Using the digital to bring out the human
On 6 May 2018 (7 May in Australia), around 100 educators from 5 continents, 12 countries, came together via YouTube and Google Hangouts — and changed professional development forever. #MADPD (Make A Difference) is the brainchild of two extraordinary Canadian teachers, Peter Cameron and Derek Rhodenizer, who brought this virtual unconference event to fruition by frenzied networking in Real Life and on social media, particularly Twitter. Though the majority of presenters were Canadian (#MADPD trended on Canadian Twitter for the entire day, earning around two million impressions), there were presentations from the USA, the UK, Ireland, Israel, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand — a truly global event, proving once again that education does not recognise boundaries.
Fellow Future-U community member Dr Elizabeth Heck and I were fortunate to secure a space for an hour-long panel, exploring a topic that is dear to both of us: digital storytelling. We were joined by two remarkable guests, e-learning expert and academician Virginia Dickenson A.B.D. of eLumenata Inc in Texas, USA, and accomplished poet Mercedes Webb-Pullman M.F.A from the Kapiti Coast of New Zealand.
Digital storytelling is one of the nexus points of Future Literacies Creativity and Storytelling, and like the digital world itself, its boundaries are ever-shifting. Over the course of the discussion, we explore the fears and prejudices of those who hold traditional methods sacred, while attempting to arrive at a working definition and practice that embraces the fluidity of technology and tech users. Above all, our focus is in amplifying the stories of the silenced, the marginalised, the forgotten — digital storytelling is their platform and neither it nor they are going away.
You can view the entire #MADPD playlist here, at your leisure — the best way to learn. The scope of ideas, theories and practice is beyond any kind of professional learning event I’ve ever attended in real life, and the sense of community among presenters ensures that this model will continue long into the future.
