The first new addition to the family is Liz Kearsley, a photographer and journalist hailing from the UK. Liz has already been a nominee in an international photography contest since she joined our ranks and has had a few rather amusing introductions to Canadian culture, having joined us in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, to help tell the Yorkton Film Festival’s story interactively.

3 of our new team members: Bronwyn, Liz and Alyzee

Shortly after Liz’s arrival, we had twins!  No, really we welcomed two new interns from UBC’s English Department, Alyzee Lakhani and Bronwyn Malloy.  Both have been a welcome addition to the team.  They have been getting their feet wet writing on the Yorkton Film Festival Blog and helping Emme Rogers out with her prose.  Currently they are busy developing a tween and teen friendly character for Erica Hargreave to talk about in the classroom, and they will be assisting Erica this summer with her programs for Capilano University and the Delta School District.

Liz, Alyzee and Bronwyn Playing with Imagery for the Shaw Rocket Fund

Finally, we are very pleased to have Susan Brinton acting as a business advisor to us on some interactive projects that we are building for the future.  With over 20 years experience in film and television, including as an Executive in Charge of Production for CanWest and the Global Television Network, and as a Senior Policy Advisor for Television for both the Canadian Television Fund and Telefilm Canada, Susan’s advice and guidance is absolutely invaluable. We are thrilled to be working with and learning from her.

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:

Capilano University

• 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.

BCIT

• 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!

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!