I have always loved stories. At the age of five I sat enraptured listening as my mom read aloud from the Chronicles of Narnia, and as soon as I could write letters I was creating books. Storytelling has been a fascination of mine ever since, and I love telling stories to children now. I have to confess that I have felt wary of the concept of digital storytelling, viewing it as something along the lines of glorified flannel board. But as we discussed it this week in class my perception of digital storytelling changed. In class we looked at examples of digital storytelling sites and programs like imovie, goanimate, and animoto (a list of fifty programs is provided at http://cogdogroo.wikispaces.com/StoryTools). These resources combine audio and visual files and present them in an interactive way that engages the audience. Examples of this are short animated films, slide shows, movies documenting experiences, collages, maps, and time lines. Digital storytelling is a broad field, and there are plenty of tools available, so there are countless possibilities. Presentations can be perfectly tailored to suit the material that you want to share, so that the audience is engaged and experiences the information rather than simples looking at it or being told about it.
Digital storytelling can be an incredible tool in the classroom. Presentations can be taken numerous directions, and offer variety that can help to break up a long day. Utilizing multiple forms of sensory input guarantees that children will be less distracted than when listening to a lecture or looking at a power point, and digital storytelling has the added advantage of the capability of interaction. Teachers can use digital storytelling to create maps and time lines to help in lesson presentation, but most digital storytelling tools are simple enough that the creation of these aids can be assigned to the children, helping them develop technological skills and giving them a more comprehensive grasp of the information. Development of digital stories may not be appropriate for all classrooms, such as classes designated for children with special needs. However, digital storytelling can still be incredibly useful with these students, presenting information in a fun and engaging way, provided that the programs are not overly stimulating.
This video provides an example of what can be done with digital storytelling. It won first prize in a digital storytelling competition where contestants from the Philippines told their stories as they related to the city of Iligan:
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