Overview

Storytelling is as old as mankind. It comes from man's need to communicate and connect.The oldest recorded storytelling (35,000 years old) was found in paintings on a cave wall in France. Storytellers of old entertained, shaped religions as well as whole cultures, and passed along the wisdom of the time. In short, they were teachers (Wilson, 2002).



Digital storytelling expands on traditional storytelling by combining the art and lessons of story with a wide range of modern multimedia tools. This powerful combination excites the interest of the student and feeds the creativity of their souls (Puentedura, 2003).

Photo obtained on July 25, 2008 from Public Domain ClipArt at
http://www.pdclipart.org/displayimage.php?album=search&cat=0&pos=6

Examples

Excellent examples of digital storytelling can be found at the following links:

• DigiTales - I am partial to the Granny Smith Story
• Center for Digital Storytelling
• Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling - Examples of digital storytelling

Popular Services & Tools for Creating Digital Stories

• Digital Storytelling Tools - Hardware and software to use in creating digital stories
  
• 50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story - Alan Levine provides a look at 50 different Web 2.0 tools to create a digital story
• Moving at the Speed of Creativity - Wes Fryer discusses his first web-based digital storytelling experience using JumpCut
• iMovie
• PhotoStory 3

Getting Started

There are several excellent sites available to help educators get started implementing digital storytelling in the classroom.

• Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling - Getting Started
• What Makes a Good Story? by Chris King
• Tips for Digital Storytelling
• Integrating Digital Stories in Your Classroom

Digital Storytelling in Education

So what is the benefit of using digital storytelling in the classroom? How does creating a digital story enhance learning?
Digital stories can be instructional, historical, persuasive, reflective and even collaborative in nature (Keller, 2007). In short, they can be applied to pretty much any topic of study from a variety of perspectives.

In addition, teachers become facilitators and students who create digital stories take control of their learning in a constructivist environment. They develop critical thinking skills and self confidence, in addition to integrating technology with content. All of this works to prepare children for a future we can only imagine (Bedenbaugh, 2007).

Additional Resources

• Top Ten Reasons for Implementing Storytelling
• 7 Things You Should Know About Digital Storytelling
• Tech Head Stories
• Incorporating Digital Storytelling into Teaching and Learning
• Flickr & Creative Commons
• Digital Storytelling in the Classroom
• DigiTales

References

Bedenbaugh, L. (2006, May). Educational uses of digital storytelling. FLaRE Coordinator Meeting. Retrieved July 26, 2008 from http://flare.ucf.edu/FLaRE_Presentations/Coordinator%20Meeting%20-%20April%2006/Coordinator%20Meeting%20-%20May%202006.htm

Keller, C. (2007, January). 7 things you should know about digital storytelling. Educause Learning Initiative. Retrieved July 25, 2008 from http://connect.educause.edu/Library/ELI/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAbout/39398

Puentedura, R. (2003, July 18). Digital storytelling and education. Message posted to http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/000002.html

Wilson, J. (2002). The history of storytelling. Retrieved July 25, 2008 from http://www.essortment.com/all/historystorytel_tukm.htm

Ongoing Conversation

Notes, resources, ideas, activities, etc., related to this topic can be posted here by anyone in an effort to continue the conversation.

• ???