Invitation to Collaboratively Tell Our W2.0 Story

I was pleasantly surprised by Britt Watwood’s observations and posting about my current work and the creative process. I am inspired; and something is trying to come out.

The collaborative exploration of the web 2.0 environment in which I regularly participate with Britt, Jeff Nugent and other online colleagues, introduces me to new tools, access to resources, thoughts shared in blogs, tweets and conversations which continue to unfold across time and in various media formats; who would not be inspired (and periodically overwhelmed) by the creative opportunities within our grasp? My goal is to share this vision with our faculty and inspire them to invest time in similar explorations for their own teaching and learning practice.

Several months ago, Jeff Nugent nudged me in the direction of digital storytelling and provided a link to Allan Levine’s Fifty Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story. At the time, I was focused on a short-term goal and specifically wrestling with production issues in Camtasia; Fify Ways became option paralysis. Recently, Jeff has prompted me to consider attending a workshop on digital storytelling at the Center for Digital Storytelling. I’ve done some initial investigation and I am reviewing their handbook and other related resources and the creative juices are beginning to flow. This interest in digital storytelling seems to tie into my upcoming role as an observer in the CTE Teaching and Learning Institute. I have been asked to document highlights, faculty interaction, themes, etc., and identify opportunities for follow-up presentations and possible podcasts by participants. This request has inspired me to create a digital story. More correctly, it has inspired me to create opportunities for faculty participants to tell their own stories, both individually and collectively through tools like VoiceThreads, Google Docs and a Wiki.

As an experiment, I’ve created a VoiceThread with images which begin to speak to me about my typical work day. While editing this, it occurred to me that it is a story which is shared by many of us. So, in the open and collaborative spirit of Web 2.0, I invite you to go to that site and add your own comments, thoughts, questions, etc. Let’s see what story unfolds.

Use the embedded (small) view below or access larger VoiceThread directly

Note: I cannot take credit for all the images used in this story. Although most of the images were taken by me, several incorporate views of various web pages. I also want to acknowledge and thank those who have shared their vision and images through Flickr.

Time by Eirk: http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikvanhannen/537167308/

We Had the Best Sunset by Fort Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortphoto/875593611/