• digital storytelling,  timeless

    The trouble with publishing your digital story on YouTube is

    Publishing your digital story on YouTube is cheap, quick, easy and not without its dangers. So here’s how to avoid the pain. If it’s your own content you’re publishing and this is what you want to do, go for it. If you’re part of a digital storytelling project that helps others to make stories and you’re looking for a way of getting their stories out there, just be aware the embed code that’s on offer enables anyone to embed that video into a completely different website. Usually that will be someone’s on-topic blog; sometime though, the final destination is something much less desirable. It’s all about context, isn’t it? Benefits…

  • media literacy,  Wales

    New Wales Media Literacy blog

    Wales Literacy Network launched a new blog at the annual Eisteddfod meet last night: http://walesmedialiteracy.org.uk/blog/ Other highlights of the night included an update about NIACE Cymru’s work by Essex Harvard; an insight into user testing and user participation in the Welsh youth TV programme Mosgito by its web executive producer Nia M. Davies and examples of clay animation and Welsh web terms standardisation.

  • capturing assets,  digital storytelling,  timeless,  tips

    Avoid using other people’s stuff – number 7 of 7 DS no-nos

    This is your story, so try to use your own images, story, words, original sentiments, music, style, philosophy, etc. as far as you can. The promotion of royalty-free content advocated by some digital storytelling trainers means that opportunities may be missed. Of course, sometimes you’ll find yourself working with people who have no access to their own materials. And teachers in class with young children may also find it easier to use images from the internet. If you do use your own personal materials though, you’ll not only avoid issues around intellectual property, but your story will also truly be your own. Written and first published by Gareth Morlais on…

  • digital storytelling,  empowerment,  japan,  media literacy,  story

    Tribute forms

    “How can people participate without  necessarily having to be centre stage?” That’s a question I’ve been asking myself ever since discussing digital storytelling with a colleague, Grahame Davies, last year. My experience of Digital Stories is that they’re usually personal. This aspect of ‘talking about myself’ raises a barrier in some people and cultures. This was an issue raised by some people I met in Japan earlier this year. Last night, on TV, I saw a piece of video that stands as a good example of a ‘tribute form’. Look at the first 55 seconds of the video clip on this page. It’s in Welsh. It features  people who live…

  • mobile,  tips

    Pink fingertip syndrome

    This is a new term I just had to invent. We launched a new Welsh-language mobile website yesterday (info). It was fast as anything when I browsed it alone, yet when I needed to show it to Siwan from the press office, it loaded ever so slowly. Why did this happen? Because of pink fingertip syndrome – I pressed the buttons differently when I was demonstrating and the server ‘knew’.

  • digital storytelling

    Eisteddfod 2008

    It’s the week of the National Eisteddfod which is back here in Cardiff for the first time in 30 years. Lots of buzz on the Maes. I met Gwion Llwyd of Sbarc! yesterday while watching Mr Huw play live. Sbarc! is a successful Digital Storytelling project based in Caernarfon, run by Rhian Cadwaladr. Gwion said they’re experimenting with some interesting new story forms and he’s also part of Rhyfeddod.com – a performing art group which is planning an autumn show where projected couplets written by different poets are triggered depending on where on a stage a person stands. They’re also working on  a newly-funded slate-mining heritage project. Gwion’s fascinated by…