September 8-October 6, 2007
Everyone has adventures all the time. The focus of this workshop was to give that idea some play to let the students come up with some interesting stories.
This was my first teaching experience at 826 Valencia. The students were great. We had a wonderful time.
Welcome to Webtales:
This notebook is for your class notes, writing, drawing, design ideas and doodles for this project. As such, it will become more and more valuable to you as you use it, so hang on to it. Please bring it to the workshop each week.
Class notes are very important. Some of the ideas we talk about you WILL want to look up later.
If you have questions about any of the ideas presented, please ask about them. Remember, if you don’t understand something, others probably don’t either. It is your right to understand everything I’m trying to teach. If you don’t get it, it is my problem. Help me help you!
The idea of this workshop starts simply enough- everyone has adventures all the time. We just need to observe them, write them and then create interesting ways to tell them on the web.
Remember that your school homework comes first. While homework is often less fun than webtales, it is more important. Think of webtales as dessert.
The way this book works- the right handed pages are lined so you can write. The left handed pages are blank so that you can draw, comment on the stuff you wrote on the right hand page, paste in photos or ideas you want to use. Later on, you might want to paste in printouts of the way your pages look so that you can study them. You get the idea.
In addition to your own adventures, ask your parents about adventures they might have had. Start looking through family photographs or your own photos for images you think will help you tell your stories. If you draw, are there any images you created after a particular adventure that you might want to use?
Have fun. There will be a lot of hard work in this class- digital storytelling can get pretty crazy, but it is a good kind of crazy.
Remember to keep the size of your story down to something we can build in four sessions. After the workshop, if you have ideas for bigger projects, you will have a lot more time and the experience of this workshop to help you out.
Helpful tip- date the entries you make in the workbook. It will come in handy later.
Dylan’s Story
An adventure on a skateboard.
Nick’s Story
The car alarm.
Frances’ Tale
A murder trial; you are there!
Tommy’s Tale
Broken bones and a near death experience!
Natalie’s Tale
The magical beach.
Giorgia’s Tale
A trip to the Amazon!
