Types of Digital Stories
Personal Narratives
Producing a personal digital story is a powerful way of sharing a personally meaningful event. These stories include stories about adventure, hardship, achievements, and challenges. View personal narratives at the University of Houston’s Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling Site
“Telling a true story about personal experience is not just a matter of being oneself, or even or finding oneself. It is also a matter of choosing oneself.” — Harriet Goldhor Lerner
Historical Stories
Students can use historical photographs, speeches, and headlines to retell historical moments. While creating historical stories students improve research skills and demonstrate a greater interest in the content they are exploring (Robin, 2008a).
There are examples of historical stories on the Digital Storytelling, Social Studies page.
“Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. Tell me a truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.” — Native American Proverb
Instructional Stories
These types of digital stories can be used for all subjects to present factual information, introduce concepts, and demonstrate techniques. Examples of instructional stories are available on the Digital Storytelling, Mathematics page.
“Storytelling: the world’s second oldest profession.” — Danny Harris
Elements of Storytelling
Point of View: The purpose of the story and the viewpoint the story is told from.
Dramatic Question: A key question to answer by the end of the story holds the viewers attention.
Emotional Content: Issues are brought to life through the use of common emotions (e.g., love, pain, humour). Emotional content engages the viewer.
Voice: Personalizes the story and assists the audience in making meaning of visual content.
Soundtrack: Sounds and/or music embellish and complement the storyline.
Economy: The right amount of content to tell the story without overwhelming viewers.
Pacing: A rhythm is created that helps sustain the viewers attention.
— Adapted from Lambert (2007)