Digital Storytelling

Ningchun Han, Ed.DOffice of Instructional TechnologyPurdue University Calumet

What is digital storytelling?Digital storytelling is the practice

of combining narrative with digital content, including images, sound, and video, to create a short movie, typically with a strong emotional component.

Seven Elements of A Good Digital StoryPoint of View

◦What is the main point of the story and what is the perspective of the author?

Dramatic Question◦A conflict or a key question from the

beginning that keeps the audience’s attention until the end of the story when the question is answered

Emotional Content◦The fundamental emotional paradigms such

as love and loneliness, confidence and vulnerability, acceptance and rejection.

Seven Elements of A Good Digital StoryGift of Voice

◦Personalizing the story with the pitch, inflection, and speed of the voice

Power of the Soundtrack◦Music or other sounds that support and add

depth to the narrativePacing

◦The rhythm of the story to sustain the audience’s interest

Economy◦Using just enough content to tell the story

without overloading the audience (3-5 minutes)

Why digital storyCritical thinking skillsResearch skillsCommunication skills

Why digital story? 21st Century Skills

◦Digital Literacy (Digital Native ≠ Digitally literate)- Digital literacy is the ability to find,

evaluate, utilize, share, and create content using information technologies and the Internet.

Alan NovemberAmerican educator and Educational Consultant

Why digital story?21st Century Skills

◦Media Literacy- Media literacy is the ability to encode and decode

symbols transmitted via media and the ability to synthesize, analyze and produce mediated messages.

Media Consumer Media Producer Self-representation Self-identification

- To look is one thing,To see what you look at is another,To understand what you see is a third,To learn from what you understand is still something else:To act on what you learn is all that matters. -- Taoist saying

Why digital story?21st Century Skills

◦Visual Literacy- The ability to interpret, negotiate, and make

meaning from information presented in the form of an image.

◦Information Literacy- The ability to find, evaluate, and synthesize

information in both analog and digital formats.

◦Global Literacy- The ability to read, interpret, respond, and

contextualize messages from a global perspective.

Basic StepsStep 1 – Select a topic and point of view

◦What is the main point of the story and what is the perspective of the author? Is the author trying to inform, convince, provoke, question?

Step 2 – Develop script◦“We may be digital storytellers but, if we

have no story, then we have no reason even to switch on our computer. Time spent polishing a story idea and writing the script is time well spent.” – Daniel Meadows

Basic StepsStep 3 - Storyboard

Basic StepsStep 4 – Collect images, videos and

sounds ◦Free and copyright-friendly ImagesFlickr – http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/Pics4Learning – http://www.pics4learning.com/Freefoto – http://www.freefoto.com/index.jspFreeStockPhotos – http://freestockphotos.com/Open Photo - http://openphoto.net/about/Stock Exchange - http://www.sxc.hu/

Basic StepsStep 4 – Collect images and

sounds ◦Free and copyright friendly music for

download

Freeplay music - http://www.freeplaymusic.com/index.aspx

Freesound Project - https://www.freesound.org/ccMixer - http://ccmixter.org/◦Recording voiceAudacity - http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Basic StepsStep 5 – Create a digital story

◦ Mac - iMovie◦ PC – PhotoStory 3, Windows Movie Maker

- Available labs on campus: CLO 238 (25 seats), CLO 240 (26 seats), CLO 263 (17 seats), CLO 251 (PhotoStory only, 20 seats)

◦ Web-based Software for both Mac and PC- Meograph – www.meograph.com- WeVideo – www.wevideo.com

◦ Mobile Apps – Com-Phone Story Maker, StoryKit, Blurb, Story Creator, Storyrobe

Step 6 – Share ◦ YouTube - Public, Unlisted◦ Through Meograph, WeVideo

Digital Storytelling RubricDigital Storytelling rubric

generatorhttp://digitales.us/evaluating-projects/scoring-guidesSample rubric by DISTCO (Digital

Storytelling Contest)http://www.distco.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Digital-Storytelling-Rubric-DISTCO-2014.pdf

Digital Stories in Subjectshttp://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.e

du/example_stories.cfm