Blue Eyes by Evie

In my digital storytelling workshops, I’ve been encouraging participants to tell first-person stories. But another way to tell a story is to interview someone. About a year ago, I sat down with my mother at her dining room table, with a handheld recorder, and I asked her to tell me some stories about my birth. I listened to those anecdotes a few days ago and turned one of them into this digital story.

Length of time it took to make:  4 hours

Equipment used: Zoom H4n recorder; Macbook Pro laptop

Software: Audacity; iMovie ’09

Music: royalty-free music downloaded from Jamendo

 

Capturing Our Stories: Moving to Canada by Holly

Grade 7 student, Holly, tells about the adventure that she and her family took when they moved from Ireland to Moose Jaw, SK. This story was created in a digital storytelling workshop at King George School in Moose Jaw.

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Capturing Our Stories: Torrey by Asia

It’s tough to pull off humour, but Grade 6 student, Asia, succeeds with her digital story on her little brother, Torrey. This video was created in a digital storytelling workshop at King George School in Moose Jaw, SK.

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Capturing Our Stories: Rugby by Avery

Avery, a Grade 5 student at JH Moore, shares how she learned to play rugby and why it’s her favourite sport. This story was produced in a digital storytelling workshop that I facilitated with 17 grade 5 students in Lashburn, SK.

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Game Time by Hayley

In May, I led several workshops on scriptwriting at Melville Comprehensive School with Communications Media and Photography students. They were already familiar with iMovie, so I worked with them on their storytelling skills. Hayley wanted to tell a story about her dad, who taught her how to play hockey. As a girl in a male-dominated sport, Hayley wanted to share the story of how her dad taught her to stand up for herself and how to become a better player. She produced this beautiful story.

 

Grandma by Bronwyn

Grade 12 student Bronwyn Lloyd tells the story of a cross-cultural experience between her and her grandmother from Switzerland. This story was made in one of my digital storytelling workshops in Lumsden, SK.

Singing by Noel

Noel, a 6th grade student in Moose Jaw, shares a story about her passion for singing and how it has helped her through tough times. This story was created in one of Evie Ruddy’s digital storytelling workshops.

Sharing Stories in Moose Jaw

As a university instructor, it’s nice to switch things up and work with kids in elementary school. In Moose Jaw, I had a wonderful time getting to know a group of enthusiastic Grade 6 and 7 students at King George School.

MooseJaw_storymakingOne of my favourite sayings is “the shortest distance between two  people is a story” and it proved to be true, yet again, as we got to know one another through our stories. I stood back and watched as kids discovered details about their classmates’ lives and saw one another from new perspectives. They demonstrated empathy and were able to recognize similarities in their shared experiences.

One girl, new to the school, spent some time in a foster home and did  her story on singing as her hobby, which she says has helped her  through tough times. She narrates, “When I’m singing, I feel something that I’ve never felt before…  Even though I have really low self-esteem, my voice has always been something I love about myself.” Another girl did her story on moving to Canada from Ireland and included the detail of how funny she thought the name Moose Jaw was when she and her family first heard it. One boy did his story on building a garden in his backyard with his mother. He discovered his love for assembling wooden garden beds and growing vegetables. There were stories about BFFs, siblings and parents.

I tell the students in my workshops that good non-fiction stories almost always touch on a universal experience — one that the listener can relate to, or that incites the listener to look at their own experiences differently. These stories did just that.

Johnny by Evie Ruddy

A digital story that our animateur Evie Ruddy made while attending a workshop at the Centre for Digital Storytelling in California.

Digital Storytelling Workshops: Capturing Our Stories

This video was created in one of Evie Ruddy’s digital storytelling workshops in Lumsden, Saskatchewan.