Digital Storytelling

Digital story telling is the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories. It is also referred to as "digital documentaries," "computer-based narratives," "digital essays," "electronic memoirs," and "interactive storytelling." Essentially, digital storytelling is the focused on the concept of combining the art of telling stories using a variety of multimedia, that includes graphics, audio, web publishing, and video. The University of Houston provides a website that describes in detail what the educational purposes and uses of digital storytelling are. The following link can redirect you to the website: http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/index.cfm

Most digital stories have a focus on a specific topic and contain a particular point of view on something. That being said, digital stories can contain a mixture of computer-based images, recorded audio narration, text, video clips, and/or music. There is no set topic to focus on in digital storytelling. The focus can be on personal stories, historical events, scientific explorations, etc.

For teachers, digital storytelling can be used as a way to get students interested in what they are learning, simultaneously presenting new information in an engaging manner. For students, digital storytelling can help students create their own story. They can view examples of other stories, and model their assignment after what they've seen, using their own influences to personalize the story. The students can then publish their work online, giving other students the opportunity to view their work. This can ultimately promote gain in intelligence and social learning for the so-called "digital generation."

There are 7 key points to keep in mind when considering digital storytelling. They are the following:
-Point of View: What is the main point of the story and what is the perspective of the author?
-A Dramatic Question: A key question that keeps the viewer's attention and will be answered by the end of the story.
-Emotional Content: Serious issues that come alive in a personal and powerful way and connects the audience to the story.
-The Gift of Your Voice: A way to personalize the story to help the audience understand the context.
-The Power of the Soundtrack: Music or other sounds to tell the story without overloading the viewer.
-Pacing: The rhythm of the story and how slowly or quickly it progresses.


The website also features a page about multiple skills that are aligned with technology and present-day literacy. Those skills are the following:
-Digital Literacy: The ability to communicate with an ever-expanding community to discuss issues, gather information, and seek help.
-Global Literacy: The capacity to read, interpret, respond, and contextualize messages from a global perspective.
-Visual Literacy: The ability to understand, produce, and communicate through visual images.
-Technology Literacy: The ability to use computers and other technology to improve learning, productivity, and performance.
-Information Literacy: The ability to find, evaluate, and synthesize information.
Literacy in the 21st century requires that children do not only communicate with classroom peers, but that they also read books online, use email, evaluate online information, create presentations with software, have conversations with people in other regions, and essentially write for both a global and local community.

This website provides numerous sources for digital storytelling, and is a great tool for both teachers and students.