Digital Storytelling Article

This article recommended the use of digital storytelling as a way to strengthen critical thinking, writing, and media literacy skills for students. The author explains that a digital story “is a digital video clip, told in the author’s own voice, illustrated mostly with still images, with an optional music track added for emotional effect, and/or a voiceover.” Digital stories may be instructional, persuasive, historical, or reflective. The construction of a narrative requires the student to think carefully about the topic and to come up with a way to tell about it that will appeal to the audience. The author says that students should focus on their stories first and the digital medium later. Story mapping and oral storytelling are tools that teachers can teach students about which will help with the digital storytelling process. Story boarding can also help students organize their thoughts when designing a digital story. Digital stories can be created using simple applications such as MovieMaker and require little or no technical background. They do, however, take up a lot of computer memory and file space.
I feel this article is a good resource for me and my team to remind us of why we should bother creating digital stories with our students. Digital stories allow individual students to show their creativity while demonstrating knowledge. They also foster critical thinking. What more could teachers look for in a teaching/assessment tool?


Zukowski, A.. (2008, February). This Digital Storytelling. Momentum, 39(1), 90-91. Retrieved October 18, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 1446190491).