As I was reading Robin's article on "The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling," I began thinking about the times I have encountered digital stories in my own experience.
In some of my language classes in college, the professor sometimes used digital stories to get us motivated for the day's lesson or discussion. We were also required to create a digital story or podcast as a final project during one semester.
Remembering these good experiences and how engaged I felt, I used digital storytelling to enhance some of the English lessons for my junior high school students when I was teaching English in Japan. Creating a digital story allowed me to combine still visual images, video clips, simplified English phrases, and occasional Japanese text support. Add in a bit of catchy music, and you get a perfect tool for motivating students.
While this tool could be used with a wide range of students, I am particularly intrigued by its potential for use with English Language Learners and children with special needs. It is a great way to present content, as well as an exciting project that students can feel invested in, having the chance to show what they know in a way that appeals to their particular expressive style. In addition, having their projects online means that students can share it not only with the people in their own classes, but also potentially with family and friends outside of school who may be interested in seeing it.
Creating digital stories with students has great potential to be an interesting and powerful learning tool. Though there are still issues of access to computers and other technology, it may be possible to create digital stories even in low tech environments. I would be interested in hearing from people who have created digital stories with students even in places where there is not a computer available for every student.
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