm hugs and sweet, soft butzers.  The sweet man I was honored to call my superhero!

This was an important event, because I had never experienced such a significant loss until this point, but my other details above further illustrate the impact of decision-making and life priorities and perspective.  You learn and grow from each experience of your life, good or bad, and this experience describes somewhat of a turning point in my adult life because I continue to make relationships a priority, I continue to have a wider perspective than just the shortsighted here and now.  I think of the bigger picture of life and happiness and contentment is all tied to our decisions and what we choose to act upon.  These experiences teach me to continue to cherish those I love and to preserve lasting relationships because these relationships are the lifeblood of happiness.  The reason we are all on earth.  I believe I am ranting at this point and starting to lose focus.  I think I have made my point clear.  At least I hope.  Thanks for reading!