EDLD 5363 - Week 1 - Reflection about creating personal digital story

The hardest part about creating a digital story was coming up with an idea for the story.  Then I located a partner and began considering the questions, "What is it like to be a firefighter?", "How do you feel about the danger?", and "What keeps you going after 32 years?"  Then I began just jotting down adjectives to describe my feelings about being a firefighter.  The adjectives turned into phrases, and before I knew it, I had written a poem.  I then looked for photographs that illustrated each of the phrases.  I did this by creating a storyboard and placing the pictures above the phrases.  I used Microsoft Photo Story 3 to put together the photos and narrate.  I liked that Photo Story 3 allowed me to edit the photos, type in notes for narration, and add music if I wanted to.  I chose not to add music because I didn't want to take away from the narration.  I really enjoyed this assignment.  I can see where I will use this new skill to create digital stories for the department and/or academy websites, and for projects with my students.