Storytelling has been used to impart knowledge from prehistory to today. Stories captivate listeners and accelerate the retention process.
The only thing that has changed about storytelling over the years is the tools used to transmit those stories to others. Springing from origins in oral transmission, storytelling has been shared in pictures, stained glass, written text, radio waves, and television. Now, with the advent of increasingly powerful computers and software, storytelling has entered its next phase of development…digital storytelling.
Education of Total Immersion
As educators, you’re very aware that students of all ages learn in different ways. Some are auditory, many are visual, and there’s an entire segment of the population that is so kinesthetic that they simply must get their hands dirty (so-to-speak) before they’ll learn much of anything.
Digital storytelling can be a beautiful melding of all three styles of learning. Students will deepen their understanding of the world and make better sense of it. Projects will help them sharpen their powers of observation and develop a sense of creativity.
In the process, narration, visuals, and hands on creation has the unique ability to meet all learning styles in a single project.
Ways to Implement Digital Storytelling in Education
Creating a digital project isn’t much different than developing any other type of project. You’ll have a brainstorming session and select a project. Extensive research will be conducted to gather the materials needed for the project and an outline will be made.
The only real difference will be in the development.
You’ll need to storyboard the project. Because you’re bringing together video, slides, narration, role play, interviews, and a great deal more into a single project, you’ll want to draw out the progression in detail. This will allow you to assign individual parts to single students or groups of students while you act as the executive producer overseeing the entire project.
Project ideas are limited only by your creativity, but here is an extensive starter list. Try some, merge several into a single project, and customize them to your students’ needs.
- Meet an artist, public figure, musician, etc.
- Oral histories
- Fictional stories
- How to videos
- The story of [insert subject]
- Book reports
- Poetry readings
- Recap of a trip (summer vacation, field trip, etc.)
- Cooking meals from other cultures
- A day at my parents’ work
Ponder your current curriculum for areas where converting your current approach to a digital storytelling session might make a bigger impact on your students.
21st Century Minstrel
Just as people would come from miles around to hear the minstrel in the town square tell the stories of heroes and watershed moments of history. So, digital storytelling will captivate your students and fix in their minds those key stories they will carry with them their entire lives.
More – See my article on Digital Video Tools For Media Production
How to Use Music As An Aid to Digital Storytelling
The role of a music soundtrack in a multimedia presentation is similar to the use of spices in cooking. Used correctly, adding just the right spices brings out the flavor in a dish and enhances its overall taste. Spices shouldn’t dominate, but they should be a presence, contributing to the overall effect.
The soundtrack is not the main ingredient in a media project either. Its role is to support and to bring out the drama already built-in to the production’s story. Using music soundtracks expands the story’s power to communicate.
UniqueTracks "Royalty Free" Music CDs provide music that can be used in your school’s visual or multimedia presentations without further licensing or royalties to be paid.
Listen to our music – you’ll see that the ability to legally use these tracks as often as you like in your classes more than earns back what you spend for the initial purchase. If you have questions regarding music licensing or your rights regarding the use of royalty free music, please call us toll free at
888-400-2149.
Educators receive over 15% off of UniqueTracks regular pricing (regular pricing is the pricing you’ll see next to the products on this site). Please download our free 19 page Pricing and Information Guide which lists our music products along with the Educator discount pricing pre-calculated for each item.
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