StoryToGo

Exploring storytelling in its many forms in this digital age

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A Children’s Yoga Adventure Story Created in Elementari

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Lori Yearwood created the most beautiful, calming, and relaxing animated adventure story today using Elementari – a platform designed to allow children, youth, teachers, schools, and adults to create interactive, animated stories. Lori’s story is crafted to give kids at home a relaxing yoga experience that takes them on a virtual adventure to a day at the seashore.

A Children’s Yoga Adventure Story to the Seashore

Watch, read, listen, and enjoy!

As you watch, read, listen, and enjoy the story above, wait for the flashing white arrow. Click on it to turn the pages. If it does not appear, then click the left arrow on your keyboard to flip the page. Also, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for things to click on within the story iteself.

Elementari

We were fortunate enough to ‘virtually meet’ and learn about Elementari from one of the founders, Nicole Kang. Nicole kindly participated in our new vlogcasting series on Sustainable Funding Solutions for Media, Educators, and Technologists. You can watch the premiere episode of the vlogcast featuring Nicole and Elementari, below.

Elementari is currently helping teachers and parents, who are looking for ways to keep kids learning during the COVID-19 school closures, by giving them free premium access to their interactive storytelling platform to help kids learn how to read, write, and code.

Request Free Premium Access

Lori Yearwood as Phoenix Rising

Aside from being one of the Founders of StoryToGo, Lori Yearwood is a children’s book author and has a newer not-so-secret identity as a yoga and exercise instructor. You can follow along with her yogi adventure at PhoenixMoments on Instagram.

TEDx Warsaw: Erica Speaks on Immersive Storyworlds

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The title of Erica Hargreave‘s TEDx Warsaw talk, Permission to be the Other, couldn’t have been more perfect! She playfully spoke to a captivated audience about how to create immersive storyworlds by first allowing yourself to be creative and enter the minds of different characters. Take a glimpse into her brand of storytelling.

Erica is one of the World’s trailblazers in digital and transmedia storytellers, especially when it comes to bringing characters to life. She has been creating cross-platform media and immersive storyworlds before she knew there were terms for what she was doing. Currently her work is also directed at empowering students to create their own storyworlds at post-secondary schools in Canada. These courses are available online through BCIT to anyone in the World. You can learn more about them here: BCST 1193 – Social Media Storytelling and BCST 1073 – Building and Engaging Communities.

If you’d like to see more TEDx Talks from Erica, let TEDx know by filling in this form.

Technology and Education ~ A Peace Fund Radio Discussion

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It goes without saying that technology plays a daily role in the lives of most people.  It only makes sense then, that we have started incorporating it into our education system as part of a curriculum boost.  What happens though, when technology receives too much enthusiasm and is overused within the system or is simply not implemented properly? You begin to have two schools of thought, those who think technology is THE way of the future, therefore THE solution, and those who have started to notice the detrimental effects within our classrooms and are striving to change the movement.  One of our StoryToGo members, Lori Yearwood, was invited to participate in a fun, lively conversation about technology and education on The Peace Fund Radio Show.

Peace Fund Raido

The Peace Fund was founded by actor Adrian Paul, best known for his role of Duncan McCloud on the Highlander Series. The acronym ‘Peace’ stands for Protect, Educate, Aid Children Everywhere. Every Wednesday Adrian hosts a live radio show on LA Talk Radio to discuss relevant current issues.  As Adrian has a very large heart, yet even bigger playful personality, his shows encourage a great banter that is humorous yet real and quite relatable to its listeners.

technology and education
See what we mean? Adrian and Lori’s on air selfie.

Since Lori has an educational background, is currently immersed in digital media, and has two kids of her own that have progressed through the school system into high school, she had a lot of insight to bring to this hour long radio broadcast.  Listen to the full recording of the show here:

 

Also featured in this broadcast was 17 year old Michael Bervell who is the Executive Director of Hugs for Ghana. He spoke about his amazing organization which he runs together with his siblings and also commented on his take on the changes in education today.  Michael feels that students are losing their ability to be creative within the methods of instruction now used.

We’d love to hear about your thoughts and experiences as they relate to the pros and cons of technology and education. One key opinion coming out of this radio show was that keeping a balance of a variety of teaching methods seems to be best.

We Want To Know What Makes You Happy

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There has been a fun, yet thought provoking campaign going on about happiness and it’s obstacles.  Realwheels partnered with Ahimsa Media and OneStory in the hopes of finding different ways that people define their identity.  Realwheels is a theatrical company in Vancouver with a strong presence in  disability arts.  They are especially interested in discovering the universal ideas we all have, regardless of physicality.

Using the OnceStory platform to collect and share the interviews, participants have been answering two questions:

1. What makes you happy?

2. Is there an obstacle to that happiness?

Some of the students from our Autumn Interactive Storytelling Course submitted short interviews of themselves and their acquaintances. Here is a OneStory interview Deborah Esseltine took of Adam Snow.

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Although the campaign has ended, the topic What Makes You Happy will remain active in OneStory and we are looking to help make the collection of interviews grow.  You can add your voice in a few simple steps.

To do this you simply need to download the OneStory App for free on your device.  Once you open the App you will see different categories of interviews.  Feel free to give a listen, people have some really interesting things to say! Our topic is found within the Featured interview topics, as well as within the Health related topics.

OneStory App

When you are ready to record your interview click on the red record button with an image of a camera on it in the top right corner of the screen.  Scroll down and select ‘What Makes You Happy?’ Press Next in the top right corner and then enter the name of the person who will be speaking.  Press Next again and then press the button that says ‘Record Answer’  when you are ready to answer the first prompt.

Share your story and see what others have to say by using the hashtag #Wheelvoices on your feeds.  Your participation is ‘what makes us happy’!