Revelation On Revelations!

Confessions of a Digital Storytelling Teacher: Twenty Revelations About Digital Storytelling in Education

I am somewhat of an anomaly in this program in that I am not a teacher. I may have a teachers soul but that is not my current job. I am thus faced with a unique challenge to relate the readings, which typically focus on teaching, to my job as an insurance adjuster.....I think I have bridged the gap! By thinking of teaching as simply an effective information exchange I am able to link many of the concepts Ohler is discussing with my everyday challenges in my office. He hit the nail on the head when he said, 

"learning communities are primarily storytelling communities. Stories permeate our social fabric and have the primary function of teaching others, whether formally or informally. When you get right down to it, much of the communication that transpires among people, whether in classrooms, offices, living rooms, or the online communities that permeate the Internet, consists of telling stories" (Jason B. Ohler. Digital Storytelling in the Classroom: New Media Pathways to Literacy, Learning, and Creativity (pp. 6-7). Kindle Edition. )

When handling bodily injury claims we always say that every claim is the same and every claim is difference. I can't tell you how many rear end accident oft tissue neck and back claims I have had. This being said, when I want to discuss a claim with my boss I need to do what is called a "claims presentation". basically i tell him a brief STORY of what is going on in the claim. We need to describe everything from the damages to the cars, to the injuries, when they treated, who with, their job how much they make, are they married, kids, dependents, do they play sports or other physical activities, are they educated, would they make a good witness.....the list goes on. My boss needs to know if his is a 32 year old full time working single mother who needs to lift a two year old every day regardless of her back injuries. This is worth more as a claim then say another individual with less demands on them. 

We use this same format of presentation when we "roundtable" with colleagues to understand how they would value the claim. As a new rep to the BI department I am requested to sit in on these "roundtables" to help me learn more about different kinds of claims and absorb different perspectives on handling and evaluation. basically everyone as work sits around and shares claim stories to learn more for themselves and teach others. In relation to Ohler's revelations this is how we "organize information" and it shows how regardless of digital literacy the experience and depth of knowledge and experienced claims handler has is invaluable to the process of developing new adjuster. 

Revelation#1-Lisa

If we videotaped these claims presentations and used them as training tools I think it could be a very effective way to pass on and lock in information for the trainee.