Week 3 - Digital Story Project Plan

 

Purpose of This Blog Post

The purpose of this blog post is to share my digital story project plan and get feedback from peers to help me develop it.

What type/kind of story will you tell? What is the purpose or impact? I am thinking of telling the story of my health transformation, where I have lost a lot of weight, and also took up running, and am building up my speed and stamina. I would like it to be both informational and inspirational. The picture above is from my most recent 5K race (Monster Mash Dash on October 26, 2024). A year ago I couldn't run for more than a few seconds, and last weekend I ran 3 miles in a witch costume and had great fun doing so!

What are the story elements? (Ohler)

My story core is as follows

Problem: being overweight (my highest was 280 pounds in 2020 during the pandemic, and I’d only got down to 260 after that), I was prediabetic, had lower back issues that had me in severe pain for weeks and even took me to the ER at one point (April, 2023), and couldn’t run more than a few seconds without gasping for breath. I also went on some hikes with a friend where my heart rate was going way up on uphill parts since I was carrying so much weight. As I got older this was becoming more and more concerning.

Transformation (starting July of 2023):

1. Physical - lost weight, gained aerobic capacity (I now run 3x/ week and 5K/ 3 miles every weekend and am building up speed
2. Inner strength/ resolve (I have lost weight many times before, but this is the most sustained and most lost, and I think it’s sustainable)
3. Psychological: I’ve had to be very reflective, to figure out what works and get past barriers (both in my weight loss and my running). My mood seems better too.
4. Learning: I have read books, listened to many, many podcasts, participated in online discussions, used a CGM to monitor my reactions to food and exercise

Solution
A whole new me at 52 years of age. I have found a way to lose 90 pounds since July 2023 (110 since my highest weight), and am now regularly running, and increasing my speed. I have run a number of 5K races, and on August 4, ran my first 10K race. I have a lot more energy and am generally in better health (though I still have more to go, and maintaining it will be the next challenge).

What approach will you take to mapping or developing your story?  (Ohler) 
I quite like Ohler’s basic visual portrait of a story (Ohler, 2023)

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I also like Ohler’s idea of developing a story table from a script and using that to plan the images, etc. that would go with each part.

How might you use this story in an educational environment

I have had so much help and inspiration from seeing how others have had transformations like this. It’s encouraging to see that such change is possible. It could be used generally as an example of a person’s transformation and to have students think of some way they have transformed themselves, or could maybe be used specifically to help inform and inspire those who have similar challenges to mine.

What content and technology standards are addressed? 

The topic of this is not directly related to a state standard, but something like this could be used for English content standards, such as this California State Standard for 9th-10th grade:

“W.9–10.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.”

As far as ISTE standards go, it seems to particularly fit with the 1.6 Creative Communicator standards, since to make a digital story you have to choose platforms or tools, create original works (and/ or remix existing ones), communicate complex ideas and customize the message for your audience.

What tools are you considering to capture, edit, and communicate your story?   I am considering using images with spoken voice. I took monthly pictures for the first year as I was losing weight, for example, and I feel like hearing someone’s voice really personalizes a story. I am not yet sure of the best way to put this together and edit it, but I will look into tools. I am also considering having links to resources I have found helpful in my journey. I want it to be engaging and inspiring, and also to provide information someone could use if they had similar challenges.

How might you produce your story?  I am not sure yet, beyond what I said above.

How might you assess digital stories produced by students in your own courses?  I teach math, so I’m less likely to use this than if I taught English or History or something that lends itself more to story. I’m also a Special Education Co-teacher, so I don’t have my own classroom as such. When I taught summer school (math) I had students each research a famous mathematician in the hopes of inspiring them, and having them realize how varied mathematicians were (they were not all old white men, for example). A digital story could be used as an option for that, or I also usually start by having them write a math “autobiography”, so it could be an option for that as well. I assess those kinds of things using a rubric, which could measure whether they included the specified content, had accurate information, and included creative elements such as images, sound, etc.