Electric Chalk http://www.electricchalk.com ...because everybody learns from everybody else. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:34:23 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Telling stories in the digital domain: 2 examples http://www.electricchalk.com/2012/02/23/telling-stories-in-the-digital-domain-2-examples/ http://www.electricchalk.com/2012/02/23/telling-stories-in-the-digital-domain-2-examples/#comments Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:34:22 +0000 Chris http://www.electricchalk.com/?p=1590

I’ve been reading a lot about narrative for my dissertation recently and came across 2 examples this morning that illustrate some of the ideas I’ve come across.

Oatmeal on Game of Thrones

The first simple example is from the Oatmeal. It says it’s about Game of Thrones but is actually about media companies completely misunderstanding the web.

One way of looking at storytelling is that it’s a way of framing complex, abstract concepts in a way that is both engaging, memorable and helps understanding. Some authors say that story is the primary way we understand the world.

So, with the Oatmeal example we have a simple depiction of an individual trying to do the right thin, being thwarted and finding, as the author sees it, a reasonable solution to the problem.

So, it takes some abstract points about the piracy debate, uses narrative to contextualise them, keep our interest, create an emotional response and hopefully make it more “sticky“.

Why is being in the digital domain important? As a static image it could have been published in a magazine or on a notice board. By being digital it give an audience a way of interacting and responding. At the most basic level it had over 6k likes and 2.5k shares on Facebook as well as 18.4k retweets. This helps the people that come across it incorporate it into their own personal and social narratives about piracy, IPR, SOPA, ACTA or whatever.

The Tale of the Invention of the Incredible Folding Plug

This is more of a distributed bunch of content telling a story.

Now the invention is plainly awesome in a why-has-this-not-been-done-before-it-could-transform-my-life way so I can immediately relate to it.

But what you also have around it through Rory Cellan Jones’ interview, the business’s website, the product demo (embedded above), and all the other mentions in the media (traditional and social) is a story about the product.

We have a cast of characters, a macguffin (the invention), a plot, setting, triumphs, hurdles to be overcome, quite a clear timeline and perhaps the possibility of a sequel.

Somehow, just watching the product demo (embedded above), although it contains some elements of story, doesn’t quite have enough of the human content to make it properly engaging.

My own reaction is that I’m thinking about the product in a much broader way, seeing how it would fit into my own life but also having it humanised by the story of its inventor and his business partner and how it fits into the wider narrative of startups and innovation in the UK.

]]> http://www.electricchalk.com/2012/02/23/telling-stories-in-the-digital-domain-2-examples/feed/ 0 Immersive video on the iP*d – more than just interesting? http://www.electricchalk.com/2012/02/02/immersive-video-on-the-ipd-more-than-just-interesting/ http://www.electricchalk.com/2012/02/02/immersive-video-on-the-ipd-more-than-just-interesting/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:45:53 +0000 Chris http://www.electricchalk.com/?p=1588 Neiman Journalism Lab blog… A collaboration between Condition One and The Guardian… it’s a slightly more interactive approach to video where you have an element of control over where the camera is looking. Is it]]>

Just saw this on the Neiman Journalism Lab blog…

A collaboration between Condition One and The Guardian it’s a slightly more interactive approach to video where you have an element of control over where the camera is looking.

Is it more than just interesting? It would make some intriguing digital stories where the viewer is more actively selecting what elements of the story to view.  

Is it a flavour of AR where the “reality” can be displayed independent of location (picture it with points of interest embedded into the video)? 

Could this be what Google Streetview looks like in a few years’ time? 

]]> http://www.electricchalk.com/2012/02/02/immersive-video-on-the-ipd-more-than-just-interesting/feed/ 0 What I’ve read this week – Diigo (weekly) http://www.electricchalk.com/2012/01/15/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-54/ http://www.electricchalk.com/2012/01/15/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-54/#comments Sun, 15 Jan 2012 00:45:22 +0000 Chris http://www.electricchalk.com/2012/01/15/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-54/ Pic: ]]>

  • Digital literacy campaign – Michael Gove’s speech in full

    tags: digital literacy guardian education

    • Education has barely changed
    • I don’t aspire to join that illustrious company by stating on record that this technology or that gadget is going to change the world. Nothing has a shorter shelf-life than the cutting edge
      • Don’t like this use of the word ‘learning’. Can “learning” be disseminated? What he’s talking about is content.
    • technology has the potential to disseminate learning much more widely than ever before.
    • just as technology raises profound questions about how we learn, it also prompts us to think about how we teach.
    • personalising teaching for every pupil
    • technology brings unprecedented opportunities for assessment.
    • We’re not going to tell you what to do
    • By its very nature, new technology is a disruptive force. It innovates, and invents; it flattens hierarchies, and encourages creativity and fresh thinking.
    • put our trust in the professionalism of teachers
    • rather than focusing on hardware or procurement, we are investing in training individuals
    • The disruptive, innovative, creative force of new technology also pushes us to think about the curriculum.
    • That’s why I am announcing today that the Department for Education is opening a consultation on withdrawing the existing National Curriculum Programme of Study for ICT from September this year.
    • The new Computer Science courses will reflect what you all know: that Computer Science is a rigorous, fascinating and intellectually challenging subject.
    • we will certainly consider including Computer Science as an option in the English Baccalaureate
    • In an open-source world, why should we accept that a curriculum is a single, static document? A statement of priorities frozen in time; a blunt instrument landing with a thunk on teachers’ desks and updated only centrally and only infrequently?
    • educational technology
    • showing 3D images of the heart pumping blood through valves, and manipulating, rotating and tilting the heart in real time

  • The Story Collider – Online Magazine

    Online magazine showcasing stories about science and living with science. 

    tags: digital storytelling science podcast

    • Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

    ]]>     http://www.electricchalk.com/2012/01/15/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-54/feed/ 0     What I’ve read this week – Diigo (weekly) http://www.electricchalk.com/2012/01/08/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-53/ http://www.electricchalk.com/2012/01/08/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-53/#comments Sun, 08 Jan 2012 00:39:09 +0000 Chris http://www.electricchalk.com/2012/01/08/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-53/
  • Maps | Oxford University Department for Continuing Education Site hosting the Oxford Uni Dept for Continuing Education’s map resources – mostly based on the Google Maps API. Interesting examples, especially the Viking ones tags: oxford university digital mapping mapping google
    • …]]>

  • Maps | Oxford University Department for Continuing Education

    Site hosting the Oxford Uni Dept for Continuing Education’s map resources – mostly based on the Google Maps API. Interesting examples, especially the Viking ones

    tags: oxford university digital mapping mapping google maps

    • Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

    ]]>     http://www.electricchalk.com/2012/01/08/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-53/feed/ 0     What I’ve read this week – Diigo (weekly) http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/12/25/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-52/ http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/12/25/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-52/#comments Sun, 25 Dec 2011 00:36:44 +0000 Chris http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/12/25/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-52/
  • Story and Narrative | Scoop.it Links curated by Greg Morris on storytelling, digital or otherwise. tags: story narrative digital storytelling
    • Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here….]]>

  • Story and Narrative | Scoop.it

    Links curated by Greg Morris on storytelling, digital or otherwise.

    tags: story narrative digital storytelling

    • Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

    ]]>     http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/12/25/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-52/feed/ 0     What I’ve read this week – Diigo (weekly) http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/12/11/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-51/ http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/12/11/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-51/#comments Sun, 11 Dec 2011 00:34:59 +0000 Chris http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/12/11/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-51/ Pic: ]]>

  • Toward a Theory of Collaboration for Teachers and Librarians | American Association of School Librarians (AASL)

    Lengthy examination on effective collaborative learning.

    tags: collaboration teachers librarians learning

      • Different aspects of collaborative learning
    • reciprocity
    • congeniality
    • partnerships
    • interaction between coequal parties
    • cooperation
    • information sharing, shared vision
    • joint negotiation of common ground
    • shared power
    • dialogue
    • joint construction of knowledge
    • joint planning
    • complementarity of skills, efforts and roles
    • teaming, strategic alliances, joint ventures
    • creating new value together
    • and multi-organizational processes
    • When individuals come together to share their expertise and ideas in order to construct a fresh and innovative way of doing something, they are demonstrating characteristics of fully developed collaboration
    • combining the strengths of two or more individuals in productive relationships that can positively influence student learning
    • “teach students to participate in the process that makes possible the establishment of knowledge

  • Doing More With YouTube | Inside Higher Ed

    A look at effective use of your YouTube channel. Includes an embed of YouTube’s guide to creating and capitalising on your content – very interesting read.

    tags: social media youtube video

    • Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

    ]]>     http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/12/11/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-51/feed/ 0     Digital storytelling with HTML5 http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/12/09/digital-storytelling-with-html5/ http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/12/09/digital-storytelling-with-html5/#comments Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:27:19 +0000 Chris http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/12/09/digital-storytelling-with-html5/ Pic: Hat tip to @theokk for this one. Highrise is an interactive documentary on how a community of high rise residents in Toronto see a possible future for their neghbourhood.  …This project, according to the site… … is a concrete result]]>

    Hat tip to @theokk for this one. Highrise is an interactive documentary on how a community of high rise residents in Toronto see a possible future for their neghbourhood. 

    This project, according to the site…

    … is a concrete result of a community collaboration between residents, architects, documentarians and animators to re-imagine the particular spaces around these particular highrises.

    This innovative approach to documentary making uses HTML5 and WebGL (Web-based Graphics Library).

    Rather than play the documentary as a linear video, you are placed in a dynamic 3d environment (the light and weather change based on live data from Toronto) where you are free to explore the different pieces of media. It requires a browser compatible with HTML and WebGL – worked well on Chrome for me.

    It reminds me quite a bit of the ground breaking Inanimate Alice, an early use of interactive storytelling.

    Image – Lilian Chan, Howie Shia and Kelly Sommerfield, courtesy of the NAtional Film Board of Canada

    ]]>     http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/12/09/digital-storytelling-with-html5/feed/ 0     What I’ve read this week – Diigo (weekly) http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/11/27/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-50/ http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/11/27/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-50/#comments Sun, 27 Nov 2011 00:36:48 +0000 Chris http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/11/27/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-50/
  • Trust Networks and why #UKedchat wobbled on Twitter | Learn 4 Life A salutary lesson in the dangers for commercial organisations when they try and align themselves with existing communities on social media. tags: social media ukedchat Pearson TES
  • Mapping One Week of FourSquare
    • …]]>

  • Trust Networks and why #UKedchat wobbled on Twitter | Learn 4 Life

    A salutary lesson in the dangers for commercial organisations when they try and align themselves with existing communities on social media.

    tags: social media ukedchat Pearson TES

  • Mapping One Week of FourSquare Check-Ins – information aesthetics

    Nice global version of the Foursquare check-ins in Manhattan/San Francisco animation which I bookmarked a while back (also in the Geolocation “list”)

    tags: mapping foursquare data data visualisation check-ins

  • After Effects Tutorial “pixel motion” on Vimeo

    Cool little feature on AE for creating morphing images from a series of jpegs – could be quite a useful tool for digital storytelling

    tags: effects tutorial pixel motion after effects

    • Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

    ]]>     http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/11/27/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-50/feed/ 0     What I’ve read this week – Diigo (weekly) http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/11/13/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-49/ http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/11/13/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-49/#comments Sun, 13 Nov 2011 00:36:36 +0000 Chris http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/11/13/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-49/
  • Data visualisation – ‘The Other Guys’ End Credits Sneaking some dataviz about the financial crisis into the end credits of a Will Ferrell movie. Sneaky. HT @sboneham tags: infographics data visualisation animation
    • Posted from Diigo…. The rest of my]]>

  • Data visualisation – ‘The Other Guys’ End Credits

    Sneaking some dataviz about the financial crisis into the end credits of a Will Ferrell movie. Sneaky.

    HT @sboneham

    tags: infographics data visualisation animation

    • Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

    ]]>     http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/11/13/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-49/feed/ 0     What I’ve read this week – Diigo (weekly) http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/11/06/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-48/ http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/11/06/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-48/#comments Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:36:25 +0000 Chris http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/11/06/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-48/
  • 2010 Horizon Report
  • Imagestamper Timestamps a downloaded Flickr image so you can use it as “strong evidence” (sic) should there be a dispute arising from a change in the license terms. tags: Flickr
    • …]]>

  • 2010 Horizon Report

  • Imagestamper

    Timestamps a downloaded Flickr image so you can use it as “strong evidence” (sic) should there be a dispute arising from a change in the license terms.

    tags: Flickr Creative Commons IPR Copyright Imagestamper

  • Emerging Practice in Mobile Learning 20/10/2011 – Events

    Outline and resources from the recent Mobile Learning event run by RSC Northern.

    tags: mobile learning mobile m-learning

  • Glyph hanger: should the bike industry put so much faith in QR codes?

    A balanced look at how QR codes can add value or be a useless gimmick in cycle shops. HT @carlvincent

    tags: qr codes QR marketing

    • Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

    ]]>     http://www.electricchalk.com/2011/11/06/what-ive-read-this-week-diigo-weekly-48/feed/ 0