DIGITAL STORYTELLING: EXAMPLES

AND IDEAS

“All stories are manipulation”

WE TELL STORIES ALL THE TIME IN OUR
CLASSROOMS AND TRY OUR BEST TO
MAKE THEM EXCITING, INFORMATIVE,
UNEXPECTED AND ENTERTAINING. WE
TELL STORIES ABOUT SCIENCE,
RELIGION, MATH AND LITERATURE.
DIGITAL STORYTELLING IS A SHORT FORM OF DIGITAL
MEDIA PRODUCTION THAT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO SHARE
ASPECTS OF THEIR LIFE STORY. THE MEDIA USED MAY
INCLUDE THE DIGITAL EQUIVALENT OF FILM
TECHNIQUES (FULL-MOTION VIDEO WITH SOUND),
ANIMATION, STILLS, AUDIO ONLY, OR ANY OF THE OTHER
FORMS OF NON-PHYSIC AL MEDIA (MATERIAL THAT
EXISTS ONLY AS ELECTRONIC FILES AS OPPOSED TO
ACTUAL PAINTINGS OR PHOTOGRAPHS ON PAPER,
SOUNDS STORED ON TAPE OR DISC , MOVIES STORED ON
FILM) WHICH INDIVIDUALS C AN USE TO TELL A STORY
OR PRESENT AN IDEA.”
 AUDIO PODC AST

Francois Clemmons interviewed by Karl

Lindholm
Storycorps March 11, 2016
 • Paivio’s (1986) dual-coding theory and
Mayer’s (2002) cognivitive theory
• Learners posses both visual and verbal
information procssing systems
• Delivering through both representational
systems reduce cognivtive overload in the
WHY USE DIGITAL working memory
STORYTELLING
• Multimedia teaching and learning addresses
both cognitive systems

• Multimedia resources are easily accessible

and relatively inexpensive
 • Creativity and inventive thinking
• Multiple intelligences
• Higher-order thinking (lessons learned)
• Information literacy
BUILDING 21 ST CENTURY • Visual literacy
SKILLS • Sound literacy
• Technical literacy
• Effective communication (oral, written, and
digital)
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Project management
• Enduring understandings
Digital Storytelling is a way of talking about something that
conveys not only information, but emotion and significance as
well.
In academics, stories provide affective learning that can lead
the learner to a desire for more cognitive learning. It
takes deep understanding to tell your own story about an
event, place, person or thing. Hearing someone else’s story can
cause the listener to care more about what is being told than if
facts alone were conveyed. Stories can provide unique ways of
building community in your own discipline, or in reaching out to
other disciplines.

These questions can serve academic needs (“Do depictions of

Neanderthals today accurately reflect their traits as a
species?”), the personal (“How did I cope with my sister’s
Alzheimer’s?”), and the community (“What role does the Wilce
Student Healthy Center play in improving wellness on
campus?”).
 • Research skills:
• Images, video, text

• Concentrated – short
• Personal
• Encourage active participation
WHAT IS GAINED?
• Increase verbal and visual proficiency
• Encourage use of imagination and creativity
• Increase cooperation between students
• Enhance listening skills and critique
 • Class time?
• Consider flipped classroom as an alternative
• In-class sessions as labs

WHAT IS LOST
 • Microphone
• Camera
• Tablet
• Smartphone
• Desktop Computer
HARDWARE

Depends on outcome wanted but most

campus citizens have one or more; all have
access (eg. MEC)
 • http://www.schrockguide.net/digital-
storytelling.html#tools

SOFTWARE
 • Story types
• Personal narratives
• Fictional stories
• Historical documentaries
TYPES • Abstract concepts

• Media types
Even when a topic (e.g. American Civil War)
• Narrated slideshow
has been recounted many times before, the
decisions made by the storyteller are • Audio Documentary
personal and impart a deeper feeling of
involvement with the story being told. • Video Documentary
• Docudramas
• Animation
 8 STEPS

1. Start with an idea

2. Research/ explore/ learn
3. Write – script, outline
4. Storyboard/ plan
5. Gather and create images, audio and video
6. Put it all together
7. Share
8. Reflection and feedback
 • Point of View
What is the main point of the story and what is the
perspective of the author?
• A Dramatic Question
A key question that keeps the viewer’s attention and
will be answered by the end of the story.
• Emotional Content
Serious issues that come alive in a personal and
CONSIDER … powerful way and connects the audience to the
story.
• The Gift of Your Voice
A way to personalize the story to help the audience
understand the context.
• The Power of the Soundtrack
Music or other sounds that support and embellish
the story.
• Economy
Using just enough content to tell the story without
overloading the viewer.
• Pacing
The rhythm of the story and how slowly or quickly it
progresses.
 • Living inside your story
• Unfolding lessons learned
• Developing creative tension
• Economizing the story told
6 ELEMENTS TO GOOD • Showing not telling
DIGITAL STORYTELLING • Developing craftmanship
 • Week 1: 1-2 hours learning technology
• Show examples
• Discuss parameters of assignment
• Brainstorming
• Scripting
• Storyboarding
TIMELINE
• Week 2: 1-2 hours in Class Recording and
editing
General Lesson Sequence • Can be done outside of class (drop-in at the MEC)
• Give direct and immediate feedback
• Address any tech issues that come up
• Week 3: Fine tuning
• Week 4: Sharing and disucssion
• If wanted, give additional week to re-edit and
address improvements
 STORYBOARDING

Using a comic strip format, students show

how the words in their scripts will synch up
with the images they plan to use in their
stories. Time permitting, this is another
opportunity for feedback
 ASSIGNMENTS

• Myths, legends and tall tales

• Docudramas
• Describe and Conclude
• Advertising or Public Service Announcements
• Interviews
 • Still I Rise by Maya Angelou: presented by
Rianna Melnik
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JT16g
W1Vuw
• http://creativeeducator.tech4learning.com/v0
VISUAL POETRY 5/articles/Digital_Storytelling_Across_the_C
urriculum
 • Assignment: had students create a
multimodal project describing how they
learned something. Students had to:
include a compelling narration of a story
• provide a meaningful context for
understanding the story being told
NARRATED MOVIE/ IMAGES
• use images to capture and/or expand upon
emotions found in the narrative
Life starts at the end of my comfort • employ music and other sound effects to
zone! by Maretha Dellarosa reinforce ideas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EQknZo
KWx0&spfreload=1
• invite thoughtful reflection from their
audience(s)
 ASSIGNMENT: MATERIAL DESIGN

• Research a design and describe it’s impact on your day to day experience
• Walking by Joey Lane:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bii8V-XKTI
 TEXT WITH IMAGES (VIA SLATE)

• https://slate.adobe.com/a/78KQK/
• https://slate.adobe.com/cp/xc8r6/
 INTERVIEWS

• http://tellingstories.org/mccomb/fullmovies/patsy_ruth_butler/index.html
Possibilities of how Voice could be used in your classroom situation…
1. teacher asks students to reflect on a reading passage using Voice and then share their Voice
with a classmate, and then classmates come together to discuss what new perspectives they
learned and what they thought about sharing.
2. teacher uses Voice in a science class to outline the steps of an experiment that students will
participate in. Teacher can share the Voice with the class before the experiment (Flipped
Classroom) and then ask students the next day to tell her what they will be doing in the
experiment and to walk through the steps of the experiment.
3. in a history class, students use Voice to display their understanding of a reading by
synthesizing the main events, outlining what happened, who was involved, when, what the
context is, and then adding their own personal reflection.
4. in Math could the teacher create a short explainer video showing an actual students work as
he/she completes a specific type of equation through a series of annotated photographs?
Explaining where most students slip up and demonstrating how to work through the key
steps.
 EXAMPLES

• A House is Not a Home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaArpJhRMFg

• http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/ds/dsembed.cfm?vid=313&w=640&h=480
• http://streamwww.classroom.ohio-state.edu/flash/knowledgebank/digstory11/Seiling_Sharon/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwR3blV_vZo
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljb1G83pus8
• http://www.storycenter.org/story-gallery//a-struggle-within-reach-by-jacinta
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79GM-3y8Uho
• Interactive webpae: http://pinepoint.nfb.ca/#/pinepoint
• Visual poem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilwNbA-VjcY
Images
Flickr: The Commons – https://secure.flickr.com/commons
Flickr Creative Commons – https://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
deviantART Creative Commons – http://creative-commons.deviantart.com/
Public Health Image Library (PHIL) – http://phil.cdc.gov/phil/home.asp
Getty Images (royalty-free collection) – http://www.gettyimages.com/creative-images/royaltyfree
Music
Soundcloud Creative Commons – https://soundcloud.com/groups/creative-commons
Jamendo (no login required – click past it) – https://www.jamendo.com/en
Incompetech – http://incompetech.com/
Freesound.org (sound effects) – https://www.freesound.org/browse/tags/sound-effects/
Public Domain Music – http://www.pdinfo.com/index.php
Mixed Media (including video)
Smithsonian Archives (rights free) – http://siarchives.si.edu/press/photos-videos
Columbia University list of Public Domain (and licensed) Resources –
http://copyright.columbia.edu/copyright/copyright-in-general/public-domain-resources/
Internet Archive – https://archive.org/
Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Vimeo Creative Commons – http://vimeo.com/creativecommons
http://www.schrockguide.net/digital-storytelling.html#tools