November's article of the month is a recent EDUCAUSE article by danah boyd, that considers what it means to be "in flow" in an information landscape defined by social media such as Facebook or Twitter. One cannot be a passive consumer of information any longer. In the past, we went to sites of information as a destination, viewed accessing information as a process, and saw producing information as a task. What happens when all that changes? boyd states that the future of Web 2.0 is about streams of content. The goal for faculty and students alike is to be attentively aligned--"in flow"--with these information streams, to be aware of information as it flows by, grabbing it at the right moment when it is most relevant, valuable, entertaining, or insightful.

In an era of information glut, how does one gain attention? We hope this article generates some thoughts and questions for you. You are invited to share these reflections in the comments area below.

Link to Article

When educators can actually see the positive impact of their work on those with whom they engage, or begin to sense their down-stream influence through the actions others whom they've guided, it is time to celebrate. As I reflect on the Fall 2009 implementation of the CTE Digital Storytelling Program, I see immediate results from the 17 faculty members who participated. Through participation in this program, faculty developed the skills necessary to translate their personal stories from the familiar text format, into a multimedia digital story, and engage the audience on many levels. In addition to the production of their own stories, they started to contemplate the use of narrative and digital storytelling as powerful practice, which might be employed in their own instructional contexts. In fact, some of the participants immediately engaged their students in the process as a means to reflect on their own writing and address topics from a different perspective.

Upon completion of the first session of the Digital Storytelling Program, I sat with Dr. Terry Carter, School of Education and Jeff Nugnet, Co-Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence (who also helped develop the DST Program) to discuss our experiences in the program and how she and her students are now employing digital storytelling as a means of increased student engagement. This conversation was recorded on December 8, 2009 as a podcast titled CTE's Digital Storytelling Program.

I am pleased to announce that the CTE Digital Storytelling Program has been revised to better accommodate busy faculty schedules. Faculty will no longer need to commit to 5-week program, but will be able to develop their own story in a 3-day, hands-on program, held on January 11, 12 and 13, 2011. Applications are now being accepted and should be submitted no later than Friday, December 3, 2010. Participation will be limited to 8 faculty members, so please apply as soon as possible. To learn more about the program, see a list of past participants and/or get an application to participate, go to
http://www.vcu.edu/cte/programs/instructional_technology/DigitalStorytelling/

Contact: Bud Deihl
Center for Teaching Excellence
wdeihl@vcu.edu
804-828-4383

Two examples of faculty stories, which were produced during the Fall 2009 DST Program, may be seen at the links below.

A Teacher's Journey, by Terry Carter. This is a personal story of a teacher in higher education who learns from her learners.

Irregular, by Micol Hammack. This is a story about Teaching English as a Second Language in the 90's in a county jail in North Carolina.

Posted by Bud Deihl