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The following excerpts are from 7 Things You Should Know About Digital Storytelling by Educause.

What is it?

"Digital storytelling is the practice of combining narrative with ditial content, including images, sound, and video, to create a short movie, typically with a strong emotional component. Sophisticated digital stories can be interactive movies that include highly produced audio and visual effects, but a set of slides with corresponding narration or music constitutes a basic digital story. Digital stories can be instructional, persuasive historical, or reflective."

How does it work?

"Although groups of students can collaborate on digital stories, the form is well-suited to projects by individual users. Most digital storytelling programs promote the notion that users with little or no technical background should be able to create digital stories. Indeed a number of simple applications can get someone started making digital stories. Depending on the elements included in the digital story, a student might need a recording device and microphone, hardware and software to manipulate images and video, or tools to take pictures and video. Some digital storytelling applications are available free online."

Why is it significant?

"People tell stories to teach beliefs and values to others. The oral tradition of knowledge transfer and exchange has served as teh basis for education since humans began teaching one another, and digital stories build on teh model by incorporating rich, dynamic media . . . Students creating digital stories develop proficiency with multimedia applications, but the deeper impact comes from their thinking critically about effective combinations among audio and visual elements . . . In doing so, students, develop a discerning eye for online resources, increasing their technology and media literacy."

Where is it going?

"Digital storytelling is fundamentally the application of technology to the age-old experience of sharing personal narratives. What's new is the growing availability of sophisticated tools, as well as a maturing infrastructure to disseminate such content."

For the full article, please see 7 Things_Digtial Storytelling.pdf

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Although "digital stories" are often thought of us short movies or slide presentations, there are many other ways to tell a story digitally. Check out these awesome digital stories!

Myths and Legends

• "Storytellers get ten pages to share their stories and may select among a library of characters (some animated), sound effects, backgrounds, and objects, or they may upload their own images. They may scale, rotate, and move objects in front of or behind others. They may narrate by recording audio. They may add text  bubbles and comic bursts. Students will enjoy the impressive sound and image galleries.  The site also offers a library of supporting content and teacher resources." (Valenza)

Awesome Stories

• "AwesomeStories is about primary sources. The stories exist as a way to place original materials in context and to hold those links together in an interesting, cohesive way (thereby encouraging people to look at them). It is a totally different kind of web site in that its purpose is to place primary sources at the forefront - not the opinions of a writer. Its objective is to take the site's users to places where those primary sources are located. This educational teaching/learning tool is also designed to support state and national standards, and lessons plans are available." (About)

Our Story

• "OurStory is here to help you build and enrich your relationships and connections by guiding you (and others in your circle) to recall, write about, and illustrate life’s most important memories. In one easy-to-use, organized place, and in a rich environment that celebrates all of the stories – big and small – with the words, photos and voices that help tell about your journey, at the same time honoring your choices regarding privacy. OurStory delivers—finally—a way to hold on to life’s incredible moments, and to keep them in a place where others can share in your journey." (About)

If you are interested, explore more.

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• How have you used digital storytelling in your classroom? (perhaps using resources or having students create them)

• How would you like to use digital storytelling in your classroom?

• What are your thoughts about the potential power of digital storytelling?

• What are the obstacles to incorporating digital storytelling in the classroom, and how can they be overcome?