2. What is Digital Storytelling? A short, first-person video-narrative created by combining recorded voice, still and moving images, and music or other sounds. A Brief History of Storytelling
3. Digital Storyteller Anyone who has a desire to document life experience, ideas, or feelings through the use of story and digital media. Granny Smith More Examples about Digital Storytelling
4. Storytelling and Technology The Past and the Recent Past Storytelling: Changing while Remaining the Same Storytelling Theory and Practice
5. Types of Digital Stories Personal Narratives Historical Event Inform and Instruct
6. Digital Storytelling as an Effective Instructional Tool for Teachers Use DST as a bridge between existing knowledge and new material. Engage students in the learning process. Enhance current lessons.
7. Benefits of DST in the classroom Students learn to speak the language of new media. DST can open up new ways of thinking and communicating. Epistemological surplus Students learn to develop their voice in the digital realm. Cross-discipline collaboration
8. Digital Storytelling as an Effective Learning Tool for Students Digital Literacy Global Literacy Technology Literacy Visual Literacy Information Literacy
9. Benefits for Students Research Skills Writing Skills Organizational Skills Technology Skills Presentation Skills Interview Skills Interpersonal Skills Problem-Solving Skills Assessment Skills Music Selection Skills (Music)
11. The Elements of Digital Storytelling Point of View A Dramatic Question Emotional Content The Gift of Your Voice The Power of the Soundtrack Economy Pacing
12. Point of View What is the perspective of the author?
13. A DramaticQuestion A key question that will be answered by the end of the story.
15. The Gift of Your Voice A way to personalize the story to help the audience understand the context.
16. The Power of the Soundtrack Music or other sounds that support the storyline
17. Economy Simply put, using just enough content to tell the story without overloading the viewer with too much information..
18. Pacing Related to Economy, but specifically deals with how slowly or quickly the story progresses.
19. Before You Start Copyright Law for Educators Quick Copyright Facts - All tangible creative works are protected by copyright immediately upon creation. - Quoting or crediting the author of a copied work does not satisfy copyright requirements. - When in doubt about either the copyright status of a work or the appropriateness of your use of that work, get permission. - Be aware of ‘Educational Fair Use.’
20. Educational Fair Use What is the character of use? What is the nature of the work to be used? How much of the work will you use? What effect would this use have on the market for the original or for permissions if the use were widespread?
21. Non-Commercial Educational Purposes 1. Instruction or curriculum-based teaching by educators to students at nonprofit educational institutions 2. Study or investigation in order to contribute to a field of knowledge 3. Presentation of research findings at peer conferences, workshops or seminars
22. Digital Storytelling Ideas for Music Educators Music History Composers and Performers Performance Practice Personal Subject Music Composition Project Music and Image Music and Story Class/Individual Project Concert Review Music Review Music and Five Senses Stories on Instruments Synesthesia
23. Getting Started Decide on the story you want to tell. Gather your materials. Begin writing your script. Prep your equipment. Create a storyboard. Digitize your media Record a voice-over Add music Edit your story Share your story
24. DST Resources Resources for Images Resources for Sounds DST Tutorial Videos DST Teachers’ Guide and Lesson Plan Copyright Law Where to Publish Resources
Experts of DST identify digital storytelling as a social pedagogy, approaching learning as a collaborative process. The oppurtunities for collaboration within the digital storytelling process exist at multiple levels. The process of story development is one of refinement through the telling and re-telling of ideas; digital storytelling is a self reflexive and recursive process. Through this process and its interactive nature, learning is reinforced through the synthesis of ideas and the multiple opportunities to gather feedback. Digital storytelling introduces multiple media into this process and the need to express their understanding visually as well as verbally.
Digital storyteller is a web-based tool that offers teachers and students frictionless access to digital images and materials that enable them to construct compelling personal narrations. Technology tools can extend thinking and communication not possible using only paper-pencil tools.
The Past and the Recent Past:The concept of storytelling is older than human history itself. Before the invention of written language, wisdom, knowledge, and information were passed down orally, and often through what would today be considered stories. In one sense, storytelling has always utilized the latest available technology. Some have said that cave paintings and other ancient findings were sometimes use to tell stories.It may be hard to think about prehistoric drawings on a cave wall as a form of technology, but at the dawn of human civilization, they were just that. In the pre-Internet twentieth century, storytellers used the latest technology to share their stories with the world. Through digital devices, storytellers gained the ability to share with audiences of thousands or even millions, the wisdom, knowledge, and entertainment that comes with this age-old process.Storytelling: Changing while Remaining the Same With the emergence of widespread personal computing and the Internet, the relationship between storytelling and technology has transformed dramatically in a short period time. Where technology was previously a tool that could be utilized to spread stories to wider audience, it is now a tool that can become a deeply integrated part of the storytelling process and of the story itself. In this small amount of time, the concept of digital storytelling has created dramatic changes in what tellers can do and provided them with the ability not only to reach new audiences, but to reach those audiences in a new way.
There are many different types of digital stories, but it is possible to categorize the major types into the following three major groups:1. Personal Narratives2. Historical Event3. Inform and InstructPersonal Narratives: One of the most popular reasons for producing digital stories, is to create a personal narrative. Students can explore their personal stories and share with fellow students.Digital stories that examine historical events Although many personal narratives can include historical information to add context to the story, a different kind of digital story can be created from historical material that students might explore in a classroom. Stories that inform or instruct While it can be argued that all digital stories inform (and perhaps instruct), the distinction here is that there is room to create a separate category for stories that reflect instructional material in content areas.
There are numerous ways that DST can be used in education. One of the first decisions to be made when deciding to use this tool in the curriculum is whether an instructor will create the Digital Stories or have their students to do it. Some educators may decided to create their own stories and show then to their students as a way to present new material. An engaging, multimedia-rich Digital Story can server as an anticipatory sets at the beginning of a lesson to help engage students in the learning process. Teacher-created digital stories my also be used to enhance current lessons within a larger unit, as a way to facilitate discussion about the topics presented a story and as a way of making abstract or conceptual content more understandable
Creating digital stories both enables the students to use their own voice and the potential for wide representation of their ideas. Helping students to develop their own identity, is a social process, the concept of identity is dialogical and so narrative can play an important part in the construction of identity. DST is recognized to encourage emotional engagement with the task which is indicative of its widespread use in community based projects. In educational use it provides the opportunity for students to use their voice.
Digital storytelling by students provides a strong foundation in many different types of literacy, such as information literacy, visual literacy, technology literacy, and media literacy.Digital Literacy – the ability to communicate with an over-expanding community to discuss issues, gather information, and seek help;Global Literacy – the capacity to read, interpret, respond, and contextualize messages from a global perspectiveTechnology Literacy – the ability to use computers and other technology to use improve learning, productivity, and performance;Visual Literacy – the ability to understand, produce and communicate through visual images;Information Literacy – the ability to find, evaluate and synthesize information.In the area of technology literacy, students who create digital stories improve their skills by using software that combines a variety of multimedia tools including working with text, still images, audio, video and oftentimes, Web publishing. In the area of technological literacy,, Digital storytelling can provide a meaningful reason for students to learn to digitize media content by using scanners, digital still cameras, and video cameras. In addition, as students create the narration and soundtrack for a story, they gain skills in using microphones, digitizing audio and working with music and sound effects.
When students are able to participate in the multiple steps of designing, creating and presenting their own digital stories, they increase a full of literacy skills, including:Research Skills: Documenting the story, finding and analyzing pertinent information;Writing Skills: Formulating a point of view and developing a script;Organizational Skills: Managing the scope of the project, the materials used and the time it takes to complete the task;Technology Skills: learning to use a variety of tools, such as digital cameras, scanners, microphones and multimedia authoring software;Presentation Skills: Deciding how to best present the story to an audience;Interview Skills: Finding sources to interview and determining questions to ask;Interpersonal Skills: Working within a group and determining individual roles for group members;Problem-Solving Skills: Learning to make decisions and overcome obstacles at all stages of the project, from inception to completion; Assessment Skills: Gaining expertise critiquing their own and others’ work
The different levels provide a means of representing reflection in the learning process of the students. Mapped against this,, the model represents how individuals identify, tell and build on their story. Important in this model is the way that stories can be expanded and amended through collaborative processes; these are represented by the latter stages of the model.
Center for Digital Storytelling’s Seven Elements of Digital Storytelling
Element 1 – Point of ViewWhat makes a story a story? Dictionary definitions may call it a narrative, a tale, a report, an account, and that would seem to cover it. But hold on. When we think of a story, true or imagined, we do not consider someone sitting in front of us reciting a series of events like a robot: "This happened, then this happened, and then this happened." Hardly anybody ever narrates the events in their lives without some good reason for it.We believe all stories are told to make a point. Most human stories follow the pattern of describing a desire, taking us through the action that desire led us to perform, and what realization came about as a result of our experiencing the events of our actions in relationship to our original desire. By point of view, we primarily are addressing this issue of defining the specific realization you, as an author, are trying to communicate within your story. Because every part of the story can service this point, it becomes imperative to define this goal in order to direct the editing process.
Element 2 – Dramatic Question Simply making a point doesn’t necessarily keep people’s attention throughout a story. Well-crafted stories, from Shakespeare to Seinfeld, set up a tension from the beginning that holds you until the story is over.To use our desire-action-realization model, we are talking about how we establish a central desire in the beginning in such a way that the satisfaction or denial of that desire must be resolved in order for the story to end. The conflicts that arise between our desires being met and the desire of other characters or larger forces to stop us create the dramatic tension. Again, sophisticated story making distinguishes itself by burying the presentation of the dramatic question, like the realization, in ways that do not call attention to the underlying structure
Element 3 – Emotional ContentAll of us have been in the middle of a story, a novel, a film, a theatrical or storytelling performance and found ourselves emotionally engaged. It is as if the story had reached inside our consciousness and taken hold of us, and we know in that moment that we are in for a tearful or joyous ride.This effect is principally a result of a truthful approach to emotional material. A story that deals directly with the fundamental emotional paradigms–of death and our sense of loss, of love and loneliness, of confidence and vulnerability, of acceptance and rejection–will stake a claim on our hearts. Beginning with content that addresses or couches itself in one or another of those contexts will improve the likelihood that you are going to hold an audience’s attention.These are areas that for many of us are a challenge to express in a piece of personal writing or media. We may lack the experience of trying, as most if not all of our formal training processes in narrative–from scholarly essays to journalistic reports–stress distance and de-emotionalized perspectives. Or we may be unresolved about the emotional material, keeping us from gaining perspective or meaning from these experiences. The result of our failure to express our most honest understandings about these kinds of subject matter can lead us to play down or overdramatize the material. It can also lead us to being simply overwhelmed by feelings that are brought to the surface.
One of the most effective tools you have available to you for storytelling is the “gift of your voice”. Our voices are powerful, yet we are often hesitant or embarrassed to include them in our projects. Using your own voice or the voice of your students in your stories personalizes your story and it helps the audience understand the context for which they should be listening. Our own self-consciousness sometimes gets in the way of effective narration of our stories. Digital deviceThe nice thing about a digital sound file is that you can mix and match each of the recording takes to create the best-sounding version.
Music or sound track can impact your story very effective. Using appropriate music and sound effects can add depth to your visual images. Let’s think of movie, ‘Jaws’ for second, and let’s imagine the movie scene without the soundtrack. What do you think?Using one’s own voice and existing personal archival material has the advantage of being copyrighted by you as the author. By using other's music, you are also likely crossing into the territory of deciding what should be the appropriate fair use of the copyrighted material. Put simply, if you are going to make money directly or indirectly by the presentation or distribution of the piece you have created, then you should have the composer's permission to use the music. Fortunately, numerous companies have developed copyright-free music collections and software to assist you in designing a soundtrack that is wholly yours.
Despite our emphasis on story, text, and sound, digital media for many storytellers is principally a visual medium that integrates the other elements. As a visual medium we are concerned with composition and juxtaposition of visual elements in a single screen and over time. Since our emphasis is in repurposing existing images and video, your initial compositional considerations were already decided by your relative skill in shooting a picture or framing a video. Our concern is more with sequential composition.You will want to identify the key points necessary for telling your story and then choose still images or video clips that demonstrate these key points. It is important for you to show your audience just enough information to understand what you’re trying to say and then change to another image. Including video clips or images that are too long will bore your audience. Economy is generally the largest problem with telling a story. We purposely put limitations on the number of images and video clips our students use.
Pacing refers to the rhythm of your story. If it moves too fast or to slow you run the risk of losing or boring your audience.
Copyright plays an important role in digital storytelling. As educators and students, we need to be aware of the law so you know what kind of images, sounds and other media you can use without infringing the copyright of others.You probably have doubted about copyright law when you create a project. And you might have asked a question such as “What can my students and I freely use in our lessons, presentations, workshops, and websites, and what is protected by copyright?” There are a few facts about copyright. I want you to read that and think about it for a moment. And now, you are thinking about the copyright law for educational use. What is permitted and what is not. – (Talk about the handout) This chart was designed to inform teachers of what they may do under the law. You can make copies for teachers in your school and share it with them. There is a PDF version on its website – techlearning.com, which you can find in my posting on digital storytelling resources.
The concept of fair use is so complex that even the lawyers don’t always agree on what is and what is not protected. If you are unsure how to proceed with your situation, consult your attorney or your institution’s legal department. Many educators interpret fair use as freedom to use copyrighted materials as long as their use is restricted to instructional purposes. But, are they correct in that belief? The ‘Educational fair use’ policy allows educators and others to use portions of copyrighted works without the permission of the owner or infringing the copyright. The law provides four non-exclusive factors to be used in determining whether a use is fair. These are commonly referred to as the four fair use factors. They are: What is the character of useWhat is the nature of the work to be used?How much of the work will you use?What effect would this use have on the market for the original or for permissions if the use were widespread?
Obviously, copyright law is complicated and easily misinterpreted. Even those with the best intentions – and the best lawyers – are liable to make mistakes. The guidelines for public domain and copyright protected works predate many of the new technologies used in schools today, so you won’t find them in lists of copyright dos and don’ts. Usually you’ll have to rely on common sense and the right intent when determining what technology resources you and your students can use.
