PROJECT PARTNERS
- Alameda Free Library
- Alameda Museum
- USS Hornet Museum
- Alameda Naval Air Museum
- Buena Vista United Methodist Church
Oral History Links
- Veterans History Project: Voices of WWII
- Sansei Legacy Project
- The Densho Project: Japanese Internment
- Children of the Camps: Japanese Internment
- Library of Congress: Preserving Digital Material
- KQED Digital Story Initiative
- Storycorps
- Digital Storytelling Institute
- TechSoup Training
- Center for Digital Storytelling
- American Folklife Center
More Questions?
Contact
David Hall or Claire Coustier at
Alameda Free Library 1550 Oak Street Alameda, California 94501
(510) 747-7730
Storymaker Index
View stories by our Otis Elementary Storymakers!
View stories by our Wood Middle School Storymakers!
"The children we are teaching today are members of the digital generation. They are tech-savvy and hungry for more."
Read The Island blog's Monday Profile of Jeannette Copperwaite, California of the Past Alameda's Media Specialist, here!
Read The Island blog's Monday Profile of Nancy Ely, Storymakers collaborating teacher of Wood Middle School's GATE class, here!
With appreciation and thanks to Royalty Free Music.com
for their generous donation of royalty-free production music!
THE PROGRAM
In September 2009, there were two public screenings of collected California of the Past stories about Alameda, resulting in a great deal of positive feedback and encouragement from community members. At that time, a number of educators expressed a desire to participate in some capacity for the benefit of their students, particularly those studying local and state history.
The Project Team believes in digital storytelling as an excellent method of connecting young people to the history of their community, and welcomes these partnerships with local schools and youth organizations. We are currently working with Wood Middle School and Otis Elementary students, along with a local troop of Girl Scouts who are earning their "Across Generations" badge!
BENEFITS OF DIGITAL STORYTELLING
The Storymakers curricula was created in alignment with State of California K-12 academic content standards in English/Language Arts, History/Social Science, and Information Technology. Oral history:
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Teaches research methods and communication skills
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Develops listening, questioning, analyzing, and storytelling skills
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Integrates individual/family history with local, California, national and international history in context of time and place – brings history to life!
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Illustrates cause and effect, importance of life choices, values, character
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Shows role of family, community, institutions, government in individual life
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Supports respectful communication with elders
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Supports empathy across generational and ethnic/racial divides
"The use of biographies...and other narrative artifacts from our past is encouraged to foster students' understanding of historical events by revealing the ideas, values, fears and dreams of the people associated with them. Found in archives, museums, historical sites, and libraries across California, these original materials are indispensable resources. The State Board hopes schools will take advantage of these repositories and encourage students' direct contact with history."
History/Social Science Content Standards for California Public Schools (Intro. page vi)
OUR STORYMAKERS PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
Promoting intergenerational sharing of stories of California
Encouraging immigrants to share memories of the State
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Providing educators and students with digital storytelling skills
Creating a statewide history resource of life in California
Encouraging library/community partnerships
