Notes to the Instructor
In the days before YouTube, I created my first digital story without knowing that the genre had a name and was part of a growing movement of do-it-yourself media. Digital storytelling has since become a popular tool in literacy teaching and learning. I experienced this firsthand as part of the Literacy Lives teaching team at Simon Fraser University. At the end of the program, learners were assigned the task of creating a digital story to share their learning in the program. The results were tear-jerkingly powerful.
More recently, I had the opportunity to be a storytelling mentor in a project called Cancer’s Margins. For this project, people made digital stories sharing what it was like to live in the intersection of queerness and cancer. As a result of the deeply moving and transformative experiences I’ve had with these projects, I am excited to share a digital storytelling curriculum specifically tailored to basic education students. It is based on the excellent work of the Center for Digital Storytelling in Berkeley, California.
This reader contains 11 original readings written specifically for adults, and is designed to accompany the BC Reads: Adult Literacy Fundamental English – Course Pack 6. This level-6 reader, one of a series of six, is roughly equivalent to grades 7.5 to 9 in the K-12 system.
To help students develop their computer literacy skills, the texts in this reader contain videos that allow learners to watch a skill being performed. These videos are followed by step-by-step written instructions to further support learners as they try out each new skill. In addition, you will find helpful instructions in the appendices that supplement the skills taught throughout the reader, such as how to create a Gmail account in Appendix 1.
An Internet connection is needed to watch the digital stories that are highlighted throughout the curriculum, as well as to access the web-based tool that allows learners to build their own digital stories.
New vocabulary is highlighted throughout each reading, and then summarized in a Glossary at the end of this book. Font size and line spacing can be adjusted in the online view, and have been enhanced for the print and PDF versions for easier reading. In addition, an audio book is available to allow students to listen as they read. (In addition, both epub and mobi files are offered for students with e-readers and Kindles.)
This reader has been reviewed by subject experts from colleges and universities.
I hope these pages help learners find new meaning in their everyday relationships and experiences, as well as equip them with new tools to share their voices and perspectives with the world.
-Shantel Ivits
