EDUC-5333 Week 1

About Me

Hello! I’m Brad Buttry, and I’m excited to start this journey into Digital Storytelling with all of you. 

I’m an instructional designer who implements advanced technological training solutions for USAF students. Throughout my career journey, I’ve gained valuable insights into how technology can improve curriculum design, boost student engagement, and enhance educational outcomes. My objective is to use the training I’ve received and apply my knowledge to make a meaningful contribution to the advancement of various types of training.

In the future, I plan to utilize my expertise to work remotely as an educator, specializing in training curriculum developers for eLearning and instructional design. I aim to equip educators and instructional designers with the skills to create compelling, effective, and learner-centered online learning experiences.

Digital Storytelling

What ideas do you have about a story you might develop during this course? Do you have an upcoming project or topic that you think might be an opportunity for digital storytelling (DST)?

For this course, I'm considering a digital story that would challenge our views about the daily grind of our own struggles and instead focus on those that come around us. In particular, youth who endure various issues like family instability, addiction, and suicidal thoughts. This is a contrasting story between two kinds of characters coming from two different socio-economic backgrounds — a young professional whose career is his passion versus a teenage kid trying to navigate through life's challenges based on his past struggles with addiction.

I'm thinking of a narrative combination of animation and symbolic imagery to demonstrate how their lives cross in small and often subtle manners. The story would have moments where the professional might have any number of opportunities to observe difficulties the teen is going through, yet fails to take notice, lost in his own world. The turning point comes when the 'invisible' teen acts upon the professional with an act of random kindness in a small manner that shifts the professional's perspective. This story is based upon my own specific experiences. 

I hope to make the story one that is thought-provoking and makes the viewer contemplate how often in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we fail to acknowledge battles that others might fight — and what would happen if we were to actually stop and reflect upon the people surrounding us. It will look into themes such as empathy, unseen battles, and the quiet yet profound impact of small moments of connection. I want this to be a more emotionally engaging piece that visually makes the audience reflect on their actions and any opportunity they may have to reach out to others.

How might the readings for the week inform your decision?

This week's readings on digital storytelling speak to the creation of deep emotional connections and intriguing complexities in human experiences that might not have been noted otherwise. I think the key theme that comes from this is the use of storytelling as a means of recognizing unheard voices while at the same time helping audiences be empathetic to them. This directly influenced my decision to focus my digital story on the hidden struggles of young people facing addiction and family instability. The idea that through a narrative I can juxtapose different socio-economic realities is one that resonates with events in my own life. It combines the idea of using DST to portray unseen challenges with also the aspect of shifting the perspective. For me, the readings really brought to life the sense that powerful storytelling has the potential to open a window into another person's world and motivated me to create a story inspiring the viewer to think beyond their own life.

What resonates with you?

What stuck with me the most was how digital storytelling could become a way of challenging our assumptions and pushing audiences to consider their role within society. What I got out of the readings was the thought that through a good story, one is able to do much more than inform — one is able to provide an emotional insight that allows people to take a more humane understanding of the existence of a struggle in others. This somehow goes along with my goal of telling a story that not only showcases the struggles any young person undergoes but points a critical eye at those who frequently fail to seize opportunities to extend help to whoever needs it. 

How do you think DST practices might influence your students or colleagues?

The implementation of DST practices may make a great difference in how students and colleagues are likely to be brought closer to the course materials as well as themselves. DST helps in making the abstract become understandable through a personal tale involving emotions. Even the most complex subject matter could become relevant through the eyes of the learning environment. This becomes very important in sensitive topics that involve addiction and mental health since students get to look beyond statistics and understand the human side of such issues. With DST, colleagues might utilize it as a medium to express any challenges within the setting of education by telling stories that better personalize the topic. By applying the principles of DST in teaching, we can inspire instead of just providing information — we can inspire while creating a deeper commitment to understanding and supporting the individuals with whom we work.

Note. Image generated using Automatic 1111 Standard Diffusion from a prompt I created about my specific story.