Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Torrington and the Flood of 1955
Through the technology course that I am currently enrolled in, I have learned a lot about the many ways in which I can incorporate technology into my classroom. One example is through digital storytelling. The term "digital storytelling" accurately describes what it is: the process of telling stories through a digital format. Yet, while the terminology might be easy to understand, it was my experience that the process of creating a digital story wasn't always so simple.
I used the Windows Live Movie Maker to create my digital story. Unfortunately, I didn't always find this program to be user friendly and I was disappointed that it did not allow me to narrate my story. Yet, after many longs hours and numerous rough drafts, I finally produced a digital story about the town of Torrington, CT.
My digital story is titled Torrington and the Flood of 1955. Through this digital story, I demonstrate to viewers how the town of Torrington endured the Flood of 1955. I plan on using this exact video with my second grade class when we learn about the town of Torrington in our Torrington: Past and Present social studies unit. I think that my students will be surprised to learn that their town was, at one time, many feet under water. Yet, what I hope they take away most from this digital story is an understanding that, while tragedies occur and cause lives and towns to change, individuals and the communities in which they live have the power to learn from these events, rebuild, and change for the better.
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I know we are going to be sharing these videos tomorrow night; however, I want to say how much I truly enjoyed watching this video! What a great job you did! The music really created a sense of emotion to capture what you wanted to show throughout this digital storytelling! Although there was so much devastation, I like how you focused on the hope that was left!
ReplyDeleteKate, I think it was almost a stronger piece without the narration. It was awesome. The music was well matched and the old photos really captured the enormity of the flood.
ReplyDeleteKate, I just had a chance to view everyone's digital story, and I really enjoyed yours. My son has seen all the pictures on the wall at Scarpelli's Restaurant and has always been interested in the Flood of 55. Of course my mom and dad told them a little about it, but he was too young. I will enjoy sharing this with him. I still remember when digging for our inground pool in 1980, the size of the boulders that were buried because we lived below East Main Street, and my father telling me these rocks were pushed here from the 55 flood. They were huge!! What a great job you did. it was worth all the aggravation. Truly moving!
ReplyDeleteKate that was a very inspiring piece. It makes me want to use my grandmothers photographs to do something similar for the effects it had on Winsted. I agree with Carla about the narration. The music matched with the photos spoke for itself.Beautiful work.
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful digital story! I truly enjoyed that there wasn't narration. Words can leave such an impact. Do you mind if I share this with my class? I think it would be so interesting for them!
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