Locative Media and the End of Digital Storytelling?

I enjoyed Leslie Rule's presentation on locative media up until she mentioned that Digital Storytelling is "dead, morose and depressing". Digital Storytelling can in fact be uplifting, inspirational, robust and exciting, depending on the tone, the assignment and the storyteller. I would even make a case for Digital Storytelling, based on Daniel Pink's theory in that it forces the storyteller to use the right side of their brain; to listen to their creative side, to cultivate their imagination and develop a meaningful story. It's easy to go somewhere and talk about that location's significance...cool. However, a beautiful story is not easy to tell and the techniques of digital storytelling provide learners with the tools to craft a story that is personal and necessary to share with others. On a cultural level, digital storytelling preserves folklore, traditions, mores and oral history which are the ties that bind communities and families.

Meanwhile.......

I thought about locative media and how it could be useful to me. I have never really been sold on Google Earth, but I had a chance to attend a workshop presented by Jerome Burg, the creator of a website, Google Lit Trips (http://www.googlelittrips.com/), and his examples of curriculum integration of Google Earth were invaluable. He created Google Lit Trips using Google Earth, where a student could experience great works of literature and nonfiction, such as The Grapes of Wrath or Night, by tracing the routes the various characters took throughout their journey. On a Google Lit Trip, students can experience the topography of the area, view maps and images and pause to reflect on questions that are posed along the route. As I watched the presentation, I thought this could be a meaningful learning experience for students.