Digital Storytelling

Digital Storytelling combines the art of storytelling with a mix of digital media, including text, images, recorded audio narration, music and video. These multimedia elements are combined using computer software to tell a story that usually revolves around a specific theme or topic and often contains a specific point of view. Digital stories are usually short, lasting less than 10 minutes, but they can be extended over several episodes to accommodate longer narratives. There are many different types of digital stories, such as: 1) personal narratives - stories that contain reports of significant incidents in a person’s life; 2) historical documentaries - stories that examine dramatic events that help us understand the past and 3) stories that inform or instruct the viewer about a particular concept or practice.

To learn more about the possibilities of Digital Storytelling please see:

• The power of digital storytelling by Emily Bailin, TEDx SoleburySchool
• The Technology of Storytelling by Joe Sabia, TED talk

Resources¶

• Elements and structure of storytelling
  A short video by Edge Gain.

Digital Storytelling Workshop

A workshop video series created for the Glendon Digital Media Lab provides a step-by-step overview of the digital storytelling video creation process. View the 11 short videos below:

• Introduction
• Lesson 01: Plan your project with the end-use in mind
• Lesson 02: From Topic to Story
• Lesson 03: Conducting Effective Research
• Lesson 04: The Shooting Script
• Lesson 05: Pre-Production
• Lesson 06: Recording On-Camera Interviews
• Lesson 07: Acquiring Visual Elements
• Lesson 08: Writing, Recording Voice-Over Narration
• Lesson 09: Video Editing
• Lesson 10: Sound Design & Mixing

Tools, Tech, & Tips¶

• Production equipment
• Audio and video production tools
• Storyboarder

Sample Assignments & Lesson Plans¶

• Athabasca University E-Lab: “What is Digital Storytelling and How to Get started”
• Sample Digital Stories University of Houston
• Rubric for Documentary Style Project
• Story Development Assessment Rubric (used primarily for oral storytelling, but can be used for other media as well) developed by Jason Ohler and Brett Dillingham
• Rubric for Digital Video Projects California State University, Fresno

References¶

• Bibliography on digital storytelling pedagogy - compiled by Audrey Pyée for the Glendon Digital Media Lab
• Buturian, L. (2017) The Changing Story: Digital Stories That Participate in Transforming Teaching and Learning, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
• Robin, B. (2020). The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling Website, University of Houston College of Education
• EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI). (2007). 7 Things You Should Know About Digital Storytelling.