Digital storytelling

Abstract

The need for students to use effective written communication and to be technologically literate · remains strong. Meanwhile, educators charged with developing these skills are searching for ways to engage students in the writing process and integrate technology into daily learning activities. Digital storytelling aligns with both of these objectives. This strategy invites students into the writing process on a personal level and integrates several technologies into the final product. This paper describes the digital storytelling process, including the benefits students attain from storytelling and technology integration as well as suggestions for classroom implementation. Additionally, research-based conclusions and recommendations for utilizing digital storytelling in the classroom are presented. Digital Storytelling 6 Introduction Enter a classroom where students are highly engaged in telling personal stories. Some students are brainstorming ideas for just the right song to accompany their story; others are working out the flow and rhythm of their writing. Still others are serving as peer tutors on the computer technology. These students take pride in their authorship and labor to make their story 'just right.' Meanwhile, the teacher circulates about the room, encouraging, conferencing with, or assisting students as necessary. She glances from student to student and sees that all, even the typically reluctant writers, are working diligently. Several similar class periods pass by until, finally, each student presents his or her work to an audience that interacts with the story, making it come further alive. This type of high student engagement and quality workmanship is possible with digital storytelling. Background on Digital Storytelling Definition of digital storytelling. Digital storytelling is the practice of combining still images with a narrated soundtrack including both voice and music (Bull & Kajder, 2004; Robin, 2008; Sadik; 2008). Additionally, digital storytelling expert Joe Lambert coined the Seven Elements of Effective Digital Stories. They are: a point of view, a dramatic question, emotional content, economy, pacing, the gift of your voice, and an accompanying soundtrack (Bull & Kajder, 2004). Each element may be conceived as follows: 1. Point of view: the main point or specific realization that a student tries to communicate within his or her story. 2. Dramatic question: the key question that will be answered by the end of the story and keeps the audience members' attention. Digital Storytelling 7 3. Emotional content: writing that will take hold of audience members' attention and engage them emotionally. 4. The gift of your voice: narration of the text, including emotion and inflections that give greater meaning to the story and aid in the audience's understanding. 5. Soundtrack: thoughtfully selected sounds and music will add further emotional response and embellishment. 6. Economy: many stories can be illustrated effectively with a small number of images or video and a fairly short text. 7. Pacing: the rhythm of a story and how slowly or quickly it moves (Lambert, 2007, p. 919; Robin, 2008, p. 223). The subject of a digital story may be as diverse as the skills that are being honed. A sampling of story subjects includes engaging personal stories, historical figures, and even characters related to scientific concepts. Robin (2008) states that The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling Web site at the University of Houston sorts example digital stories into three major categories: personal narratives, stories that inform or instruct, and stories that examine historical events. Digital stories may be utilized for topics as diverse as demonstrating how to construct a pinhole camera, to recounting events from history, to the telling of a personal life event. In terms of student involvement, groups may collaborate to produce a single digital story, but this form of storytelling is very well-suited to individuals (Educause Learning Initiative, ,r 7). The flexibility and multiple possibilities for subject matter allow digital storytelling to fit into many curricular areas. Process of digital storytelling. The process of digital storytelling begins similarly to the 'traditional'_ writing process and includes brainstorming or topic selection and drafting. However, Digital Storytelling 8 after the drafting process, students construct a storyboard or storymap to visualize how the story will look. Here, the students "plan what media to use and how they might best work together to · depict an important, engaging, and informative story" (Chung, 2007, p. 18). (See Appendix A for an example of a storyboard). Next, students proceed to the production stage. This typically occurs in the computer or mobile lab for the incorporation of voice, images, and soundtrack. This work in the computer or mobile lab may be completed using such free software as Movie Maker, which is included with Windows XP, or iMovie, provided with the Macintosh operating system (Bull & Kajder, 2004). Though students should be encouraged to share and conference about their pieces throughout the entire process, digital storytelling often culminates with a 'showcase' of the final products. Teacher's role in digital storytelling. Though digital storytelling requires much active participation from students, the teacher's role is equally important. The teacher must both engage students in the storytelling process and help them refine their storytelling abilities. Ohler (2008) offers further detail about the teacher's role in the technical aspect of digital storytelling. He states that the teacher should help students to manage their skills and talents by helping them to "tell a story that is strengthened rather than weakened by the media they use, form a learning community so they can share their ideas and talents, meet the educational goals of the project, and leverage their imagination and creativity" (p. 133). As previously stated, digital storytelling can take many forms and may be utilized in all curricular areas. However, because much research advocates the pairing of technology and constructivist learning methods in which students relate life experiences to course content, the focus of this paper will be on creating digital stories that are personal, engaging, and invite students into the meaning-making process (Palloff & Pratt, 1999). Digital Storytelling 9 History of Digital Storytelling Many sources support that digital storytelling emerged from of the work of Joe Lambert and Dana Atchley at the Center for Digital Storytelling (CDS) at U.C. Berkley in 1993 (Bull & Kajder, 2004; Chung, 2007; Robin, 2008). The CDS has continued to provide training and assistance to those "interested in creating and sharing their personal stories" (Robin, 2008, p. 222). The.CDS is also credited with developing and propagating the Seven Elements of Effective Digital Stories, as described above (Robin, 2008). Thus, digital storytelling emerged in the 1990s as a powerful storytelling tool. In fact, Robin (2008) states that, "In the early days of digital storytelling, Lambert was impressed by how easily average people were able to 'capture their story in a really powerful way in a relatively short amount of time for a relatively small amount of money"' (p. 222). As shown in figure 1, several factors converged in recent years to promote the growth of digital storytelling in the classroom. One such factor is that the ease and speed with which one may create a digital story has only increased as technology tools become more affordable and prevalent in schools. Therefore, digital storytelling is becoming widely used in schools as a result of both affordability and the "contemporary agenda for today's classroom" (Robin, 2008, p. 222). Significance of the Review It is best practice for teachers to thoughtfully plan and set goals for student use of technology, such as digital storytelling (Pitier, 2006). Furthermore, research confirms that to ensure a successful digital storytelling experience, teachers must become familiar with the process, technology considerations, challenges, and student benefits associated with this strategy (Bull & Kajder, 2004; Chung, 2007; Kadjer, 2004). This review will familiarize teachers with the Digital Storytelling 10 concept of technology integration and the benefits it offers to students. Specifically, this review will focus on the importance of storytelling, the strategy of digital storytelling, academic and · social benefits afforded to students through digital storytelling, considerations for implementation, and tips for working with the necessary technologies. Methodology As stated previously, digital storytelling is becoming more widely utilized in schools across the country. Therefore, locating information that is relevant and up-to-date has been a fairly straightforward process. The Rod Library's access to the ERIC database provided a wealth of information and allowed for selective inclusion of sources. The majority of sources cited in this review are peer-reviewed journals. Articles from these journals were analyzed according to recency of publication, relevance to the subtopics of study, value of information provided, and accurateness of experimental procedures (where applicable). Several articles were very valuable in providing a bulk of information and ideas. However, all included sources proved helpful in providing the most complete depiction of digital storytelling. Literature Review Importance of Storytelling When considering digital storytelling, one may start by examining the concept of story. It is clear that stories have great power. Many adults can still name their favorite bedtime story or recall the name of a great storyteller from their lives. Additionally, we share our personal stories with each other through letters, phone conversations, instant messaging and emails. For children, storytelling and dialogue