Digital Storytelling in the Classroom

What is storytelling?

The ability to convey a narrative story through speech, writing, illustration, or through song.  Since time immemorial, humans have been telling stories through various means, starting with depictions being carved and painted on cave walls and eventually being spoken around the camp fire.

The compelling nature of storytelling has remained an essential part of the human experience. The only difference in the present context comes from the tools that allow us to tell stories in various formats.  

From stories that were once told around the fire by early humans, to the Greek amphitheatre in antiquity, to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and so on, we now have the ability to tell stories to even larger audiences digitally. 

Educators must envision students being their own storytellers; telling personal narratives through various digital mediums. Students can be empowered to tell stories that capture the moment, talking to events that are meaningful to them. 

“Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are ideally set up to understand stories.”

(Robert Shank)

What is Digital Storytelling?

Digital storytelling is a modern term which describes the process of students using digital tools to tell a compelling story. The digital stories are presented in a personal and engaging format, which can also be interactive.

Digital storytelling can be achieved through various formats, such as web-based technology, interactive applications games, video and others.  

Why Digital Storytelling?

Digital storytelling has been shown to help learners develop several important skills including:

• Digital skills (Examples: using video equipment and software, using online research tools, understanding copyright)
• Communication skills
• Empathy
• Self-expression

Learning Theories

Social Constructivism

Social constructivism assumes the learner is intrinsically motivated, that learning should be problem-based, and based on discovery (Reid, 2017). Digital storytelling engages our students to create stories based on topics that they are authentically interested in. Instructors do not pick the student's topics, but guide them along the way and allow them to lead their own learning. A social constructivist approach can also be utilized through the opportunity for students to participate in social learning by giving and receiving feedback from their peers (Robin, 2016). Students utilizing digital storytelling can participate in connecting with their learning community online to help both themselves and their peers in sharing ideas, thoughts and resources.

Behaviorism

The behavioral approach to learning is based on the concept of stimulus-response with the main emphasis being placed on behavioral results (Reid, 2017). Students can and will learn through their own motivation of wanting to do better, in hopes of seeing a positive result. A behavioral strategy would be to model the task, through direct instruction, provide feedback in incremental steps, and allow the learner to practice these skills independently (Reid, 2017). Instructors understand that learning is the acquisition of new behavior, therefore students will be given instructions based on the assumption that he/she knows a little about the subject (Khalil, 2016).

References

de Jager, A., Fogarty, A., Tewson, A., Lenette, C., & Boydell, K. M. (2017). Digital storytelling in research: A systematic review. The Qualitative Report, 22(10), 2548-2582. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol22/iss10/3/

Khalil, M. K., & Elkhider, I. A. (2016). Applying learning theories and instructional design models for effective instruction. Advances in Physiology Education, 40(2), 147-156. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00138.2015

Reid, A. J. (2017, November 23). What is learning theory. Tofas Akademi. https://tofasakademi.com/what-is-learning-theory

Robin, B. (2016). The power of digital storytelling to support teaching and learning. Digital Education Review, (30), 17-29. https://doi.org/10.1344/der.2016.30.17-29