5. Developing a digital story
A. Start with an essay
Where the land is stepped on, the sky above it must be upheld
Trikartikaningsih Byas
When I first left my parents’ house and home country in 1990, I landed in room 214 at Whittier Hall of
Teachers College Columbia University where I shared the suite with four Americans. As an Indonesian, I
live by two important proverbs: where the land is stepped on, the sky above it must be upheld, which
expects me to always respect the host community wherever I go; and follow the way of paddy (rice), the
more content it has, the lower it bows which advises me to be humble and not attract attention. Mature
and filled paddy (rice) hull will bow due to its weight, while the empty hull will stand straight.
Indonesians are advised to be humble, like paddy; the more knowledge they acquire the lower they should
bow and not attract attention.
Respecting the host culture and not attracting attention were relatively easy since being a minority was in
itself a humbling experience. Though a practicing Muslim, I did not look different from my American
suitemates, except for my straighter and blacker hair, darker complexion, smaller eyes, and not-sogenerous nose. I wore casual clothes like they did, plus the extra layers in winter or a parasol in the
summer. I did most of what my suitemates did: we had breakfast and watched TV together; we went to
plays, movies and parades; on my first birthday in NYC I even joined them at Club Baja where they
failed to persuade me to drink something more expensive and “substantial” than soda since they would
pick the tab. As a Muslim I do not drink alcoholic beverages.
In dealing with differences, I chose the strategy of yielding and avoidance. In matters not related to
principles I let people have their way and I avoided situations that would be at odds with my belief. All in
all, I was able to blend into the American graduate student dorm life with the help of my suitemates in my
cultural learning. Even when misunderstandings occurred among us, we quickly resolved them in our
discussion over breakfasts or while watching Twin Peaks.
Blending and being humble, however, were never easy when it comes to my name. As many Indonesians,
I only have one name. I never thought that my name would pose serious challenges in this “land of the
free.” Seventeen letters makes my name—Trikartikaningsih. It has three parts: Tri - kartika - ningsih. Tri
indicates the order of birth: third. Kartika, which means source of light or star, is the essence of my name.
Finally, ningsih is an indicator of my gender—female. Even without having met me, most Indonesians
would know that I am the third child and a female.
Arriving at Teachers College, I went straight to the International Student Office. The advisor, Nancy
Bruce, told me that I needed to apply for a social security number so that I can register for classes and
open a bank account. She took me and other international students to the Social Security Office three days
later. We arrived at the office early, yet there were many people already waiting. I took a number, filled
out the application form, and anxiously awaited my turn, just as I had waited in immigration check at JFK
airport a week earlier. Everything was new, so I was not sure what to expect. I checked my application
and the documents I had in my folder. When my number was called, I rushed to the counter. I submitted
my application and was nervous when the agent flipped my application back and forth several times.
“What is your last name?” the agent asked.
“I don’t have a last name,” I replied. “I only have one name,” I added while frantically pulling out
the documents from the folder—passport, translations of birth certificate, school diplomas and
transcripts—as proofs
“Here, only one name in all my documents,” I explained.
TByas / B. Technology / p. 29
“You cannot apply if you don’t have a last name,” she sternly said, pushing all my documents
back to me. “You must have a last name before I can accept and process your application.” She signaled
me to return to the waiting area and called another number.
Feeling all eyes were on me, I quietly gathered my documents and walked to where Nancy sat. I told her
the situation. She was quiet as she did not know what to say. She might have never met anyone with only
one very long name like me. I slumped in the chair and was feeling dizzy.
“What is wrong with having one name? Why do I have to have a last name?”
I continued the silent questioning to no avail. Then reality sank in. The host culture required a last name. I
was the exception and I should not draw people’s attention. If I wanted to study here, I needed a social
security number. And to have a social security number, I needed to have a last name.
“But where do I get a last name? What name should I use? What proof do I have for that?”
I was baffled and ready to break down. Then I remembered my mom’s words to leave the decision to
Allah the Creator. I invoked some du’a (supplications) and thought about how my parents named my
siblings. An inspiration came to me: separate the birth order from the rest of the name. Tri Kartikaningsih.
I consoled myself thinking that my name would still appear the same, except for the space and the capital
K in the middle. Then I filled out a new application form and went back to the counter.
I was quiet on the way back to campus, and after thanking Nancy, I went straight to my dorm room. I
cried the whole afternoon and wanted so much to call my parents to apologize for what I did. But it was
after midnight in Jakarta and they must have gone to bed already. I woke them up three hours later and
told them what happened. My father was supportive of my decision, yet I sensed his dislike of anybody
forcing me to change my name. He had instilled in me pride in my name and identity; what happened in
the Social Security Administration office crushed that sense of pride.
“It is OK. We understand. Just remember that you will be in the U.S. for a short while. God
willing, it will not change who you are,” he comforted me.
I was relieved after speaking with my parents and prayed that my anger/frustration would pass. I was
wrong. When I received the social security card in the mail with my name cut in two, I felt mutilated. I
was upset, but realized I had allowed the SSA to identify me as such because I wanted to avoid
“problems.” I reminded myself that the card would serve some purposes. Thus, after registering for
classes and opening a bank account the next morning, I buried the card at the bottom of my suitcase,
hoping not to need it again. I was relieved that I did not have to use that new name on other things. To
preserve my name I adopted an initial T as my first name, and used my complete name as a last name.
Problems related to completing forms were solved, but not in conversation. No one can pronounce my
name; thus, not wanting to draw attention to myself and to ease communication, I resorted to my
nickname.
Tika is the default nickname for most kartikas. I was tika as a child and still am to some of my relatives.
Nothing was wrong with tika, but as a curious teenager, I wanted to be different. Reviewing the alphabet
while learning English in junior high, I decided to adopt the seventeenth letter as my new identity: Q, as
my initial, and its Indonesian pronunciation /ki/ as my nickname. Since that day, I have been kiki to my
friends and my siblings, but at the core I am still Trikartikaningsih. Most friends I made in the U.S.
would know me as “kiki with ONE very long name.” In fact, I prefer it to people cutting my name in
places I least expected.
Two decades have passed and I have since acquired a legal last name; yet, the struggle continues. I am
holding up the sky still, hoping for the day I can claim my name and identity without attracting attention
or creating problems so I can continue bowing humbly as the good, mature paddy.
TByas / B. Technology / p. 30
B. Develop a storyboard
Title: Where the land is …
Slide #
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Author: Trikartikaningsih Byas
Content
Title
Introduction:
- First time in the US
- The values from Indonesia  proverbs
- Adjustment to dorm life
Orientation to Problem:
- Applying for Social Security Card
Problem:
- Application rejected: No Last Name
- Suggested Solution: Must have last name
Devising a Last name:
- Compared my name to my siblings’
- Created a ‘new’ name
- Filled a new application  success
At the dorm  wanting to call parents
- Emotion while waiting
- Called and my father’s words
Orientation to another problem
- Receiving the social security card
o Emotion
- Realization
Problem: What is my identity?
- The name on SSC?
Naming Strategies
- Paper work / Legal Documents
- Communication  Nick Name
More than a decade after: Having a legal last name
- Problem with name continues
o First name too long
11
12
On a separate page, create a storyboard for your own memoir.
Create the Storyboard for your own story.
TByas / B. Technology / p. 31
Media
Title: _________________________________________
Slide #
1
Author: _______________________
Content
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
TByas / B. Technology / p. 32
Media
C. Find appropriate media for our digital story
After you complete your Storyboard, it is now time to gather the appropriate media
(pictures, video, statistics, other graphics) for our PowerPoint slides. Below is a list of
websites that might be useful in finding media. When we find a good picture, we save it to
a folder in our USB flash drive and copy the URLs in our record. It will aid us in
acknowledging our sources.
 http://www.gettyimages.com/creativeimages/royaltyfree
 http://www.corbisimages.com/
 http://www.freephotosbank.com/
 http://openphoto.net/
 http://www.picsearch.com/
 http://www.everystockphoto.com/index.php
Search from at least TWO of the sites above. What three main pictures do you need for
your Powerpoint? What keywords do you use to find these pictures?
Slide Theme(s) Keywords
#
of media
used
Copy and Name of
media gathered
URL
When you find a picture you think is relevant for your slides, save it. Follow the following
steps:
a. Right click on the picture, then select “Save Image As” and give a unique name. Make
sure you save it on your USB flash drive. Write the unique name of the picture on the
appropriate space (fourth column) in the handout (see the Finding Media handout
distributed in class).
b. You can also copy and paste the picture to the fourth Column as a reminder. To do so,
right click on the picture, then select “Copy”. Move the cursor to the worksheet, and
“paste” it in the “Copy and Name of media gathered” column.
c. Copy the URL where you find the picture, and paste it on the list (fifth column).
TByas / B. Technology / p. 33
Digital Story # ___
Date: _______________
Title: ___________________________________________________________________
Author: ___________________________________
Slide
#
Theme(s)
Keywords
Copy & Paste
media here
Copy & Paste URL here
TByas / B. Technology / p. 34
Reason
D. Create PowerPoint slides
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TByas / B. Technology / p. 36
E. Record the Story – without animation
This part is from a handout developed by QCC’s Academic Computing Center
TByas / B. Technology / p. 37
TByas / B. Technology / p. 38
After you complete recording your story, make sure to click “finish” (Step 42 - the
last step) on the handout. Once the project completes the rendering (Step 41) and
you have viewed the result of the recording, minimize all windows on your screen,
except the screen for Step 42. Click ‘Finish’.
If you fail to complete Step 42, your production is not complete and you will have to
redo Steps 31-42. Remember that throughout the conversion process, you will have
to hit “Finish” twice (Steps 39 and 42). Please ensure that you do so.
TByas / B. Technology / p. 39
In order to upload your digital story to QCC Media Server, you need to have both the
CAMREC File of your project and the Folder with the same name that contains six or
seven files, as follows:
If you don’t have them in your USB flash drive, check “My Document” (inside the
“Camtasia Studio” folder) OR in “PleaseSaveHere” on the computer. Copy both the
file with the .CAMPROJ (or CAMREC) extension and the FOLDER to your USB flash
drive and take your project to the Academic Computing Center.
You should now have the Video/Movie Clip of your first story.
We will also create a digital story for our other Papers.
TByas / B. Technology / p. 40