A New Classroom & Course for the New Year
Photo from The Hague’s Nationaal Archief
I’m excited to be embarking on a new educational adventure this year! My new classroom will be in the Broadcast Communication Program at BCIT and the Continuing Studies Department at Capilano University. At both schools I will be teaching Interactive Storytelling. Not completely sure, but I do think these are two of the first Interactive Storytelling Courses at Post Secondary Institutions in Canada.
So what is Interactive Storytelling?
I define Interactive Storytelling, as storytelling across platforms of media, some of which are interactive, allowing the audience to interact with the story itself, if they so choose.
For the purposes of these classes, whilst we will be looking at examples of other forms of interactivity, such as ARGs and Gaming, the focus of the class will be on using different forms of social media (such as blogs, twitter, facebook, blip.fm, flickr, podcasting..etc) to make traditional stories (such as novels, films, tv, articles, radio, plays, brands …etc) more interactive. Through the course of the class, the participants will use these social media tools to build an interactive component to a project of their own. This can be a project that they have developed in the past, are currently working on or are just using as a tool to experiment with telling stories interactively.
Who is this course for?
Anybody who has a story to tell, whether it is that of a place, a brand, a novel, a play or a film or TV series.
Here are the details on the two courses:
- Course Code: CRN 10020 – Interactive Storytelling
- 6 week course
- Tuesday Nights from 18:30 – 21:30 (6:30 – 9:30 pm)
- North Shore Campus
- March 2, 2010 – April 6, 2010
- This is a non-credited course through Continuing Studies.
- Course Code: BCST 1073 – Interactive Storytelling
- 10 – 12 week course
- 3 – 3 1/2 hours a week
- Course Date Pending: Either April or September
- This is a credited course through the Broadcast Communications Program, but don’t let that scare you off, as it is open to the public and you do not have to be a full time student to take it.
Also stay tuned for an Interactive Storytelling Course for Youth during the Spring Break with the Delta School District!
Delta School District = a Social Media History Maker
Cross-post from DSD Youth Activities
Pretty impressed with the forward thinking of the Delta School District, as as far I am aware they will be one of the first school districts in Canada to fully embrace social media this summer, by actually offering students a course in it.
That’s right, the Delta School District is having me teach two mini-courses this summer on ‘Blogging and Storytelling’ and I’m pretty gosh, darn excited about it. I love Interactive Storytelling (which is a part of what using social media tools to tell story is), I love to share knowledge (especially that which excites me) and I love working with young people and seeing them get excited about learning.
So details on the classes? Here they are:
BLOGGING – STORYTELLING RESPONSIBLY & SAFELY (ages 10 – 15)
If our youth are going to blog, tweet or fire up flickr photos – on the new information highways – then might it be wise to teach them to do it in both a socially responsible and personally safe fashion? Join media arts specialist and Delta teacher Erica Hargreave as she helps students create their stories and characters online in a safe and responsible manner. This week of storytelling explores the use of social media tools which are becoming more and more a part of their lives. And of course … don’t forget your digital camera!
Fee: $70
ID 8153 July 6 -10 9:00 – 11:00 am Seaquam Secondary
ID 8154 July 13 – 17 1:00 – 3:00 pm Delta Secondary
Nervous about your child learning how to use social media? Well, I hate to say it, but it is just like sex. You can hide it from them, but that doesn’t mean they’re not going to experiment on their own. By showing young people the cool things they can do with social media and storytelling, we can encourage them to be safe, show them how to be safe and how to use the tools responsibly. I also might add, that it is the knowledge of how to use these tools safely and responsibly that a lot of businesses are looking to young people for guidance, opening those that know how to do this to a lot of opportunity.
Hope to see you and your young storytellers this summer!