The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling

Bernard Robin

College of Education

University of Houston

What is Digital Storytelling?

• Combining the art of telling stories with some mixture of digital graphics, text, recorded audio narration, video and music to present information on a specific topic.

• Revolve around a theme and often contain a particular viewpoint; stories are typically just a few minutes long.

Types of Digital Stories -1

• Personal Narratives as described by the CDS:• Character Stories – explore how we love, who we are inspired by, and the importance of finding meaning

in our relationships.

• Memorial Stories – deal with memories of people who are no longer with us. These stories are often difficult but are emotionally powerful and can help with the grieving process.

• Stories about Events in Our Lives• Adventure Stories – revolve around places we visit and adventures we have in our travels. • Accomplishment Stories – deal with achieving goals and understanding defining moments in our lives.

• Stories about Places in Our Lives – examine the important places in our lives: our homes, our towns, and our experiences that connect us to our communities.

• Stories about What We Do – allow us to talk about our jobs, professions and careers in terms of how we value and find meaning in the work we do.

• Other Personal Stories • Recovery Stories – deal with how we overcome great obstacles and challenges in our lives. • Love Stories – provide us with an opportunity to share some of the most meaningful parts of our lives with the people

we most cherish.• Discovery Stories – let us reflect on what we have learned and illustrate our journeys of discovery.

Tools We Use

• Photo Story 3 (Free from Microsoft)http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx

• System Requirements (Requires Windows XP & Windows Media Player 10) http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/

sysreqs.mspx

• Stories Can Be Converted with Premiere Elements for Playback on Apple Computers or Older Versions of Windows

Types of Digital Stories -1

• Examples of Personal Narratives

• Almost Paradisehttp://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/almostparadise.htm

• The Computer and Ihttp://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/computer-I.htm

• Fleeing Hurricane Ritahttp://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/rita.htm

• Coming to Houston http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/comingtohouston.htm

• My Mamahttp://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/mymama.htm

Types of Digital Stories -2

• Examination of Historical Themes and Events

• Based on Material Students Explore

• Facilitates Research and Organizational Skills• Needs to Go Beyond the Digitized “MTV Video” or

the “Encyclopedia Entry”*

* Digital Storytelling: Moving from Promise to PracticeMark Hofer, College of William & Mary, USA; Kathleen Owings Swan, University of Kentucky, USA - 4:00pm Wednesday, Universal E1

Types of Digital Stories -2

• Examples of Historical Digital Stories

• The Gettysburg Address http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/stories/gettysburg-with-intro-final.wmv

• Race to the Moon http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/civilization.htm

• The Holocaust http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/holocaust.htm

• Hiroshimahttp://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/hiroshima.htm

Types of Digital Stories -3

• Stories that Inform or Instruct • Can be Argued that All Digital Stories Inform

(or Instruct)• But the Distinction is that Digital Stories Can

Be Created that Deliver Instructional Content on Many Different Topics, Including: Math, Science, Language Arts, Medicine, etc.

Types of Digital Stories -3

• Examples of Stories that Inform or Instruct • Geometry: Art & Architecture - Using the van Hiele Levels

of Geometric Understanding to Improve Student Achievement http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/geo-story.htm

• Pinhole Cameras http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/pinhole.htm

• Aging Wellhttp://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/agingwell.htm

An Effective Tool for Teachers

• Stories Created by Teachers Can Serve:

• As a Lesson Hook

• As a Way to Integrate Multimedia into the Curriculum

• As a Way to Make Difficult Content More Understandable

• To Facilitate Classroom Discussion

An Effective Learning Tool for Students

• Research Skills

• Writing Skills

• Organization Skills

• Technology Skills

• Presentation Skills

• Interview Skills

• Interpersonal Skills

• Problem-Solving Skills

• Assessment Skills

Student Literacy

• Digital Literacy

• Global Literacy

• Technology Literacy

• Visual Literacy

• Information Literacy

Challenges to Students Creating Digital Stories

• Trouble formulating a sound argument• More interested in technology than the

storytelling• Limited access to technology hardware and

software• Limited ability to save from the Internet• Time consuming• Copyright and intellectual property issues

University of Houston’s Educational Uses of

Digital Storytelling Website

http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling