#walkmyworld - Learning Event Nine - The Story of Us

The Story of Us

Learning Event Response - 

Watch the following video from WNYC Radio Rookies. 

Print out and follow the storytelling and recording tips if needed.

Brainstorm possible ideas or topics for your Story of Us. What do you have a unique perspective on? Is there a social problem you would like to see addressed in a story? What sides of a story are often ignored? What is a story that people don't know about, but should? What is something you are very curious about and want to know more? 

Are you concerned with the way that gender is viewed online and in our classrooms? 

Are you concerned with high-stakes testing in schools? Do you work to find better ways to embed STEM into all aspects of teaching and learning? Do you wonder about privacy and security in online spaces? All of these are possible starting points. What do you have a unique perspective on? 

Use digital tools to create and share your Story of Us. A good Story of Us has three parts:

• Me. Start with a story about who you are. This helps your audience understand your perspective and establishes your voice in the story. Focus on an event, or challenge in your life. You have have had multiple opportunities to share aspects of your identity in the #WalkMyWorld Project. You may decide to take one of your earlier shared pieces and build off of that.

• Us. After you start with your story, bridge your personal perspective out to connect with the audience. Explain why your point of view is relevant to the other members of our community. What challenges and opportunities might others encounter if they're presented with the same obstacles or decisions? What choices do we have in response to these challenges? Might we have the opportunity to live and learn together? What might this future look like?

• Now. A good story ends with a call to action. You want our audience to know they can take action...and what that action should be. Present the opportunities we all have for enacting change. Do you want to connect with others and continue to work and share in the future? Present concrete steps about what could and should be done next. 

Record, reflect and share your Story of Us on the #WalkMyWorld hashtag. You might also chose to include the #teachtheweb hashtag now that you're a webmaker. As you create and share, you should consider the tools you'll use to record and share your story. You might use Soundcloud, YouTube, or Google Drive to save and share your files. 

My Response - 

As I thought about my perspective and an identity I wanted to expand on, I couldn't help but go back to my initial introduction to #walkmyworld.  I teach dyslexic students and their story is what I am concerned with.  So I used Bitstrip to create an avatar and the following comic to tell "The Story of Us."  This was a completely new experience for me, but it was actually really enjoyable and pretty easy digital tool to use. I hope to use this with my students so they can express themselves in a digitally, creative, visual way!