Benefits of digital

storytelling for students

By

Karina Munoz

Definition

• Digital storytelling is one way for students and teachers to share their

knowledge. It describes the practice of ordinary people using digital tools to

tell their story. Digital stories often present in compelling and emotionally

engaging formats, and can be interactive.

Structure

• Digital storytelling are short clips created by using digital media or tools on a

technological device. These “stories” are usually less than 7 minutes long and

are fairly easy to create once one is familiarized. The programs used for

creating these stories are Microsoft Photo Story 3 or Animoto which make it

possible for students and teachers to become the authors. These programs

make it possible to create stories through the combination of text, images,

motions and sounds.

Benefits

• Digital storytelling contributes greatly in small group work and collaborative activities in the classroom.

• It helps students to have originality using multimedia resources like images, voice, text and music which can be shared with their peers.

• Every creation can be shared in different ways like: on a school website, blogs or classroom programs.

• Using digital storytelling helps students learn how to be safer and responsible for publishing original work by knowing about copyright, citing resources and how to responsibly share personal information and images.

• It’s a fun and helpful way to engage students and teachers.

Process

• In order to create digital stories, students are to collect resources which teaches them the importance of research. They locate materials from books, websites, images, and listen to speeches in order to create their final digital story project. This introduces students to the research process and how to find valid resources.

• Students who are learning English as a Second Language have also benefit from digital storytelling. By having these students communicate and create their own stories, it allows them to reflect in the English language and also develops their communication skills by speaking the language.

• Students who are vision impaired, this helps them by hearing the stories. They learn the story format by hearing it, making it easier for them to grasp the concepts. Storytelling also promotes logical thinking and mathematical skills.

Conclusion

• Creating digital storytelling with children helps them understand that

everyone has a story to tell. By using multimedia, these stories can be

developed and shared, helping children learn that the school is part of a

bigger community. They learn to connect their own stories from life to

school. The school is seen as a place where they can talk about their

experiences and discuss their experiences in a safe environment.

References:

• University of Houston’s The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling,

Educational Goals and Objectives. Retrieved October 15, 2014

from: http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/educational_goals.html