About this Presentation
This presentation is built upon the following premise: Historically, we have valued creative writing or art classes because they help to identify and train future writers and artists, but also because the creative process is valuable on its own; every child deserves the chance to express him- or herself through words, sounds, and images, even if most will never write, perform, or draw professionally. Having these experiences, we believe, changes the way youth think about themselves and alters the way they look at work created by others.
Digital Storytelling Defined
Digital Storytelling is the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories and usually contain some mixture of computer-based images, text, recorded audio narration, video clips and/or music. Topics range from personal tales to the recounting of historical events, from exploring life in one's own community to the search for life in other corners of the universe, and literally, everything in between.
What Is A Digital Story?
Digital Storytelling, revolves around the idea of combining the art of telling stories with a variety of digital multimedia, such as images, audio, and video.
· digital stories bring together some mixture of digital graphics, text, recorded audio narration, video and music to present information on a specific topic.
· digital stories revolve around a chosen theme and often contain a particular viewpoint.
· The stories are typically just a few minutes long and have a variety of uses, including
· the telling of personal tales, the recounting of historical events, or as a means to inform or
· instruct on a particular topic.
Daniel Meadows
Daniel Meadows defines digital stories as "short, personal multimedia tales told from the heart." The beauty of this form of digital expression, he maintains is that these stories can be created by people everywhere, on any subject, and shared electronically all over the world. Meadows describes digital stories as "multimedia sonnets from the people" in which "photographs discover the talkies, and the stories told assemble in the ether as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, a gaggle of invisible histories which, when viewed together, tell the bigger story of our time, the story that defines who we are."
- See Resource Link : Daniel Meadows Website
Seven Elements of Digital Storytelling
1. Point of View – what is the perspective of the author?
2. A Dramatic Question – a question that will be answered by the end of the story.
3. Emotional Content – serious issues that speak to us in a personal and powerful way.
4. The Gift of your Voice – a way to personalize the story to help the audience understand the context.
5. The Power of the Soundtrack – music or other sounds that support the storyline.
6. Economy – simply put, using just enough content to tell the story without overloading the viewer with too much information.
7. Pacing – related to Economy, but specifically deals with how slowly or quickly the story progresses
Personal Narratives
Personal narratives are designed to share a life's story with others through experiences that happen around an individual. A good personal narrative creates a dramatic effect, makes us laugh, gives us pleasurable fright, and/or gets us on the edge of our seats. The writer's job is to put the reader in the midst of the action letting him or her live through an experience. An effective personal narrative has done its job if the viewer can say, "Yes, that captures what it feels like, to have experienced.
· Video Link: Personal Narrative Example
Digital Stories that Examine Historical Events
Digital Stories that Examine Historical Events are records of events which chronicle the life or development of people or institutions and often include an explanation or commentary on them: a history of the Vikings; a formal written account of related natural phenomena: history of volcanoes; a log of a patient’s medical background; or a posted pattern of behavior: inmates with histories of substance abuse.
· Video Link: Historical Event Example
Then there is the branch of knowledge that records and analyzes past events: “History has a long range perspective” (Elizabeth Gurley Flynn). This might include events relating to something in particular such as the history of their rivalry is full of intrigue. Perhaps an aggregate of bygone eras or human affairs could be the subject: basic tools used throughout history. A house with a history could be the topic of something with an interesting past. Also included is something departed: Their troubles are history now.
Stories that Inform or Instruct
Stories that inform or instruct are meant to impart information or make the viewer aware of something such as a change in plans or reinforce rules or policies. They also acquaint us with knowledge of any given subject. Information and instruction grants form or character to the story giving it quality or essence (Vanity Fair).
· Video Link: Stories that Inform or Instruct Example
Digital Storytelling as an Effective Learning Tool for Students
Digital Storytelling by students provides a strong foundation in many different types of literacy, such as information literacy, visual literacy, technology literacy, and media literacy. Summarizing the work of several researchers in this field, Brown, Bryan and Brown (2005) have labeled these multiple skills that are aligned with technology as “Twenty-first Century Literacy,” which they describe as the combination of:
• 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
• Technology Literacy - the ability to use computers and other technology to improve learning, productivity, and performance;
• Visual Literacy - the ability to understand, produce and communicate through visual images;
• Information Literacy - the ability to find, evaluate and synthesize information. In the area of technology literacy, students who create digital stories improve their skills by using software that combines a variety of multimedia tools including working with text, still images, audio, video and oftentimes, Web publishing. In the area of technological literacy, Digital Storytelling can provide a meaningful reason for students to learn to digitize media content by using scanners, digital still cameras, and video cameras. In addition, as students create the narration and soundtrack for a story, they gain skills in using microphones, digitizing audio and working with music and sound effects.
Visual Literacy
Riesland (2005) notes that even as the definition of the term “Visual Literacy” is being hotly debated by researchers and educators, there is no dispute that computer technology is at the heart of the debate. She challenges the educational community to reconsider what it means to be literate in the age of technology and argues that teachers must equip their students with skills that will enable them to understand and communicate through visual modes, and “thrive in increasingly media-varied environments.” Riesland goes on to call for a new definition of visual literacy education, one that will allow students to successfully navigate and communicate through new forms of multimedia, while taking on the role of information producer rather than just being information consumers. In summary, when students are able to participate in the multiple steps of designing, creating and presenting their own digital stories, they increase a full complement of literacy skills, including:
• Research Skills: Documenting the story, finding and analyzing pertinent information;
• Writing Skills: Formulating a point of view and developing a script;
• Organization Skills: Managing the scope of the project, the materials used and the time it takes to complete the task;
• Technology Skills: learning to use a variety of tools, such as digital cameras, scanners, microphones and multimedia authoring software;
• Presentation Skills: Deciding how to best present the story to an audience;
• Interview Skills: Finding sources to interview and determining questions to ask;
• Interpersonal Skills: Working within a group and determining individual roles for group members;
• Problem-Solving Skills: Learning to make decisions and overcome obstacles at all stages of the project, from inception to completion; and
• Assessment Skills: Gaining expertise critiquing their own and others’ work.