Response to Digital Storytelling Resource: #1
*I am currently working my way through my fourth semester of the Information and Learning Technologies master’s program at University of Colorado, Denver. This is the first post within a series of responses to digital storytelling resources that I’ve been assigned to write for a course titled Digital Storytelling.
For this week’s resource, I am writing about (or “responding to”) NFB.ca, or, the National Film Board of Canada’s award-winning online Screening Room, featuring over 2,000 films, excerpts, trailers, and interactive works. 
I found this site while searching for a digital story to critique and I was borderline overwhelmed by the wealth of its video library…but in a good way! I felt like I’d hit some sort of digital storytelling jackpot and immediately bookmarked it for future use. It has so many features, I hardly know where to begin.
According to Wikipedia, the National Film Board of Canada (or simply NFB) is Canada’s twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film and digital media producer and distributor. In total, the NFB has produced over 13,000 productions which have won over 5,000 awards.
- The Films section of the website offers channels, playlists, and various ways to explore the website using extensive search features and functionalities.
- The Interactive section offers “an evolving collection of innovative, interactive stories exploring the world – and our place in it – from uniquely Canadian points of view (from here).”
- The Education section is quite extensive and offers resources, workshops, virtual classrooms, stores, a blog, FAQs, and more.
- The Digital Store allows for visitors to rent and/or download movies and also offers suggestions.
I extremely pleased with this find and I plan on visiting the NFB’s website often in the near future. I even signed up for their newsletter that offers a weekly hand-picked selection of their finest projects…you should too. (I’ll also be searching for the American equivalent to this. If you know of something, please share it in the comments below!)