Why Digital Storytelling?

Engaging students in the process of digital storytelling is a wonderful way to provide the students with the opportunity to create something that is authentically a demonstration of their own learning as well as a great way to thoughtfully integrate technology within the classroom. Stories in and of themselves are a great learning tool that has been used for millennia by all cultures leading back to the eve of civilization and prehistory. Current non-literate hunter-gatherer populations that are still present in some parts of our world still have vibrant oral storytelling traditions. Today we can harness easy to use technological tools that are internet-based such as voicethread.com, storybird.com, and many other that are based on programs like Windows MovieMaker for PC and IMovie for Mac that are usually present in basic Office Suite applications. Regardless of the tools that keep changing that are becoming simpler and easier to use, students can definitely be engaged by creating stories. According to Bernajean Porter, a respected consultant on digital stories and other technologies,

"Digital Storytelling takes the ancient art of oral storytelling and engages a palette of technical tools to weave personal tales using images, graphics, music and sound mixed together with the author's own story voice. Digital storytelling is an emerging art form of personal, heartful expression that enables individuals and communities to reclaim their personal cultures while exploring their artistic creativity." (Click here for her website)

 

The power of stories and Digital storytelling is a compelling way that engages the students in various skills. This includes:

• having the students learn about the different elements of a story,
  
• practicing communication through crafting stories,
  
• grasping content that is relevant to whatever is being taught by understanding and creating a story, and also
  
• providing the students with an avenue to integrate technology in an authentic learning task.
  

The benefits to digital storytelling are explained by this wiki and are as follows:

• using digital storytelling will assist both the visual as well as auditory learners
  
• allowing students to practice and engage in active learning
  
• developing a sense of ownership, or pride in work
  
• increasing fluency
  
• learning to think critically about what might be the most effective combinations to create audio and visual elements
  
• increasing technology and media literacy
  
• teaching primary resources and other content-specific skills
  

There are multiple websites that can assist us with examples and approaches to utilizing digital stories. Here are some of them that I suggest and the reasons for their inclusion on this list. The University of Houston's website titled the Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling is an excellent and trustworthy resource. It has great pages on the website that explore important aspects of digital storytelling and is definitely important to refer to when understanding the overall uses and resources for digital storytelling. Another great resource for Digital Storytelling is called the Center for Digital Storytelling, accessed here. It is a great resource that includes examples of digital stories in different contexts for different uses. Both of these sites are reputable and are a great place to start understanding digital storytelling.

The following resources are wikis that provide further details about digital storytelling and their application within the classroom. Some sites include rubric examples, lessons, and other items that are useful to the classroom teacher. The first wiki is by Dr. Couros,, and serves as a simple resource on the subject with helpful links. The next wiki that can provide some useful information is from ISTE (International Society for Technology Educators), the pages about links, definitions, and examples are the most useful. A practical wiki that has lesson ideas, rubrics, and other essential information is here. A great stop for teachers who are expecting to use digital storytelling in their classrooms soon. The final recommended wiki is here, and it has a presentation that further explores digital storytelling and its uses in the classroom.

Now it is time for the conversation to begin. What do you think about digital storytelling? What uses do you think it has educationally? How should it be used in the classroom? What age group is appropriate for creating digital storytelling and why (elementary education majors, refer to storybird.com before you answer this question)? What content areas do you see digital storytelling used the most? How can you apply it in your own content area? Please post your responses below.