Module 3 – Storytelling and Video for a Learning Purpose

Storytelling

In the reading this week, 7 Storytelling Techniques Used by the Most Inspiring TED Presenters, which of the presenters did you find most compelling? What technique(s) did you recognize in their talk?

I find the presentation of Richard Turere, the 12-year-old Masai Boy from Kenya, very compelling. I was hooked the moment the images from the Nairobi park came to the screen, mainly because of my interest in nature and wildlife and also the immersive quality of how these images are used to support Richard’s story. It made the viewers feel as if they were part of the story too. It also helped a lot that Richard even at such a young age is engaging as a speaker. This presentation for me pretty much used a lot of the storytelling techniques from the story being a personal story of the presenter, the way he hooked the audience with larger-than-life images of his home, the tension he described between keeping their cattle safe from the lions in the reserve and the way how he resolved that conflict ultimately a win-win situation for both his tribe and the lions.

My Twine Story

The Adventures of Juan Tamad (Lazy John)

The story I made for my twine is based on a folklore from the Philippines about a character named Juan Tamad (Lazy John). His story has many variations but is full of misadventures. I made a version wherein he learned important life lessons and proved that even the laziest of souls could find courage, wisdom, and love in the face of challenges. Above is the screenshot of my twine story, I added AI-generated images to illustrate the characters and the setting. An option to go on another adventure is given after each story.

The Adventures of Juan Tamad

In a small, bustling town in the northern part of the Ilocos region in the heart of the Philippines, there lived a young man named Juan Tamad (Tamad – meaning lazy). Juan was known far and wide for his laziness, often avoiding work. Despite his lack of ambition, fate had a peculiar way of throwing him into extraordinary situations, each requiring a choice that would shape his destiny.

Three options for adventures

Adventure 1 – The Mysterious Cave

One day, while lazing under a mango tree, Juan spotted a peculiar cave hidden amidst the hills of Mount Sicapoo. Intrigued, he decided to investigate.

Option 1 – Enter the Cave

Juan, driven by curiosity, ventured into the cave. Deep inside, he encountered a mystical creature, the Duwende (a dwarf), who offered him a choice: a bag of endless rice or a magical lamp with a wish-granting Diwata (good fairy) inside.

Option 1.1 – Choose the Endless bag of riceJuan chose the bag of endless rice, ensuring his family’s prosperity. However, he soon faced challenges on how to use this newfound wealth wisely.

Option 1.2 – Choose the Magic Lamp

Opting for the lamp, Juan discovered a beautiful diwata inside. He could use his wishes to help others, enrich his community, or fulfill his own desires.

Option 2 – Go on another adventure

Adventure 2 – The Enchanted Forest

While wandering in the forest, Juan encountered a group of talking animals. They were in great distress because their leader, a wise Tikbalang (A mythical creature, part-man, part-horse), was captured by a wicked engkanto (a fairy or a sprite).

Option 1 – Rescue the Tikbalang

Juan decided to rescue the Tikbalang (A mythical creature, part-man, part-horse) and embarked on a quest deep into the enchanted forest. Along the way, he met mythical creatures like Kapre (huge and hairy creature who smokes tobacco and stays on top of a tree) and Nuno sa Punso (old man of the mound), who either aided or hindered his progress.

Option 1.1 – Gain Allies

Juan made allies with the mythical creatures, learning valuable skills and insights about the forest’s magic. With their help, he rescued the Tikbalang and earned the forest’s gratitude.

Option 1.2 – Face challenges alone

Ignoring the creatures’ advice, Juan faced challenges alone, relying solely on his wit and resourcefulness. His journey was tougher, but in the end, he managed to rescue the Tikbalang and gained their respect.

Option 2 – Go on another adventure

Adventure 3 – The Love of Maria

In the neighboring village, Juan met a beautiful and kind-hearted girl named Maria. He was instantly smitten, but she demanded proof of his worth before considering his affections.

Option 1.1 – Prove His Worth: become a Fisherman

Determined to win Maria’s heart, Juan sought employment, despite his lazy nature. He could choose to work as a fisherman, a farmer, or a craftsman, each job teaching him important life lessons.

Juan became a skilled fisherman, learning the importance of patience and perseverance. His hard work earned him the respect of the village and, eventually, Maria’s love.

Option 1.2 – Prove His Worth: become a Farmer

Determined to win Maria’s heart, Juan sought employment, despite his lazy nature. He could choose to work as a fisherman, a farmer, or a craftsman, each job teaching him important life lessons.

Working as a farmer, Juan understood the value of nurturing and patience. His dedication resulted in a bountiful harvest, impressing Maria and her family.

Option 1.3 – Prove His Worth: become a craftsman

Determined to win Maria’s heart, Juan sought employment, despite his lazy nature. He could choose to work as a fisherman, a farmer, or a craftsman, each job teaching him important life lessons.

Mastering the art of craftsmanship, Juan showcased his creativity and dedication. His intricate creations captured Maria’s heart, leading to their happily ever after.

Option 2 – Go on another adventure

I can see Twine as a great learning tool for gamification of your learning content. If I envision this for use in a design lesson, I can employ the use of Twine to present scenarios to students to select the appropriate font or color for a design project, such as a display ad. As they select options you can insert explanations on why or how their selected option is a good choice or otherwise.

Video for a Learning Purpose – Basics of Modern Calligraphy

What is the learning purpose of your video?

I find the art of calligraphy both modern and traditional, fascinating. It’s also something I do to destress and veer away from my usual digital work. In this learning video, Basics of Modern Calligraphy, I aim to teach the basic strokes that one needs to learn to write modern calligraphy. You can combine these different strokes to form letters and as you continue to practice, you’ll be able to create any letter you want. I also want to convey that calligraphy is not the same as one’s handwriting, and even if you don’t have the best handwriting, you can still learn and practice calligraphy.

Which of the principles we’ve covered this term (e.g., Mayer/Universal Design for Learning/Cognitive Load Theory) did you incorporate into your design and why?

In this learning video, I incorporated Mayer’s Segmenting, Coherence, Signaling, Spatial and Temporal contiguity Principles. Following the segmenting principle, I made sure that the video is not too long and dragging. I chose YouTube as the platform so the viewer will have the option to pause and rewind. I demonstrated how each of the basic strokes is performed one at a time and provided two camera angles so the viewer will have a clear view of how they will write each calligraphy stroke. I also inserted a frame-by-frame animation on how each of the basic strokes are written, with arrows to guide the learner on where to start and the direction of the handwriting, this visual element is also an application of Mayer’s Signaling, Spatial and Temporal contiguity principle.

I also believe that this provides a bit of a pause between each calligraphy stroke before the next demonstration. Using the coherence principle, and to avoid extraneous load, I did not insert any background music anymore so the viewer could focus on the instructions I was providing during the demo. I am aware that I tend to talk fast, and with English as my second language, I am aware of my challenges with pronunciation and diction.

I used related images of written calligraphy (credits to my husband who is also into calligraphy and admittedly a better calligrapher than me =)) so viewers will have an idea of what they can achieve if they practice. I focused on the basic strokes in this learning video to avoid overload of information and can focus on practising those basic strokes first (Germane cognitive load). Lastly, is the application of Mayer’s Signalling principle, where the frame-by-frame animation on how each of the basic strokes is performed, I also presented towards the end how these basic strokes when used and combined can result in a specific letter.

What was challenging about capturing your own video?

What was challenging was synching the voice-over with the video. It is difficult to demonstrate how each of the strokes is done while talking, and it will be hard for me to follow the written script if I do that. So It took a lot of adjustments and practice, on both the video duration and the speed of how I read the script before I was able to synch both elements together.

I also find it hard to do voice-over and applying the personalization principle as I feel self-conscious about the way I speak, even with a lot of practice. Having a script to read helped a lot but maintaining an enthusiastic tone throughout is a bit of a challenge for me.

What did you find easiest?

Because calligraphy is a topic of interest for me, it was not hard for me to come up with the script, do the demo, and find relevant materials to complete this learning video. I have also had experience making videos using iMovie and Quicktime for work and in some of my subjects before so shooting this video is not that difficult anymore.

How would you approach capturing video differently next time?

With the challenge of timing and synching the video with the voice-over, I will be making sure to follow how I have planned the learning video by sticking with the storyboard. The first part of my video transitioned to the actual demo right away so I had to cut some parts of the introduction in the script and insert images into the video to be able to transition well into the first demonstration of the basic strokes.

Script and storyboard for my learning video

Sulat – A simple story about the value of teaching and learning

In line with the lesson about Storytelling and creating a learning video, I’d like to share a video that I made from one my subjects last summer. Titled “Sulat”, a Filipino word which has two meanings – a letter or a message and write or handwriting. The story starts with a mother teaching her child how to write his name, writing the child’s name first and guiding the child’s hand to trace his name. The writing skills of the child progressed from just writing his nickname to his full name and eventually writing in script.

The video started slowly then faster to present the passage of time. In between the lessons in writing are fun moments spent together drawing, doodling and coloring. There is less visibility of the mother’s hand in the video as the child becomes more self-reliant, the only subtle proof that the mother is there are the snacks given to the child as he studies on his own.

The last part of the story presents the child, now a man, writing a letter to his mother, the handwriting, now a flawless script, alludes that hardwork and practice always pays off and behind every beautiful artwork, handwriting, and story are the efforts of the people who helped and supported the student to eventually reach that level of expertise. It also highlights the role of parents, teachers and mentors in the learning process of a child or a student.

I chose to depict the scenes from a top view perspective to ensure that the focus is on the action of writing, with only the elements on the table changing and the hand progressing from a child, an older child and eventually a man.

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