William Hazelwood is bringing new life to PowerPoint with the magic of haiku.
Hazelwood, an award-winning documentary television producer, is teaching a digital storytelling class at Sonoma State University's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute that shows the "50 and better" students how to create a new kind of memoir and personal photo journal.
His class uses the simple images, text, and music of a haiku format to unleash the creative powers of PowerPoint. It is offered Tuesday mornings at the Sonoma County Office of Education until March 1.
In the class, says Hazelwood "many men and women over 50 are getting into digital storytelling as a change from traditional cut and paste paper scrapbooks. My hope is that a few will want to compete in the many digital festivals popping up on the internet landscape, including one I am proposing to be hosted by the LLI"
Hazelwood, who's lived in the Bay Area for 35 years, moved to Sonoma County a few years ago and opened Sojourna Productions in Sebastopol. He feels his work with the art of storytelling has helped him in a bout against cancer.
After years of coaching CEOs of Fortune Five Hundred corporations how to improve their public speaking under the handicap of dry and statistical PowerPoint presentations, he says it is a delight to work with students using the same technology in new ways.
"Creating and leaving a personal legacy means a great deal to me at a time in my life when my children ask about my early life experiences. And sometimes I simply enjoy photo journaling about what is going on in my life right now," he says.
Hazelwood says he often sends digital essays to his sisters on the East coast, and to his two daughters, stepdaughter and stepson. This includes everything from illustrated poems to haikus about local wildlife to animated photo albums of his first non-city flower and vegetable gardens. He has even been able to help his wife visually document and illustrate work she does for her real estate clients and favorite charity.
Hazelwood says he hopes to have the first Digital Storytelling and Haiku Festival this year at SSU.
Hazelwood's expertise stems from teaching public speaking, broadcast communication and still photography. For over 30 years he produced and directed broadcast productions for the PBS and CBS television networks, National Public Radio and Fortune 500 corporations.
Subjects ranged from politics to economics, sensuality to spirituality, comedy to drama, entertainment to environment and from safety to sports.
