Definition

Digital stories are similar to traditional stories as they are concerned with a specific theme and often present a particular viewpoint. Their presentation may vary significantly but each includes a combination of digital elements including photos, video, and audio. Most are only a few minutes long and vary in purpose from personal, to historical, to instructional.

Benefits

“Storytelling is the original form of teaching. There are still societies in which it is the only form of teaching … A simple narrative will always be the cornerstone of the art of teaching.” — E. Martin Pedersen (1995)

Educators and students use digital stories in a variety of ways in education. Teacher created digital stories presented at the beginning of a lesson help to provide a connection between students’ existing knowledge and new knowledge. Digital stories can encourage questions and discussion and often aid in comprehension and retention of new information (Dreon, Kerper & Landis, 2011; Robin, 2008b; Sadik, 2008).

In addition to viewing stories to learn concepts and content that might otherwise be difficult to comprehend, students who create digital stories gain 21st Century literacy skills (Robin, 2008b). When they rely on teachers and peers for assistance with their stories students learn to work collaboratively as they brainstorm ideas, ask and answer questions, and give and receive constructive criticism. Students who use multimedia for storytelling learn to express themselves in creative ways gaining experience in communicating through images and sound rather than being restricted to text (Chung, 2007; Sheneman, 2010; Skouge & Rao, 2009).

Creating digital stories allows both students and teachers to integrate technology in meaningful ways. When students create stories they participate in project-based learning that requires them to complete authentic tasks as they communicate about personally relevant content. In the role of producer, students are not limited to viewing content but become active participants in building knowledge (Robin, 2008a, Sadik, 2008).