This week saw the start of our student hackathon, kicking off with two days of training and practice in digital storytelling, leading up to a showcase of the students’ own stories. Eva, Sam, Alex, and Samia share their reflections on the process.
Stories are the way in which we share things about ourselves, make sense of the world, and remember key moments in our lives. In our first two days, we utilised stories to share pieces of ourselves, to get to know one another and to warm ourselves up to telling some of the many stories which make up the university of Bristol.
We were prompted into telling our stories through visual images, a task which at first seemed daunting in a room of people who up to a few hours ago were complete strangers. But through looking at some of the random pictures during the workshop, we found a spark and started to weave a story. The activity allowed us to put our creative hats on, in some cases for the first time in a while.
As for so many tasks, the hardest bit of writing a story is putting pen to blank sheet of paper. We tried a technique called free writing to get over this – spend 3 minutes just writing, not worrying about how good it is or self-editing, but just getting it down. Sounds awful, but in fact takes the pressure off, and we were all out of the starting gates!
The two days included both creative thinking and technological hands-on practice. We all found it hard to balance the ideal with the achievable, but even though our digital videos may not have been polished, we were amazed how well everyone’s story shone through. Thinking about how to structure and present a story has given us an impetus to explore and communicate experiences.
We were struck by how many educational issues and challenges were highlighted in our collective stories – think how many more there are in every lecture hall and lab across the university. It reminded us how important the student engagement work of the hackathon is, looking at some key issues for the university with that multifaceted student perspective.
The whole experience so far has been fun, interesting, unexpected, and enjoyable. We’ve connected with each other in novel ways, and the next four weeks don’t seem so daunting any more. We’re excited to see what Monday brings.