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Greetings! On
Friday 4 October 2013, as part of its ongoing series of videoconferences
between students in Chennai and elsewhere around the world, the World
Storytelling Institute co-facilitated an Ethnographic Videoconference between
11th Standard / Grade students in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India; and in
Burlington, Wisconsin, USA. The
recording of this 90-minute videoconference is at http://youtu.be/Uyt7AgSYucY . *** In
this videoconference, the students discussed their identities, including in
terms of ways they use language (expressions, idioms, euphemisms, proverbs,
etc). A
list of expressions gathered on the Chennai side is here. A list of expressions -- and general
questions -- gathered on the Burlington side is here. Only a tiny fraction of this material was
discussed. An
essay framing Ethnographic Videoconferencing as having evolved from
Ethnographic Photography, and Ethnographic Film and Video, is here. The
4 Oct 2013 videoconference was a mutual
Ethnographic Videoconference -- people at each site were learning about each
other. This
was a relatively non-academic Ethnographic Videoconference in that no prior
formal fieldwork was conducted, no formal reading was done in advance, and
there was virtually no use of the local vernacular language (Tamil) on the
India side. Videoconference
sessions between students could certainly be designed to be more structured
and rigorous than the 4 Oct 2013 videoconference. This could be done, for examples, by
assigning readings to be discussed, and having students prepare and give
brief presentations (including the playing of brief video recordings they
might have made). Also,
I am interested in developing videoconferences that might be a combination of
student-to-student, and Indian-artist-to-distant-students, events. That is, on the Chennai side we could have
a dancer, a cinema actor, or any other artist (folk, commercial, classical,
etc) -- as well as myself, and Chennai students. This artist could perform, and then could
be interviewed by the local Chennai students, and also by the distant
students in the USA. *** I
have come to the conclusion that my favorite visual configuration for the
webcast and recording of a videoconference is for both participants' images
to appear side-by-side -- as in the still-image here, taken from the
15 Oct 2011 videoconference mentioned below.
This way, viewers can perpetually see the speakers and the listeners
at the same time, and there is no distraction caused by images appearing and
disappearing. A
disadvantage of a side-by-side presentation is that both pictures are
relatively small, and there are wasted blank areas on the top and bottom of
the overall window -- but I feel these disadvantages can be overcome through
the use of close-ups, and through the end-user making the overall window
large. The
4 Oct 2013 videoconference was webcast and recorded using the more popular
configuration: when sound comes from a site, that site's image appears
full-screen. I
should add that the images in the recording of the 4 Oct 2013 videoconference
appear slightly thin -- this has to do with the (width-to-height) aspect-ratio
of the recording. *** Options
for future videoconferences include, 1)
Reliance Communications facilities (which were used for the 4 Oct 2013
videoconference), and 2)
Google+ (involving a "Google Hangout" videoconference with the
"On Air" method of webcasting the videoconference and placing the
recording on Youtube). Advantages
of the Reliance option include: they could provide a large space, a teletorium (an auditorium equipped
with videoconference technology), which would be especially helpful if
dancers, and/or large classes of students, might be involved at the Chennai site;
and the equipment is professional quality. One
advantage of the Google Hangout option is: one could participate in the
videoconference from one's laptop or tablet computer. Just for general interest, a sample
recording of a Google Hangout videoconference is here, and a written
tutorial is here. *** Recordings
of three other recent Ethnographic Videoconferences facilitated by the WSI
are at 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXlKGaTN-t4
. (The
audio volume is a little low: an external speaker may be needed.) 20
March 2013 -- This
is a recording of a videoconference between students at Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT)-Madras, and at the University of Malaya, at Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia. The session topic was,
"Everyday Creativity: Indian and Malaysian Ways of Doing Things". Students discussed their identities in terms
of language use (such as sayings and proverbs), and other cultural
practices. The faculty person on the
Malaysia side is Dr Faridah Noor, Chair of the eCulture Working Group of the Asia-Pacific Advanced Network, which
facilitates regional and global research projects involving very high speed
Internet. 2 24
Oct 2012 -- This
is a recording of a videoconference between students at IIT-Madras, and at
the American University in Cairo, Egypt.
The session topic was, "Everyday Creativity: Indian and Egyptian
Ways of Doing Things". Students
discussed their identities in terms of personal experiences, language, epics,
and social-political events. The
2-page handout for the event is here. 3 http://tinyurl.com/archived-webcast-of-videoconf
. 15
Oct 2011 -- This
is a recording of a videoconference between people (including a professional
Mahabharata storyteller) at IIT-Madras; and Folklore scholars at Indiana
University, in Bloomington, Indiana, USA. The session topic was, "An Anti-War
Sentiment in the Performance of Mahabharata, an Epic about War". Additional info about the event is here. *** Feedback
regarding any of the above would be most appreciated! Many
thanks, -
Eric Chennai Dr
Eric Miller (PhD in Folklore) Director,
World Storytelling Institute http://www.storytellinginstitute.org
eric@storytellinginstitute.org Personal
website, http://www.storytellingandvideoconferencing.com 98403
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