My Favorite Digital Stories

These 2 digital stories jumped out at me the most.

39 Hoops

John Hulme is a 39-year-old basketball fanatic. The story is immediately engaging because the audience can clearly see his true love for the sport. Stephen D Beeson created the digital story in 2009 for the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences. The message of the story is clear; he wants to continue living out his passion but lives in constant fear of injury. He also wants to see his children grow and fall in love with basketball as well. The film is very well shot and put together. It is like a mini documentary following a short period of Hulme’s life and struggles. Video of Hulme playing is prevalent and the audience can see his pain as he suffers an injury to his Achilles tendon. The repetition of excitement in his voice and the passion in his eyes relay how truly important it is too feel this strongly about something. This story can be an inspiration to anyone who feels lost, down, or is thinking about giving up. His energy compels the audience to be involved and love something as much as Hulme loves basketball. There are clips from the movie “White Men Can’t Jump,” these express his yearning to be accepted into the basketball community. He gets no greater enjoyment than to be respected as a player on the court and to impress others with not only his skill but also his sportsmanship

Let’s Call Her Michelle

Victoria Erikson created this digital story in 2007 she is an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado School of Nursing. Her inspiration comes from a special case she had when she was just starting out as a nurse. The responsibility of flying to a rural hospital in central Florida from Miami to pick a pre-mature newborn was put on Erikson and two other nurses. The doctor on call at the hospital in Miami did not want to risk the plane crashing and refused to go. Erikson cared for the child and for privacy reasons calls her Michelle on the video. The bond between the two grew as the child improved in strength and health. Michelle was discharged and Erikson thought her journey with the infant was over. Sadly, Michelle died after her father threw her against a headboard in their home. She was only six months old. The message Erikson wants to relay is that all patients have a story and should be treated as human beings not cases. There is soft music in the background with Erikson narrating the story in a voice over. The music competes with the voice over but ultimately the message of the story over powers all other sounds. Photos are used to show the story progress and the length is perfect for holding a viewers attention. Erikson now prepares nursing students for major exams and life after college. The gift of this story is that each patient is unique and should be remembered as a person not just by his or her symptoms.