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10 Digital Storytelling Examples (And Techniques to Try)

October 14, 2022

Words by Jeff Cardello

Digital storytelling enables journalists, publishers, and content marketers to craft visually compelling stories for the web.

The web has transformed the way the world tells stories. The rapid advance of interactive design techniques and tools has opened up new avenues of creative expression that let storytellers bring narratives to life. Today, digital stories don’t have to be static, linear affairs made up of fixed text and image blocks—they don’t even have to follow a traditional vertical experience.

While there’s a multitude of digital storytelling examples out there to explore, we’ve curated a small selection to highlight the sheer versatility of design techniques you can play with to tell engrossing, memorable stories on the web.

What is Digital Storytelling?

Following the shift from print to digital media from the late ‘90s, digital storytelling quickly established itself as one of the most powerful and influential ways to tell a story. At its simplest, it allows storytellers to break free from traditional media to leverage visually dynamic digital elements—including video, illustrations, 3D objects, and animations—which allow audiences to experience and interact with stories.

Today, digital storytelling is a staple for modern journalism—from illustrated features and animated reports, through to cinematic long-form web editorials . Increasingly, it’s also being adopted by brands and organizations looking to promote their own values, campaigns, and stories in a more engaging way.

Bottom line: digital storytelling isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it’s constantly evolving. As more publishers and companies move to adopt professional no-code design software , crafting immersive digital stories is now faster, cheaper, and more accessible than ever.

Example Digital Storytelling Design Techniques

Just as there is no single way to tell a story, there is no “correct” way to tell a digital story. However, look a little harder at some of the web’s best digital storytelling examples and you’ll notice that there are a few design techniques and tricks that publishers use again and again. These focus on weaving text and visuals together to create informative and captivating user experiences. Here are some of the most popular techniques to look out for:

Scrollytelling

Scrollytelling , with its elements of interactivity and motion, is the perfect medium for digital storytelling. Through scroll-triggered visual and text effects, animations, audio, graphics, and a careful pacing of content, scrollytelling produces engrossing cinematic narratives. Many of the digital storytelling examples we’ll cover below use this technique throughout their designs, and some even take scrollytelling in a whole new direction using horizontal scrolling .

Animation brings instant magic to digital stories—sliding text into place, spinning images across the screen, pulsating graphic design elements, and causing elements to scale, materialize, and disappear. All this movement is great for attracting readers’ attention, making it a great technique for highlighting key points and keeping people engaged.

Most digital storytelling examples feature micro-interactions and other interactive elements. Interactions like clickable show/hide elements, hover effects, scroll-triggered animations, and other user-initiated actions let visitors explore at their own pace and even provide feedback. Interactivity is a brilliant way to immerse your audience in your story by making them actively participate in it.

Used sensitively, sound can bring a rich new sensory dimension to stories. It’s particularly useful for providing feedback when visitors complete a micro-interaction, creating ambiance with scroll-triggered sound effects, and weaving audio clips of people speaking.

So many digital storytelling examples use video—and for good reason. Video instantly creates a more dynamic user experience, and can take a variety of forms. Short clips can be used in scrollytelling and hero sections against minimalist text, longer clips can be embedded to provide more detail or tangential stories, and short vignettes can be sewn throughout to create energy and relieve text-heavy sections.

10 Digital Storytelling Examples to Inspire You

What story do you want to bring to life with rich media? Let’s dive into ten different digital storytelling examples to analyze the different techniques and ideas to try in your own digital content.

In this essay published by the New Zealand media outlet 1 News , the author recounts his friendship and travels with a friend who has passed on. Built with Vev, the heartfelt writing in this piece is gorgeously complemented by scroll-triggered effects including fade-ins, scrollytelling images, and parallax. All work together to create a visually rich and dynamic experience that keep you scrolling, without ever overpowering the highly personal and touching copy.

Digital storytelling is a great choice for brands looking to “gently” market their products. Spor manages this masterfully in this example, showing off their jewelry by telling the story of an apple farmer. This design is filled with visuals that capture the artistry of Spor’s jewelry in a way that feels connected to nature.

This piece makes takes advantage of Vev’s ready-made digital storytelling components—including parallax image , embedded video, and complex animations—to produce a seamless scrolling experience.

UAID tells the story of the Ukraine war through animated text conversations. From the very moment bombs begin dropping, we see a text exchange between two people. While this is fictionalized voyeurism, it’s based on real events. Seeing this conversation unfold as the war progresses is not only an extremely interesting way to highlight key events—it ensures attention stays focused on how those events impact the very real people caught up in the conflict. This impactful digital storytelling example showcases the emotive power of a simple text animation used in the right design setting.

Hidden Heroes

Hidden Heroes is a space for celebrating individuals who helped advance technology that have been overlooked by historical narratives. In this digital storytelling example, screen space is maximized, yet we are not overwhelmed with too much content being squeezed into it. Even with maximalism, it’s important to leave some room for your content to breathe.

Hover effects open up new windows that provide more information about each person’s contributions to technology. This choice brings pleasing interactivity to the overall experience, while ensuring content doesn’t become too dense. Along with hover effects, scroll-triggered fade-ins and other animations lend this design a dynamic feel and guide people through its content.

Hearing Birdsong

Hearing Birdsong takes what would otherwise be the sterile and clinical experience of testing your hearing, and turning it into an exploration of birds and the sounds they create. In this digital storytelling example, you are put at the center of the experience and walk through the woods while listening to the sounds around you. This immersive digital story is filled with animation and sound, making evaluating your hearing an enjoyable and rewarding journey.

Yuri Gargarin

This digital storytelling example tells the story of Yuri Gargarin , the first Soviet cosmonaut. Along with writing that describes his launch into space, there are a multitude of eye-catching visuals that activate when you scroll. As you read about Yuri’s mission, you’ll see an animation depicting the different stages of his rocket in flight. This not only conveys information about how the rocket worked but adds a sense of zero-gravity weightlessness to the design. You’ll also encounter text animations , parallax scroll effects, and plenty of other cosmic-themed visuals that make this an action-packed and fun user experience.

Service Now

This sustainability report by Service Now was built with Vev and is a prime digital storytelling example using some of our favorite Vev features.

The content features snappy scroll-triggered animations throughout. One section of the report utilizes a horizontal sliding block of text where experts weigh in on data privacy, with each speech bubble sliding in as you scroll. This gives you a bit of a pause between sections, as well as giving focus to each new block of content that moves into place.

Animated charts are also used to incorporate data into the story being told. Using Vev’s animated chart element, the charts fade in and grow as you scroll down the page, slowly drip-feeding key parts of the story being told.

This is another one of the digital storytelling examples we came across that does an excellent job of using animations and effects in bringing attention to its content.

Not every story has to have a clear written narrative. This digital storytelling example from Nel Mentre just uses sound and visuals—as opposed to loads of text—to show how their scented candles can be used.

Every room in this design captures a mood. Accompanying these spaces are ASMR-inspired sounds, like the flipping of cards or the turning of pages in a book. Each begins with a delightful crack and burst of flame as a match lights a candle. This design is all about experience—communicating the atmosphere and care that makes their product.

Nattog Oslo Bergen Sov

Wonder what it’s like to take the night train from Oslo? This digital storytelling example built in Vev has you sorted. Combining embedded videos and video background sections, scrollytelling, static photos, and animated text, this long-form advertorial is a feast for the senses. Half-photo diary, half journal entry, this digital experience invites readers on board to journey directly alongside the writer.

With colorful three-dimensional animations and a scattering of sparkling stars, this digital storytelling example from Seen feels like being teleported to a different universe. It tells the stories of different creatives with plenty of brilliant visuals and motion.

The left-hand side of the screen displays a menu of different people. Clicking each individual link shifts the stars, shapes, and colors of the background into a new screen—a dazzling interaction that cleverly signals movement to a new page of content. From here, animated speech bubbles reveal interviews with these featured creatives, in a flourish that is far more interesting than text only.

Create Your Own Digital Stories with Vev

Ready to bring your stories to life with slick visuals, interactions, and animations? Check out Vev! Our extensive library of pre-coded digital storytelling design elements—spanning scrollytelling, advanced animations, video sections, horizontal scroll, and even 3D objects—lets you create immersive digital stories without needing a developer. Publish your story on the web when you’re ready, or embed it into your existing CMS.

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What is Digital Storytelling and How Can I Use It to Help My Students?

What is digital storytelling, benefits of digital storytelling in the classroom, how to use digital storytelling in your classroom — a complete guide, step 1: be a film critic, step 2: plan.

After you have given students the chance to be a film critic, present them with their digital storytelling assignment.

The planning process may involve writing out the story, choosing images to accompany narration, planning out the props that will be needed for filming, deciding on filming locations, and more.

Step 3: Focus on Technology for Storytelling Purposes

Step 4: let students take the lead, digital storytelling tips & tricks, 1. be prepared for bumps in the road, 2. allow students to be creative, 3. hold students accountable, 4. share presentations, 5. celebrate each student’s accomplishments, examples of digital storytelling in the classroom, useful resources, final thoughts.

I teach second grade. I’d like to try to incorporate digital storytelling into my classroom, but I feel like my students are too young to really get a lot out of it. What are your thoughts?

I think you should definitely give it a try. You may be surprised with just how much your second graders are able to accomplish. I’d recommend starting slow and integrating just a few aspects at a time and modeling the different steps you’d like your students to take.

Thanks for the article. I would like to introduce these to my teachers.

Just finished reading your article and I have to comment, it was an absolute hoot. Your writing style is so engaging, I felt like I was on a wild goose chase with you. The picture you included were also a hoot, and I’m persuadedconvinced that you must have a photographic memory because they were so vivid. Keep it up, it’s a real trip!

The Changing Story: digital stories that participate in transforming teaching & learning

(25 reviews)

Linda Buturian, University of Minnesota

Publisher: University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Dolores Flamiano, Professor, Media Arts and Design, James Madison University on 5/16/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The Changing Story gives a remarkably thorough overview of digital storytelling and covers the bases from project conceptualization to scaffolding to assessment to peer feedback. There is much to admire in this book, from preliminary chapters grounded in educational theory to later chapters that get into the practical nuts and bolts. There are a couple of features that I find extremely informative and helpful—at times even inspiring. Next semester, I plan to implement digital storytelling assignments in my classes. When I do, I will be turning to The Changing Story, in particular the exercises in the Appendix and the chapters on scaffolding and assessment. As a professor with a humanities background teaching in a program with a strong focus on applied skills and media technology, I often feel like a fish out of water. At the same time, I want to help students apply their digital skills to critical analysis and visual literacy development. The Changing Story appeals to me because it takes a “big picture” approach to digital storytelling. In other words, the focus is on learning through digital storytelling rather than learning to use digital tools. To me, this is an important distinction, and one that makes this book truly comprehensive.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Very clear and accurate focus on digital storytelling from cross-disciplinary, education-based, pedagogical perspectives. I appreciate the short videos sharing the experiences of students and teachers who have used digital storytelling assignment for different purposes and in different disciplinary contexts.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The book’s dual focus on digital storytelling and climate change (a through line in many of the video examples) makes it feel highly relevant and of-the-moment, but not in a trendy or frivolous way. I also applaud the authors for paying attention to the process of digital storytelling and not espousing any specific technological tools or platforms.

Clarity rating: 4

The writing is clear, straightforward, and accessible. It might seem basic for those already conversant with digital assignments, but for someone getting started, it seems just right.

Consistency rating: 4

Uneven, in my opinion. The chapters are consistent in terms of following a format clearly described in the introduction. The student examples are somewhat inconsistent in terms of the production lengths (8 minutes feels too long) and technical quality.

Modularity rating: 4

I’m not accustomed to rating modularity, but will do my best. In terms of the ability for separate chapters to stand alone, then I think that certain chapters, notably the Appendix, could function quite effectively as independent modules.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The book is thoughtfully organized so that each chapter builds upon the previous one. The chapters flow well together.

Interface rating: 3

This was somewhat uneven, in my opinion. For example, when reading the e-book online, I found a few cases of orphan last lines or headings. In terms of the videos, I found it distracting to be taken to YouTube whenever clicking on a video interview or student example. I would prefer to have the videos embedded in the e-book rather than having to go to YouTube.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The book was error-free as far as I could tell.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

Somewhat uneven overall. The examples of student work were somewhat diverse and inclusive. There were videos highlighting people and projects in South America and other parts of the world. On the other hand, the interviews with students and teachers did not have much diversity.

I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book. I have been looking for a helpful primer for introducing digital storytelling into my media literacy and critical thinking classrooms, and this is the best textbook that I have seen so far. It provides a solid rationale for introducing digital storytelling as a way to enhance and enrich teaching and learning. Equally important, the authors often take a strong social responsibility and ethics perspective, which I admire and support. In this vein, I appreciate the attention to fair use when it comes to using images and music, as I think this is an area where students will need more guidance as digital storytelling becomes more pervasive in our educational landscape, which I think it will.

Reviewed by Vicki Pitstick, Director, New Student & Family Programs, Radford University on 1/7/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

As a professional who has used digital stories in many ways and a certified Digital Story Facilitator through The Storycenter, I felt this book did a great job of explaining what digital stories are and different ways they can be utilized. The numerous examples of digital stories and students' reflections on their digital stories were wonderful, and the index/glossary was very complete with explanations and sample assignments. The one thing I wished the author would have discussed was the use of story circles when creating digital stories. This is a very powerful aspect of the process of digital storytelling that can elevate student learning and teach empathy, and although it takes time, that all professors may not have in the classroom, I do think it is a part of the process that could have been explained for those who might have the time to incorporate it into their teaching.

The author did an excellent job of providing clear and accurate explanations. Her viewpoints did not come off as bias, and she was able to portray a sense of flexibility as well as provide options for teaching a topic in a different way in her writing.

As technology becomes more and more a part of our world, providing resources to teachers about ways it can be utilized in the classroom is crucial. This is especially true if we want to keep our students engaged as much as possible. Additional examples and updates could easily be added to this textbook.

Clarity rating: 5

The numerous examples, digital stories, and exercises made the text an easy and enjoyable read.

Consistency rating: 5

The author is consistent throughout the book with her terminology and framework. She explained how each chapter would be set up and followed the format she described. Her use of backward design as a framework for the book illustrated the value of this pedagogy.

The text is written more of an instruction for teachers on how to teach using digital stories. There are aspects that could be pulled out for students, but it is mainly to help teachers with this pedagogical strategy.

The book was easy to read and flowed well.

Interface rating: 4

Not all links worked for me, but this may be a result of my own computer.

The book was very well-written and easy to read.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The beauty of digital storytelling is that it is a great tool to help people educate others about and celebrate their cultures. I did not find anything offensive about the text.

I believe the use of digital storytelling is very powerful and enjoy incorporating them into courses and other activities when appropriate. I appreciate that this book has added to my repertoire of exercises, examples, and ways to assess digital stories. I also appreciated the authors vulnerability and honesty about her own process as she continues to incorporate digital storytelling into her teaching, Well done!

Reviewed by Elif Guler, Dr./Associate Professor/Professional Writing Coordinator, Longwood University on 8/17/21

This book presents a comprehensive discussion of digital storytelling from its definition to examples of students’ digital stories to related scholarly research as well as tools (e.g., assignments and exercises) and other resources (links to instructional videos) for teachers to easily integrate "digital storytelling" into their curricula. However, some of the links provided for sample students’ projects no longer work (perhaps because those students chose to make the videos private, etc).

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The content is accurate. The only issue (error) is with the broken links that no longer work (there are several of those).

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The relevance is a challenging aspect with this kind of a text whose topic (digital storytelling) has something to do with changing technologies. The text does a good job of overcoming this challenge, Much of the discussion provides timeless guidance on composing digital works that would could be easily applied through different technologies -- even if those technologies were to change in the future. Still, the text might need updating every five years or so (which is indicated even by the sample links that can go obsolete in a short period of time).

The author presents the content in a very accessible, clear prose. The text flows very well and makes the reader want to continue reading. The text can be understood by any teacher at any level without knowledge of specific terminology. Any terminology used is defined and explained.

The text uses relevant terminology consistently. The chapters are also consistent within themselves in terms of their purposes. For example, chapters 1 and 2 provide a more theoretical discussion, while chapters 3 and 4 also provide practical models and procedural frameworks.

Modularity rating: 5

The text has been clearly divided into chapters and different sections that can easily be selected and assigned for students to read.

This text is clearly organized around definitions and discussions of theory on digital storytelling, practical tools for creating digital stories, specific examples, exercises, assessment devices.

The interface can get problematic at times; for example, it takes a while to get out of an example page and return to the corresponding chapter, sometimes. The reader can find themselves bumped back to the beginning of the book or the end of the book, etc. Also, some of the lines in some of the chapter pages seem to get cut off, so the reader might need to play with the browser window size to make all of the text visible.

The book seems to be edited well for grammatical correction.

The text presents a rhetorically conscious approach to culture and invites instructors and students to critical thinking thorough the exercises included in the chapters. Highly interesting sample works such as the "classroom as mandala" provides for meaningfully diverse content.

I'm definitely planning to integrate some of the assignments and exercises from this book into my digital writing course.

Reviewed by Sharon Head, Assistant Professor, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on 6/3/20

This text is a comprehensive, concise, and highly readable introduction to the use of digital storytelling as a learning tool for both instructors and students. The author provides a solid theoretical background, exercises to use with students, and many powerful examples of the ways that her students and colleagues have used and learned from the process of digital storytelling.

The author provides content that is accurate and unbiased. Specific attention seemed to be paid to providing examples of digital storytelling that reflected a variety of cultural perspectives/voices.

Because the author refrains from discussion of any specific technology, this text will be "current" for years to come. There is a sense of timelessness about this content in the best possible sense.

This is a well-written and very readable text. I think that it could be easily used by instructors not just at the university level but in K-12 settings as well.

The author very clearly outlines her approach to the organization of chapters at the beginning of the book and follows that structure throughout. There is good consistency in tone. Use of short, meaningful quotes at the beginning of each chapter helps to draw the reader "in."

Text is arranged in an very visually appealing way. Lots of white space and headings/sub-headings that help the reader to see where they are and what lies ahead. No student should be able to make a complaint of TMDR (too much, didn't read) about any of the chapters or the book as a whole.

This text has a very clear organizational structure that progresses from definitions, to types/uses of digital stories, to very practical exercises, examples, and assessment tools.

Text is free of major interface issues; there were however issues with accessing the assessment rubrics.

No grammatical errors; well-edited.

Text is culturally sensitive and includes examples of digital stories from students and instructors who have a variety of cultural and/or experiential backgrounds.

I will plan to use this text as a resource for pre- and in-service K-12 teachers.

Reviewed by Carrie Oeding, Assistant Professor, Bridgewater State University on 6/1/20

I really like what the book covers and how it breaks down the steps to integrating digital storytelling assignments in your classroom. It's incredibly clear and immediately useful. In the "Types of Digital Storytelling" I would like to see a reference to additionally using the assignment genre to create arguments with digital storytelling. Right now the emphasis is on informing, explaining concepts, reflecting, and teaching others. A lot of students think research and writing means just reporting. Informing and explaining doesn't imply creating an argument. To specifically emphasize how to create an argument with your research or an argument using a concept you have studied, is a different, important objective for classrooms. I also would like to see a researched personal narrative assignment included in the "types." The reflecting section in Chapter 2 is geared toward students reflecting on their work. But to emphasize how a digital storytelling assignment could require research and personal narrative to create an interesting hybrid narrative would be useful for a lot of courses.

The book also does not break down specific questions peers can ask each other in the peer review process. This is a constant step of consideration and revision for faculty when scaffolding major assignments.

The book is steeped in useful experience.

The strength of this book is that its breakdown of these assignments are really flexible for almost any course and major. The guidance is still open enough to inspire you to consider what your current goals and themes are for the course, making the text very relevant and adaptable.

Easy to read in a useful way. I can get through the text quickly, find it all useful and know I can return to it when I want to build my own assignments or cite in pedagogy research. I would have liked to see, though, a section on teaching editing of video and photo essays. This seems like a key step in the learning process.

The clarity of the book is also stemming from its consistency. The consistent referral to the practice of a participatory pedagogy through the use of digital storytelling helped to keep the objectives in the forefront. The value of participation was present in every aspect of this book--from brainstorming to evaluation.

I like the links to the exercises within the textbook. You can keep following this scaffolding of exercises and still return to where you left of in the chapter.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The organization makes it easy to jump around as well as read chronologically. I just wasn't 100% sound on the position of Chapter 5. I understand that loading this information in the preface would lose readers, but it read as coming in a little too late into the text.

Interface rating: 5

Easy to click and return throughout the book.

Very clear.

It's incredibly relevant to use with inclusive pedagogy. The text emphasizes the need for rhetorical analysis of images, a critical cultural tool, by organically integrating such analysis into the scaffolding of the exercises.

Very useful! A good primer for faculty who want to use digital narratives or multi-modal assignments in their classrooms. The textbook shows how anyone can adapt these assignments.

Reviewed by Catron Booker, Adjunct Faculty/Radio-TV-Film, East Tennessee State University on 4/17/20

The text is very accessible in terms of being easily readable for educators from a wide variety of backgrounds. The textbook seems to be more of an overview of digital media for a course in the humanities, American Studies, Environmental Studies, etc. that is interested in using digital media as an additional tool for research and/or for using narrative strategies to explore various topics that might other just be driven by data based analysis. The exercises located in the Appendix are very useful in terms of understanding how to integrate this approach into a curriculum. Nevertheless, I think it would be useful to provide examples of a completed (portfolio based) project that shows a process based approach in which a range of digital strategies are used to explore one topic such as water. I think this is what Chapter 6 could have displayed especially since it was rather brief. Chapter 4 is exceptional for offering concrete instruction on assessment strategies and the challenging nature of evaluating digital projects with comprehensive rubrics included.

High accuracy and error-free readability.

This textbook feels mostly up to date as of this reading, but the challenge with digital media is remaining up to date in a highly evolving digital landscape. The relevance of this book lives in the teaching tools it provides instructors already using digital media and/or wanting to acquire a solid pedagogical foundation with concrete project based results. In this respect, the content is incredibly useful. An Appendix that not only includes the exercises but also lists key terms would also be helpful for quick and easy reference of certain topics, terms, concepts, etc.

Exceptional clarity and highly engaging without technical jargon that can be daunting for those unfamiliar with the field.

Very consistent and highly useful in terms of constant referencing of core concepts.

There is a solid balance between visual examples and the text. I would have liked to see a wider variety of digital story examples other than video including, but not limited to, graphic based projects, art projects, sound based work, etc within each module.

The chapters easily build upon each other. It is definitely an invaluable teaching reference because of its organizational flow such that one would want to return to it again and again.

Many of the links did not easily open for me in iBooks to watch online. This is an important functionality issue that needs to be resolved and may be more an issue with iBooks than other software. One suggestion is to have the links all clearly listed in the Appendix and/or on a companion website which is what I eventually found via my own navigation.

Excellent grammatical quality.

I would have liked to see more racial/ethnic, cultural, economic and linguistic diversity from the student and faculty stories and interviews included.

Excellent textbook for digital media educators. Also, a more nuts and bolts chapter on the mechanics of editing would have proven useful. A chapter with references to open source editing software is a suggestion. And finally, while Chapter 5 is valid regarding the environmental and human impact of technology consumption, the chapter was not useful for teaching in practice. This chapter could have been more impactful by considering 1)How can students incorporate this awareness into their projects and/or lives? 2)How can one maximize the functionality of technology and/or take on a DIY approach in order to minimize the environmental impact 3) How can this challenge actually become a digital media story in and of itself?

Reviewed by Qazi Arka Rahman, GTA, West Virginia University on 3/26/20

The book does a good job of detailing the steps of digital storytelling. I have particularly found the organizational structures of the chapters helpful. The way of utilizing quotes, content, student work, faculty interviews, and footnotes does a good job in scaffolding concepts and cases that is beneficial for comprehending the entire process. The chapters themselves are pretty straightforward and provide enough cases to understand the challenges of such a venture in the real world.

The text seems accurate and relatively free of bias. The arguments are based on case examples and that is always a good strategy.

Given the time and its techno-centric focus, I think this is a very relevant book. Be in introductory composition courses or graduate level seminars, it cannot be denied that the demand for incorporating tech into teaching is increasing. The book addresses a timely issue.

The prose of the book is clear and jargon-free. It's a good strategy for a book of its kind. There are little in here that might seem difficult due to the language that has been used.

The individual chapters are very well organized and that helps the overall book to be consistent and coherent.

It seems it will not be much difficult to reorganize the book to fit a class. The chapters are subdivided into different segments and that is helpful.

The strength of this book is its organization. The chapters are divided into segments that slowly builds up the process for comprehension. The usage of faculty interviews and student works also help to understand the issues that might come for each segment.

The online reading interface is smooth enough. Although, I did face some issues while turning pages. On a few occasions, I have been taken to the first page while going through the book.

I have found no significant issues with grammar in this text.

It seems the text actively tried to be inclusive, which is a good thing. It also pulls from a wide range of disciplines.

The text is easy to read, well organized, and addresses an issue that is very relevant for the current times. I am looking forward to incorporating it for one of my future classes.

Reviewed by Mara Pierce, Assistant Professor of Art Education, Montana State University - Billings on 1/15/20

The text is wonderfully comprehensive. The work is inclusive of example assignments, sample student outcomes, and methods of curricular incorporation. I appreciate the focus on participatory culture and its inclusion as a pathway to community... read more

The author atypically includes a clear layout in the beginning that informs the reader of how they will encounter the content, which is beneficial to be able to identify sections most relevant to the immediate reader.

As is consistent with the topic of digital storytelling, the author also includes narratives of those who have participated in the process of digital storytelling learning. This creates a deeper connection for more audiences.

There needs to be much more information on the Fair Use and Copyright guidelines. To do so would inform students about artists’ rights and the work they put into their pieces, including films, the next iteration of digital storytelling.

Relevance, including appropriateness for educational level or course level - Comments Interestingly, this text is more relevant to instructors than teachers. However, as a professor of teacher education, it is relevant to my pre-service or in-service K-12 teachers who plan to teach digital media.

As an artist and teacher, I find immediate relevancy.

Text is clear and utilizes at-level appropriate vocabulary. Style is conversational, but informative.

Text is consistent from beginning to end.

The chapters depend on one another, but are linked accordingly. Ideally, when one piece of information in a latter chapter references an earlier one, it is cited and informs the reader where to find the previous information.

The chapter content scaffolds well beginning with a definition of the topic through methods of pedagogical incorporation to student assessment.

The interface is excellent. All links I attempted were active and footnote numbers have immediate links, which I also found impressive.

There were no discernable grammatical mistakes that interrupted reader flow.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

The text speaks well to those engaged within a culture of research. There is information that sheds light on acts that are relevant to conducting research appropriately. What cultural aspect I would like to see more of is the connection of digital storytelling to various global cultures that use narrative as a way to continue traditions. Including those points of learning creates a dynamic that takes the concept of personal storytelling into a much large realm. I appreciate the inclusion of storyboarding as part of the storytelling culture. A connection to filmmaking is present through the link to an external site about filmmaking. However, it is not a primary source, which juxtaposes some of the content regarding the importance of first person resources. As far as references to cultures beyond the mainstream dominant, there is none. The lack of non-privileged cultural perspectives is shortcoming, especially with today’s diverse student populations.

The text is appropriate for a group of teacher educators, but seems to be more along the lines of a project guide than a full semester textbook.

Reviewed by Molly Bruce Patterson, Assistant Professor, Digital Archivist & Special Collections Librarian, Rhode Island College on 12/2/19

In The Changing Story Linda Buturian intentionally maintains a platform-neutral approach in her exploration of digital storytelling; she provides a pedagogical framework that can inform digital storytelling assignments across platforms and formats. In that sense, The Changing Story is comprehensive. However, aside from one teacher reflection that briefly discusses map-based projects, the examples and exercises offered in the text are almost entirely linear video narratives. These examples are drawn mostly from faculty at the University of Minnesota, who seem to share a similar approach to employing digital stories in the classroom. In that sense, the scope of the text is somewhat limited, but I don’t think this detracts from Buturian’s overarching goal to inspire and offer guidance to teachers interested in digital storytelling.

The content in The Changing Story is accurate and well researched.

Although digital tools and platforms are constantly evolving, for the most part The Changing Story will remain relevant because Linda Buturian’s exploration of digital stories is platform-neutral. The links to examples of student work will probably need to be updated over time, but as long as digital media is abundant in society, the core text of The Changing Story will offer helpful guidance on how to employ it in curricular design. However, readers will have to turn to other resources to find more specific information about technology and platforms for digital storytelling.

Linda Buturian’s writing is clear and she defines most technical or specialized terminology used in The Changing Story. However, because Buturian’s intended audience is teachers, there is an underlying expectation that readers have some basic experience and understanding of curricular design.

The Changing Story is informed by a cohesive pedagogical framework that emphasizes instructional scaffolding techniques. This underlying structure ensures that the text is internally consistent as it lays out the curricular building blocks needed to support students as they learn to communicate effectively through digital media.

The Changing Story is a guide for teachers interested in using digital storytelling in their classrooms. Because instructors are the audience, the text isn’t designed for direct use in the classroom, and the main chapters not modular in design. Each chapter builds off what preceded it, so it would be important for a teacher to read through most of the text in order to understand how to effectively incorporate digital stories into curricular design. Unlike the main body of the text, the appendix is more modular and provides many examples of exercises that a teacher might pick and choose from to use in the classroom.

The Changing Story is very well organized. The overall structure follows a logical order that first explains what a digital story is, and then explores different kinds of digital stories, how to prepare students with scaffolding exercises, and how to assess and evaluate digital stories. Each chapter concludes with links to examples of student work and a video of teacher reflections.

I encountered some issues with the interface, probably because I don’t normally read eBooks so I was using a free app on my phone. The main problem was the display of block quotes, which looked very nice in the online version of the text but did not render properly in the epub version. When displayed on my phone there were no quotation marks or any other formatting to distinguish quoted text.

I did not notice any grammatical errors in The Changing Story.

The Changing Story is very inclusive in its approach to digital storytelling. “Developing a culturally-inclusive lens for visual knowledge” is a stated goal of Linda Buturian’s scaffolding assignments, and she emphasizes the power of digital storytelling to foster intercultural knowledge. Many examples of digital stories in the text show students sharing diverse cultural experiences through their assignments. Not only is the text of The Changing Story culturally sensitive, but the author also demonstrates how digital stories can support culturally inclusive practices in the classroom.

Reviewed by Tracey Burrell, Director of Clinical Experiences, LSUS on 4/13/19, updated 5/6/19

The text is organized in such a way that it addresses the what, when, where, why, and how of digital storytelling. Content is supported by several student examples and teacher reflection. read more

The text is organized in such a way that it addresses the what, when, where, why, and how of digital storytelling. Content is supported by several student examples and teacher reflection.

The author infuses personal experiences with academic research to deliver a pretty accurate assessment of the power of multimedia as a learning tool.

This resource will be easy to update. The author does not mention specific names of multimedia programs, but focuses on the skills needed to develop a quality product.

Very clear and easy to follow.

Terminology was consistent.

The flow of the chapters supported student learning and teacher/instructor implementation.

Chapters are well-organized. The structure is consistent from chapter to chapter. The author uses various approaches to connect with different audiences (i.e., quotes, student examples embedded in chapter, teacher reflection at the end of each chapters).

Links were live. There were no navigation problems moving from text to video samples.

There were no grammatical errors.

There could have been more of a balance of representation, as it relates to student examples. Nevertheless, student examples that were included were a nice addition.

Reviewed by Candace Schlein, Associate Professor, University of Missouri - Kansas City on 12/8/18

A real strength of this book is how it provides definitions of different types, purposes, and scopes of digital story assignments. Furthermore, the author makes the most of the digital platform of this ebook by including a great number of samples of digital stories. Reviewing actual completed digital stories is extremely useful for breathing life into some of the concepts that are highlighted within the text. I also appreciated that the samples represented a number of disciplines. The text further does an outstanding job of including discussion of major considerations to take into account regarding assessing digital stories. Samples of rubrics and descriptions of assessments are also provided. The author encourages the use of backward design in shaping digital story assignments in terms of considering the student learning objectives for digital storytelling in the classroom. For this reason, the rubrics might be positioned earlier in the text. Building on the assessment focus of the book would be helpful. For example, some samples of student attitudes toward assessments appear within the assessment discussion. Including students in the assessment discussion from the outset of the assignment would be useful as well.

This book is well-researched and well-written.

The text provides information in concise chapters so that all pertinent information on digital stories is included in the book. However, the use of digital/ media samples to support components of the book really go a long way toward ensuring that the content is up to date. I would imagine that over time, as digital tools expand and media literacy in the college classrooms also develops, there would be a need to regularly update these samples.

The text is written in a very accessible manner. All key definitions are explained cogently. The actual samples further help to explain different concepts that are discussed. This is not a jargon-heavy text, and sections of it might be assigned to students who are working toward developing their own digital story assignment.

This book was carefully prepared and clearly organized.

This text includes several brief chapters. These chapters can be easily assigned throughout a semester to students. Alternatively, an instructor might be able to focus on portions of chapters within lessons and showcase some examples to students as a basis for whole class or small group discussions. Samples of discrete digital narratives may also be assigned to students for critical discussion about digital assignments and rubric samples might also be assigned to students as a basis for their own work to develop an assignment and rubric surrounding digital storytelling in class.

The text begins with definitions, builds toward distinguishing types of digital stories, and leads to assessments. In this way, the book follows a sound pedagogical logic to support scaffolding knowledge growth and pragmatic skills in the area of digital stories.

On a few occasions I faced some challenges with the interface after opening a sample. During each of these instances, I found it easiest to search for the book again and open it. The book then opened where I wanted to go next.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

The text is grammatically sound overall.

The text is culturally inclusive. It also includes perspectives from a broad range of disciplines.

I think that this text can be useful for a variety of different purposes. I was pleasantly surprised with the professional quality of the text. It was easy to read, and I can see multiple ways that I can incorporate it into my own teaching, as a supplementary textbook or as a material to support a lesson, students' digital story efforts, or a student assignment focused on teaching through technology tools or on media literacy.

Reviewed by Ranae Hanson, Instructor, Minneapolis Community and Technical College on 5/21/18

The book gives a thorough guide to developing digital story assignments and teaching this method of researching and presenting a topic. The author offers a wide range of examples and methods for adapting the material to varying academic... read more

However, as a newcomer to digital story-making, I feel a need for more specifics about how, exactly, to make a digital story. I note the suggestion by Rebecca Goodrich, in an earlier review, that the “rudiments of importing assets and arranging them on a timeline” as well as suggestions for simple editing platforms be included in the book. When, in the Exercise 2.2 assignment, the author says that she works with a technical assistant to help students edit photos, I feel unclear how I could do this at a college where I will not have access to a technical assistant and do not have much experience editing visual material myself.

The book would be more useful to me if it gave more suggestions about how to begin teaching digital story-making in a small way, incorporating additional aspects as the instructor gains more expertise.

This book is clearly up-to-date. Because technology changes so often, the author has incorporated suggestions for how instructors can, and must, choose some new methods to learn while rejecting others. She also addresses honestly the issue of student frequently knowing more about a particular technology than the instructor does and highlights the benefits of student-to-student sharing of knowledge.

The digital format of the book makes revision for timeliness easier.

The book moves well into the future. Unless technology becomes harder to access, the relevance of this teaching technique will probably increase.

In addition, the focus on water will become increasingly relevant. Students will find the material presented engaging and essential. Students at my college will appreciate the many examples that are near to home.

The book is clear and specific. As I noted above, it is unclear only about how some editing and video composition tasks are done. Those may need further training and additional instruction. For example, samples of students’ story-boards, especially the early hand-drawn ones that the author says she had her students begin with, would be quite useful for instructors new to video production.

The text is consistent. It’s purpose is to introduce educators to digital story-telling pedagogy; it remains true to that task.

This text is written for the instructor rather than as a text for student use. Each chapter, except for Chapter Five, builds on those before it and follows a similar, welcoming organizational pattern. The assignment explanations in the appendix are useful for course development. The many excellent examples of student- and faculty-produced digital stories throughout the text would be great for students to explore; therefore, I would appreciate a “For Students” segment in the text, but students are not part of the audience the author envisioned. The challenge of adapting the text for student use is left to the instructor.

The text links from examples back to the explanatory material. It shows how digital story-telling works as well as explaining the craft. Chapter Five in out of the flow of the other chapters. It addresses ethical issues related to scarcity of resources and global injustice involved in the production of our devices and is, I believe, an essential addition to the text.

The textbook links cleanly with all videos included. Links to assignment prompts and back to the text chapters functioned smoothly.

The grammar of the text is, overall, good. Some editing of repetition, as at the beginning of Chapter Three when a quotation is repeated in full, would be helpful. I stumbled over “I trust you are as busy as me.” My old-school education would ask that to be “as I” and I still prefer that, but I admit that the grammar the author chooses here fits what students will understand.

The cultural relevance of the text is excellent. The author immediately addresses important cultural concerns—resource depletion, varying access to knowledge and experience, and the need for collaboration to overcome these challenges. As an instructor at a college that does not have access to the many technological experts who (according to some of the teacher testimonials included in the video clips) are available to come into the U of M classrooms to help students with visual and sound editing, I am aware of further injustice and begin to feel the deprivation my students may suffer because of uneven allocation of expertise as well as of resources. The text challenges me to expand my skills in order to try to reduce these digital and skill-set divides.

Reviewed by Julie Adams, Academic Skills Tutor: Digital Impact, Staffordshire University, UK on 2/1/18

This book is an excellent, quick-start guide for ways to incorporate digital storytelling into curriculum. It is aimed at teaching staff who wish to make use of digital storytelling as a new form of student assessment, but also to enhance their own teaching, although the emphasis is on the former. It is aimed at those new to the subject, but I think also has relevance to those with some experience.

Although not overly scholarly in tone, it does make some reference to learning theory and pedagogical practice, although these are not detailed. The author clearly sets the context for a need to change educational approaches given the changes in students’ digital lives outside education to be collaborative and participatory in their use of digital technology. Digital storytelling may be particularly beneficial to those students who may not excel at normal written assignments.

The book is mainly a ‘how-to’ guide which provides useful examples, assignments and assessment approaches, with plentiful examples from the author’s own practice. I liked how the author shares examples of her own experience and journey to being more engaged with using digital technology and multi-media within the classroom. The examples of student’s work and the videos of them explaining their approaches, and the teaching staff reflections I found especially useful.

One addition could be an appendix with links to online resources on video/audio editing tools - especially free ones. Those new to the area of digital storytelling may not have much experience in collecting and putting together the digital assets needed to create their story, so pointers to further guidance on this would be reassuring. This would be helpful to staff who want to create their own story, and help them to advice students.

The table of contents is helpful, but the use of subheadings within this would be beneficial. There is no index, but I am not sure this is essential – I used the search facility within the e-book when I wanted to go back and find a particular example.

The text is comprehensive in describing different types of digital storytelling. Linda is enthusiastic in her advocacy of digital storytelling, and explains the processes clearly. I found the text to be accurate with one small exception. She referred to royalty free music in Chapter 3, although does then mention Creative Commons licenses in the same sentence. Royalty free resources are not completely free, but normally involve an initial fee, although subsequent uses of the material are free.

The book is very relevant to the current educational climate. Students need to develop their digital capabilities for working and living in the digital world and digital stories are one way that they can do this. The examples of videos could be easily updated as required to keep the text more current and fresh.

I found the text clear and consistent and easy to understand. There is not too much use of jargon.

The layout, language and content seem consistent throughout the book. Chapters open with a quote giving a taste of the material covered in that chapter.

Being aimed at educators rather than students, consideration of allocating chapters for reading is not relevant. The book is easy to read and the chapters could be read separately.

Most of the book was well organised and flowed well. I would suggest that one improvement would be to include a list of all references at the end of each chapter, or the end of the book. This would make it easier to follow these up when you wanted rather than having to go back and locate the relevant link. You don’t always want to link out of a chapter while reading it.

Chapters 2, 3 and 4 are very well organised and flow logically from one to another building up the readers understanding of what digital stories are, types of these and how t assess them. Chapter 5 does not sit quite so well in the flow of the book. It covers an important issue of the environmental impact of technology, but could be the final chapter as food for thought.

Chapter 6 has good examples comparing a traditional essay with a digital story and helps to emphasise the difference digital stories can make.

The appendix is very useful to pull all of the exercises together with links back to the relevant chapters.

I tried the book in both ePub format on an iPad and in a web browser. The book has a clear layout and is very easy to read. I found that the interface on the iPad worked better, when following the links to other resources. On the web version I did struggle to get back to the book after following the links.

I did not notice any grammatical errors

To me this book has great cultural relevance and is inclusive. I think that the use of digital stories can make it easier for students to being their own cultural and lived experience to their assignments and are an excellent way for them to share these with others in a way that a traditional written assignment might not. Some of examples that Linda gives are from her situation in Minnesota, which those reading the book might not share - certainly it is not something I as a reader in the UK am familiar with! - but this does not matter as I can see how this could be adapted to other situations. Linda also makes a good case for how the use of stories can be a way to break down barriers.

This book provides a good practical guide for those new to digital storytelling, and would like to use this within the classroom and who want to introduce more creative and inclusive assignments for their students.

It would also be a useful book for trainee teachers who want to adopt new approaches.

Reviewed by Carolyn Parker, Director, Graduate Teacher Education, American University on 2/1/18

As other reviewers have pointed out, the audience of this textbook is educators, not students. This is mostly accurate. However, within the realm of teacher education, parts of the book, such as chapter three, could be used with students to help guide individual assignments, and in my case, introduce K-12 teachers on how to use digital storytelling with students. The book’s appendix provides many examples of assignments along with ideas and insights into how to develop these assignments. The book also provides a plethora of examples on youtube. The book does not include an index or a glossary.

The content seems accurate and I did not find any errors. The author’s writing and method of presentation is straightforward. Buturian supports her writing with student and instructor reflections, which describe the benefits of incorporating digital storytelling into a classroom.

The book is timely and new, with a production date of 2016. I think incorporating digital storytelling into any classroom if timely and could be included in most any classroom. In the future, the youtube videos may need to be updated, but given how the book is laid out, this should be relatively easy to do.

Buturian’s writing is straightforward and clear. Terms are explained clearly, which makes the content accessible to instructors from a diverse range of disciplines.

Buturian employs terminology consistently. Her framework if logical and organized.

The text is a great example of a modular textbook. Each chapter does build on the previous work, but each chapter could also be read separately. I like the balance of explanation and practice through examples.

The textbook is well organized and flows in a logical fashion. It was quite easy to follow Buturian’s through processes and instructions as she described how to include digital storytelling in a classroom.

The links all worked well. The provided rubrics were very informative, as were the links to youtube videos. The text was large, well-laid out, and visually appealing.

I did not find any grammatical errors.

Buturian does a great job of including a diverse range of topics and examples from different cultures. She also incorporates inclusive language.

I enjoyed reading the book. The text and the ideas around digital storytelling were very accessible. I look forward to including a digital storytelling assignment in my spring 2018 teacher preparation course.

Reviewed by Norb Thomes, Learning Systems and Services Coordinator, Winona State University on 2/1/18

The author does a nice job of covering the use of digital storytelling from concept through completion. This is a really nice recipe for creating and using storytelling as an important part of teaching and learning. The only thing I would add is some real-world examples of what the author sees as exemplars. For example, I would like to see some storyboards and scripts from successful projects.

The text was accurate, free of errors, and unbiased.

The author described the activity and its benefits nicely without getting deeply into things that would date the information. The focus was clearly on the project and its relevance to teaching and learning while steering clear of items like the proper hardware that would quickly change.

The book is clear and concise. There is little use of language that needs definition or explanation.

From start to finish, the project is laid out is a manner that is easy to follow.

Individual chapters reflect individual aspects of the project. Breaking the work into modules will not be a problem.

The book flows well with one exception. The last two chapters, "We are the Battery Human" and "Learning Through Stories," do not fully fit the digital storytelling project. "We are the Battery Human" is a very interesting read on the balance between using digital technology and the footprint it leaves in the environment. It would make a really nice stand alone paper. "Learning Through Stories" discusses how written essays can be presented in illustration. This felt like a good subject for another book, maybe geared toward art and design majors.

The use of example videos and slide shows was great. Examples were woven into the text to support exactly the concept in each chapter. Links to appendices supplied additional detail while collecting all of the most detailed material in one central spot.

No errors were found. Nice editing job overall.

I saw not cultural relevance issues.

I enjoyed reading this book. I have used videos in projects in my own courses and I feel this is a very good set of instructions for designing and implementing digital storytelling in any course.

Reviewed by Mildred Barya, Assistant Professor, UNC-Asheville on 2/1/18

This book is elaborate and comprehensive in its explanation of what Digital Storytelling is about, the different types/categories, and how as an instruction tool for teachers, has potential to transform student learning. Incorporating students' work and reflection, exercises and assessment methods add to the overall completeness of the book. There is no index/glossary but I assume that in its place is the appendix provided at the end.

Other than being an ardent advocate of Digital Storytelling (passion versus bias--we get plenty of this not only in the introduction but also in the proceeding two chapters), Buturian is passionate in her strong belief that DS transforms the learning environment (she gives good reasons how and why), is necessary and perhaps timely as well, considering that we now live in a world that is deeply influenced by digital technology. The content is accurate and error-free.

Extremely relevant not only in subject matter but also in its practicability/implementation. It is written in a way that would incorporate updates easily based either on the changing nature of DS itself or students' needs.

Clearly written, accessible and conversational in tone. It's balanced in both formal and informal approaches. That said, some parts could be condensed so that they're more concise, for instance, Chapter one could be part of the Introduction. Buturian spends a lot of time "telling" us why DS is important instead of going straight into "showing." Later she does. Examples will always win over explanations.

The text doesn't depart from its premise. This is one of its strength.

This is another strength of the book. One can focus on a small section or module easily or different sections within a chapter without losing focus.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

This could be revisited. For instance, Introduction and Chapter one could merge. Chapter six could come before Chapter five, since the latter is more of a concluding reflection on the product of our time, while Chapter 6 is a continuation of DS content.

The text lends itself to easy navigation, scrolling and display. Inclusion of images, charts, clips, and so on, is done well so there's no confusion going back and forth, in and out.

I found unnecessary preposition "for" in one of the sentences: Something about "...awaiting for construction." instead of awaiting construction or waiting for construction.

This is a great strength of the book. It can be used in all cultures across the world and has good examples from culturally diverse backgrounds.

This book emphasizes the power of storytelling through digital media as opposed to traditional narratives. The impact of using stories in learning instruction (the ancients knew this) so we're just returning to it. Because storytelling is the transforming heart, this book would be especially effective in introductory courses that cut across disciplines such as Languages, Social and Natural Sciences and Humanities. Students from fields such as Engineering, Literature, Composition, and so on would benefit. This book has potential to bridge the gap between arts and sciences since its effectiveness relies on acquiring and transferring multiple skills that utilize various senses when using text, image, sound and so on.

Reviewed by Rebecca Owen, Adjuct Professor, Writing, Chemeketa Community College on 6/20/17

I teach composition courses at a community college, and one of the big assignments that both the students and I grapple with every year is the research paper. This text gave me a lot of new ideas about how I might incorporate digital storytelling into my composition courses. The author of this text does an incredibly thorough job explaining her own experiences with teaching digital storytelling in the context of a class about water. Even though this is a text designed for educators, she gives many different scaffolding exercises in the glossary to help other instructors start to incorporate technology and visual imagery into their classes. The book itself is thorough and organized quite well. There are many links and sample digital stories to peruse. Each chapter begins with a quote, which is a very welcoming way to transition from one topic to the next.

The author has done a meticulous job in creating a very beautiful book. Even though I read this on my laptop, I had the experience of reading an actual print copy. There was a lot of thought put into layout and arrangement here. No errors that I noted!

This text felt very new and fresh--the author discusses ways to utilize technology in the classroom as well as how to make technology a component in research assignments for a variety of subjects. It's interesting to think about how these methods could be used in a wide range of classes--science, humanities, English, math, sociology, among others. However, in one activity, she mentions encouraging students to use regular digital cameras rather than only their smartphones. If anything, she could be a little more open to letting students use what is available to them (i.e. smartphones) since many might attend a school that doesn't have a library of recording equipment or other technology to check out.

Very clear, easy-to-follow prose. The author of this text walks the reader through her own journey with digital storytelling, and she also shares her tips on making these types of assignments accessible and less daunting for students who might be afraid of making short films. The organization and layout of this text made it very easy to read from beginning to end. She featured student examples to help explain her concepts. One of the best features of this book was how adaptable it could be for all teaching styles and subjects.

The material is given here in five chapters. Each builds on the previous chapter. There's also an epilogue where the author shares her students' digital storytelling projects to illustrate the concepts covered in the text. During each chapter, if she references a scaffolding activity, there is a link to the appendix where the full text of the scaffolding activities are linked. The book is quite consistent throughout, and the author is an encouraging and helpful guide.

This book is well-organized. Each chapter builds nicely on the next. It's not a guide for students, but it provides good support to guide instructors into incorporating digital storytelling methods into the classroom. The activities referenced in each chapter are spelled out in the appendix. This makes for a very streamlined narrative. The author anticipates the reader's questions, too, and these are addressed in each chapter. There's also a helpful summary at the end of each chapter.

This textbook is structured very logically. It moves through a definition of digital storytelling into an explanation of how to include it in the classroom. The activities given in the appendix are extremely helpful. Without those, it might have made the presentation of this material a little harder to interpret. As mentioned above, the author seems to know where the reader might have questions, and she addresses those questions in the text.

Beautiful layout and organization. I was able to view this text on my phone and laptop without disruption. It's very clear that this author had aesthetics in mind as well as organization. This made for a very pleasant and easy read.

Nothing to note, error-wise!

The author includes a chapter that discusses some of the oft-forgotten realities of tablets and other modern media: the means used to gather metals and other elements from locations like the Democratic Republic of Congo. She alerts us to the ethics of using this technology--we must be aware of how we obtain these materials or risk further harm to the people whose lives are at risk for our technological pursuits. She also mentions that a good way to combat this is by using smart technology like tablets and iPhones as educational and storytelling tools, not just a means for texting or visiting Facebook.

There are a lot of exercises and activities in this book I'd like to use in my composition courses! I have a lot of ideas about how to re-structure my research paper assignment! Thank you!

Reviewed by Alison Pelegrin, Instructor, Southeastern Louisiana University on 6/20/17

The progression of the material is intuitive. The book is clearly set up, but I do think that a more detailed Table of Contents, with links to specific parts of chapters, would be useful. read more

The progression of the material is intuitive. The book is clearly set up, but I do think that a more detailed Table of Contents, with links to specific parts of chapters, would be useful.

This text is accurate and timely. It is unbiased and the attention to storytelling implies that all experiences and backgrounds are valuable and worth preserving in this manner.

This book is up-to-date, but the nature of the subject is such that it will likely need updating--I do not consider this a flaw of the book, but the nature of its subject.

The text is quite clear--while the book seems most appropriate for instructors and perhaps upper level students, college freshmen could use the text with little help.

The text never deviates from the structure outlined in the Table of Contents and Introduction. Each chapter is similarly organized, and this makes the book easy to navigate.

The text is easy to read, but I do think that the colors used in the book need more contrast--the black text is sometimes difficult to distinguish from the blue headers. It is easy to navigate each chapter.

It is a book that would be useful to instructors more than students, as I think it encourages the design of assignments that writing students would find interesting. The topics discussed are timely and appropriate, and the assignments and rubrics provided are very helpful.

The interface is easy to navigate--the introduction explains the layout of the book, and the text does not deviate from that. Internal links in the text are quick to open.

I found no grammatical errors.

The text is culturally sensitive. By placing value on digital storytelling, the text values technologically savvy students and the skill set the bring to classroom. Rather than shaming them for their use of technology, it gives the tools they necessary to harness their voices in a way that would be helpful in many types of classroom settings.

This is an interesting and useful text. I am thinking of adding this to the reading materials for a creative writing class that I am teaching on hybrid forms in poetry and prose. It may also be relevant for a class in which students discuss and design digital humanities assignments for undergrads. Digital story telling could also be something to introduce in a composition class working on personal narratives.

Reviewed by Rebecca Goodrich, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Engish, Washington State University on 6/20/17

This text covers each step in developing and implementing a digital storytelling assignment, with one glaring exception. The author can't assume that readers have any experience with video or audio editing, and some of the first questions readers will raise will involve the basic nuts and bolts of collecting assets (a term I believe is useful to describe the "parts" of a digital story: photos, video clips, music, sound effects, etc.) The author should have devoted one chapter to the rudiments of importing assets and arranging them on a timeline. She could have made suggestions for simple editing platforms, many that are free to use. Even though the technology changes, those recommendations could be easily updated in the ebook. Suggestions for editing platforms include Adobe Spark, iMovie, WeVideo, Windows Movie Maker, among others.

I felt the author did a good job of describing the most common types of digital stories, the types of learning that they inculcate, how to assess student learning. I noticed that she referred to "Royalty Free" music as equivalent to legally available. That is a common misconception. Royalty Free assets are copyrighted and usually require a fee to use. Ther Royalty Free simply means that the user does not have to pay a royalty fee every time the asset appears online. The fee can be anywhere from $4 for a one-time use to several hundred dollars for an asset that will appear on a commercial website.

The text is very relevant and will be useful for the foreseeable future. It is applicable for a wide range of ages and abilities.

The text was a very quick read. I found the quotes at the beginning of each chapter cumbersome and often quoted out of context. Chapter 5 seemed out of step with the overall focus of the text. It is devoted to a fuzzy discussion of the environmental impacts of using digital devices. I didn't see that it added any information to the topic of using digital storytelling in the classroom.

I didn't notice any issues with consistency.

The text is well-organized. The smaller assignments are easy to access via links to the appendix.

Except for the Chapter 5 outlier that I've described before, I felt that the text flowed very well. The topic is introduced, the many types of stories are described, then the author outlines the process of leading students through a digital story assignment. She culminates with a brief discussion of assessing the stories, mainly by providing sample rubrics.

The text performed without difficulty. The typeface is easy to read. The text is formatted so that it is easy to read onscreen. I had no difficulty reading the text and following the links.

There are a few punctuation flaws, but I didn't make note of them. I did see that on page 115 the author uses a pull-quote that appears in a block. Because she quotes so often from other writers, I assumed that it was from an outside source, but was not properly attributed. But then, in the very next paragraph, she repeats the quote verbatim. It's repetitions and cumbersome. I guess the quote is her own words, but I don't see why they were repeated in the main text. The block quote really should be deleted for ease of reading and to avoid distraction and confusion.

Excellent. She gives great examples of using digital stories with a variety of students, on a great variety of topics. It felt very inclusive.

As a trained digital storytelling facilitator and an instructor of a university course called "Digital Storytelling" I was excited to see this text. I feel that it will be an excellent resource for teachers who want to learn how to use digital storytelling in the classroom. It is not a stand-alone text. Teachers will have to find other sources of information to learn how to teach students to edit photos, video, and music, and to assemble them into engaging, impactful digital stories.

Reviewed by Carol Patnaude, Associate Professor, Community College of Rhode Island on 4/11/17

I found the text to be very comprehensive for working in higher education and/or secondary school educators wanting to provide new learning opportunities for their students. Digital storytelling opens doors for students and faculty to present projects and assignments in an innovative way with appropriate use of technology. The text can be used in a variety of courses, is easily adaptable, specific and user friendly. The examples, assignments and resource links are practical and useful. An index would be helpful.

The text is accurate in providing information for implementation of digital storytelling. As the text is not written in the manner of a textbook it covers all key elements needed for those who are new to digital storytelling. The process and methods are clear while no errors were found. Students favor the use of learning using multi-media approaches in any aspect of the curriculum, this is a benefit to both students and teachers.

The text is relevant in that it meets the needs of students as they learn through the use of digital storytelling. Technology is here to stay. Students would prefer to be creative active learners rather than passive. The links, videos and examples can be easily updated as the need arises.

The text is easy to read, clear and consistent in its format. The examples help to connect the written information to the visual.

The text is consistent in its format and focus.

The text is organized, visually appealing and provides the right balance of text with examples, resources and links. Educators would find this text easy to use. Additional texts, reading and relevant information regarding digital storytelling could be a fine compliment for those seeking further knowledge.

I found the chapters to be arranged in a logical manner. I would suggest including resources at the end of each chapter as it would seem to be a better fit.

The text is easy to read and clear. I did not have any difficulty opening the links however in a few instances it was not easy to get back to the text page where I left off.

The text contains no grammatical errors.

The text provided relevant and culturally sensitive examples that were inclusive of language as well as samples from a diverse student population. I can easily see this approach used in higher education courses such as (but not limited to) Cultural Diversity, Sociology, Language Psychology etc.

I found the book to be a practical guide that would be useful for adding digital storytelling as a teaching tool. The rubrics and exercises can be adapted for individual use. It would be interesting to include a sample syllabus and course requirement for the reader to examine the application to digital storytelling.

Reviewed by Jiyoon Yoon, Associate Professor, University of Texas Arlington on 4/11/17

Linda successfully provided her wonderful ideas of how to integrate stories with the advanced technology with appropriate index and glossary. read more

Linda successfully provided her wonderful ideas of how to integrate stories with the advanced technology with appropriate index and glossary.

Linda clearly explained her stories with the accurate, the error-free, and unbiased writing. The student artifacts, exercises, and the evaluation rubrics, appropriate to the contents of the book, helped the readers understand better the contents.

Story-telling is the classical teaching method that most of parents and teachers have liked to used. But Linda approached the classical story-telling differently with the most advanced technology. Her direction of how to combine was easy and straightforward to be implemented in the classical teaching methods.

Linda wrote the book in lucid, accessible prose, and provided adequate context for any terminology used.

Linda consistently talked about story-telling all through the book.

Each of the chapters can be easily and readily divided into smaller reading sections.

All the topics in the chapters except Chapter 5 are presented in a logical and clear fashion. I think Chapter 5 needs to move to the introduction or the end.

The navigation was excellent with the technology! All the student examples in the middle of chapters and the exercises in the appendix were easy to be checked and gotten back to the original place.

No grammar errors.

Linda wrote this book in Minnesota providing with the artifacts of her students. The artifacts naturally reflected the culture of Minnesota. By using the culture in daily lives, Linda was telling about her story. I like the idea of using the culture. When people are within and related to their culture, they generally feel comfortable and understand things better.

I will introduce this book to my students who will be the future elementary science teachers. This book brought brilliant ideas of how to integrate literacy, social studies, and technology with science. In the past, I had the “water project” with my students to save the world water. As part of the project, my students created and posted campaign posters on campus. For our next “water project,” I will add developing their digital story-telling.

Reviewed by Nina Spiegel, Associate Professor, Portland State University on 2/15/17

This text is geared toward educators, rather than students. It is therefore not a book for use in the classroom, but a text to use to prepare assignments for a course. Its goal is to demonstrate the value of using digital storytelling in the classroom, to encourage educators to create digital storytelling assignments, and to provide examples and insights into how to develop these assignments. The book provides a thorough discussion of digital storytelling as well as an appendix that includes a variety of assignments. It also provides links to a range of useful examples on youtube. The book does not include an index or a glossary.

While I am not a specialist in digital storytelling, the content seems accurate. I did not discover any errors. The author is direct about her perspective: Buturian clearly views digital storytelling as an effective teaching tool and seeks to convince educators to try using this method. The author provides compelling arguments and reflections from students and educators on the benefits of digital storytelling assignments.

The content of the book appears up to date. A guide to developing digital storytelling in the classroom is an important topic and the book provides relevant points and examples. Depending on changes to technology, the youtube examples might need to be updated at some point in the future. It appears as though new examples would be relatively easy to input into the text.

The text is written in a clear manner. It is accessible to a variety of audiences and disciplines and well explains terms and concepts.

The text uses terminology consistently.

As mentioned above, the text is not geared toward use in the classroom, but rather is aimed for use by educators for classroom preparation. The text is organized in a coherent manner that is easily usable and accessible by educators.

The text is overall organized in a clear and coherent fashion. Chapter 5 contains reflections that might fit better in the epilogue.

The youtube links are helpful and appreciated. When I clicked on other links, such as to the mandala example or to examples in the appendix, I was not able to easily return to the original location in the text. This is an interface matter that could be improved to make the text more user friendly.

The text does not contain grammatical errors.

The text incorporates inclusive language as well as examples from different topics and cultures.

This book contains several important and helpful elements describing how to develop digital storytelling assignments. At times, it seemed repetitive in terms of its continued justification of the use of digital storytelling in the classroom, and some editing would thus have been useful. In addition, while it is helpful to see a broad range of examples, it would also be useful to directly follow a few specific courses in a more linear fashion by including the syllabus and the assignments leading up to the final digital storytelling project alongside the educator and student reflections of these assignments and courses, all in one place. While some of this material is currently located in either the text or appendix, it would also be helpful to have it organized and presented together according to syllabus and course. This could be added in this format into the appendix.

Reviewed by Krista White, Digital Humanities Librarian, Rutgers University Libraries on 2/8/17

Aimed at educators, not students, this is not comprehensive in the sense of providing background to digital storytelling and the trend toward using multimedia to teach various "literacies" - digital, media, information, visual in secondary and... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The Changing Story: digital stories that participate in transforming teaching & learning is a how-to manual for instructors unfamiliar with using digital and multimedia assignments. It is a very fine, quick-start guide for incorporating digital storytelling into curriculum. The text is largely philosophical in tone, with a bent toward advocating for the methodology/practice of using digital storytelling exercises in addition to or in the place of traditional essays and tests.

The Changing Story is not a scholarly examination of the practice, and most of the literature to which the author links is illustrative in nature, rather than used to support claims of effectiveness of method as would occur with a more scholarly source. Readers should be cognizant that this is not intended as a source book with deep scholarly support and evidence to back up its pedagogical claims, despite the previous and emerging literature available on the topic in a variety of disciplines.

The text provides very useful links to resources for developing exercises and curriculum. I found the links to the DreamWorks tips for storyboarding, copyright resources and the VALUE Rubric Development Project especially useful.

Embedded links to multimedia resources related to book material is interesting and the author acknowledges that these multimedia resources are meant to be a "long tail" tool educators to use and re-use as they return to the textbook and develop their own strategies for the use of digital stories in the classroom. This model also allows for updates to the book with newer materials as needed, a well-designed innovation.

Examples of student work and faculty interviews are useful for orienting newcomers to the practice of digital storytelling. Scaffolded assignments are well-explained and can be easily adapted to individual instructor needs. The grading rubrics provided in Chapter 4 are good models on which to build or adapt for individual course purposes.

A solid, quick-start guide to incorporating digital storytelling into course curricula. It does not contain any background or history on the use of digital media in classrooms, so cannot be said to be "comprehensive." The scope is appropriate for its intended purpose.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

Accuracy is not an issue for this text, as it is a manual for implementing digital storytelling assignments in curriculum and not a traditional textbook. It does provide sound advice and solid examples of assignments for instructors unfamiliar with the processes and methods of digital storytelling. No inaccuracies were present, though it is a work that advocates for the use of digital storytelling, and is not at all unbiased. This is not a detriment in my opinion, though readers should be aware of it.

Digital storytelling is a methodology for pedagogy that has been emerging for the last few years. It will continue to be relevant with the implementation of standards such as the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy to incorporate critical thinking and various digital and research skills into curricula across the country. Edits and updates should be easy to implement as strategies and standards change.

Meant as a manual for instructors, the text is easy to read and provides excellent examples. The author defines digital storytelling well in the introductions, but many terms of art, such as "visual literacy" and "close reading" are utilized without formal definitions to help readers unfamiliar with them navigate and understand these terms.

The content of the book is generally consistent, with conceptual linkages between the more philosophical chapters (1, 2, 5, Epilogue) and the more concrete, procedural chapters (3 and 4).

Modules are set out logically. This book could be easily remixed with other sources to create a customized text.

Content in chapters 1 and 2 are thorough, but uneven in their treatment of topics and would benefit from reorganization. Chapters 3 and 4 are extremely well organized and flow logically. The whole book would have benefited from having resources listed at the end of each chapter, in addition to being individual links on which the reader must click to examine.

Interface rating: 1

Epub: Anchor links in the text work as expected, though the links in the grading rubrics do not provide the user a way to get back to the chapter text to which they correlate. The Illustrated versions of stories in the Epilogue do not work in an ePub reader (Adobe Digital Editions).

Web-based interface: Anchor links within the text need a serious overhaul. When trying to return to the text from an example of student work, the reader gets bumped to the end of the book, rather than returning to the relevant section of the chapter from which they linked. Links to specific scaffolding exercises take the reader to the beginning of the appendix, rather than to the specific exercise mentioned. "Returning to chapter3" takes the reader to the beginning of the chapter, rather than to the section of the chapter of the relevant scaffolded exercise. The illustrated stories in the Epilogue work well in hte online interface.

Text is well-written and free of grammatical errors.

As scholarship, especially in higher education, moves forward, methodologies like digital storytelling will take precedence over more traditional forms of scholarly publishing. This resource is extremely timely and will have relevance far into the future.

As someone who has been planning my own digital storytelling curriculum for a digital humanities lab attached to a literature lecture course, the advice contained here mirrored my own thinking the in the realm of scaffolded assignments to address issues of the "digital divide," as well as utilizing transparent rubrics for assessing assignments. Many of the suggested exercises and rubrics were innovative and I discovered useful ideas to incorporate into my own course.

Reviewed by Mike Mutschelknaus, English Instructor, Rochester Community and Technical College on 12/5/16

I am new to digital storytelling. I teach a lot of freshman composition at Rochester Community and Technical College. I've been teaching for a long time. I'm looking for new ways to approach my course. This book provided me with lots of online examples of digital stories. It also provided me with lots of scaffolded course assignments and exercises I can use. It has a very specific table of contents, but it doesn't have an index or glossary.

The book seems to be error-free. Obviously, Linda is a big fan of digital story-telling. If there is a bias, it's her assumption that digital story-telling is going to be the new paradigm for composition and rhetoric. I think, though, that she might be right. I watch my freshman students and my own children. They live in a digital world, so building digital stories is an important literacy skill for them.

This book is very relevant. I also think it will have longevity. Digital storytelling, in one fashion or another, is here to stay. I have a junior high daughter. I can attest that she would much rather create digital stories than write a five-page typed paper. Updates will be easy to make. There are lots of hyperlinks and connections to actual examples of student digital story assignments that can be updated as needed.

This book is written for teachers, not for students. As a teaching guide, it is very clear. I feel like I could use these techniques and implement them, at least partially, in my community college freshman composition class next year.

The book is consistent in the way that it assumes the digital storytellers will be college freshmen and busy teachers. It keeps the assignments at a straightforward level throughout the book.

The book is very modular. It's a combination of straightforward exercises, careful explanation of how to implement those exercises in the classroom, and inspiration for doing digital storytelling assignments. Each chapter does build upon the next, but each chapter could also be read separately.

The chapters are arranged in logical sequence. Linda explains what digital storytelling is, and provides some examples. She then discusses how to build assignments and how to assess those assignments. Finally, throughout the text she provides lots of student examples.

The text is clear, relatively large, and easy to read. All of the links to videos, digital stories, podcasts, etc., open easily.

The book is lucid and well-written.

The book provides examples from students from a wide variety of geographical regions and backgrounds. Linda also makes a strong argument that digital storytelling is a way to break down barriers.

Freshman composition teachers should read this book. I'm going to start incorporating elements of her assignments, one by one, into my course. I'm not going to change my entire course overnight. Over the span of a few semesters, though, I intend to transform my course with this book as a guide.

Reviewed by Laura Medina, Assistant Professor, University of New Orleans on 12/5/16

The book would be a good choice for educators considering exploring or committed to introducing digital storytelling into their pedagogy. It serves as a comprehensive introduction and overview to digital storytelling as a teaching and learning tool, as well as providing examples, assignments and assessment approaches. The table of contents and the linking within the chapters to videos, appendices and exercises are very useful. The book lacks an index, which would be an additional useful tool.

The content is accurate, no errors were found. The author's commitment to and passion for digital storytelling is clearly conveyed -- this is not an "unbiased" examination but a persuasive argument.

The overall concepts, exercises and assessment rubrics will remain relevant. Links to external media (YouTube) videos may become obsolete or need to be updated.

The prose is very well-written, clear and accessible, with very little if any jargon or technology terminology used.

The layout, language and content seem very consistent.

This is not a textbook for use by students. The purpose is to inspire and inform educators and provide specific methods for integrating digital storytelling into coursework of all subjects. For that purpose, it is well organized in terms of modularity.

Overall the book is well organized - topics are presented in a logical fashion and very helpful links are provided between chapters that have related materials. Chapter 5 "We are the Battery Human" and Epilogue "Essays" could be considered supplemental - they do not quite flow as informational tools but instead function as essays and food-for-thought.

The layout is pleasing and easy to read. The linking between chapters and external media is quite useful and well executed.

The text is very culturally sensitive and relevant.

This book is very persuasive in its advocacy of digital storytelling as a teaching and learning tool and would be very useful for any educator considering introducing digital storytelling.

Introduction
Chapter 1: What is Digital Storytelling?
Chapter 2: Types of Digital Stories
Chapter 3: Scaffolding Exercises
Chapter 4: Assessment and Evaluation
Chapter 5: “We are the Battery Human”
Chapter 6: Learning Through Stories

Ancillary Material

About the book.

The Changing Story gives you assignments, resources, and examples to use in your teaching and learning. It will also help you think of ways digital stories can be used in your teaching, and help students harness the power of visual storytelling.

About the Contributors

Linda Buturian has taught in the humanities at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis for eight years. She has also taught writing intensive courses shaped around themes of sustainability. In 2006, Buturian was awarded a leave from the university to develop curriculum around the resource of water, and received funding to travel to New Zealand to research water resource protection and sustainability models. In 2007, Linda created a freshman seminar on water that integrates both the sciences and the humanities, and gives students the opportunity to create digital stories about water resource topics. The water seminar is in its third year.

Prior to receiving her masters of arts in literature and writing from the University of Cincinnati, Buturian was the director of a community environmental organization in the Oregon Cascades, which addressed citizen-based solutions to watershed and ecosystem issues. Buturian has published essays, poetry, short stories, interviews, and articles in publications including Shouts and Whispers (Eerdmans 2006), Life in Body (Cathedral Hill Press 2006), and Utne Reader .

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5 Digital Storytelling Assignments in the Classroom

Digital storytelling takes advantage of the vast array of today’s technological options to tap into storytellers’ creativity. This technique uses animation, video, music, images, and other multimedia to compile a narrative. The following 5 examples of digital storytelling in the classroom demonstrate that it can be used for its surface purpose: to develop narratives or practice a foreign language, as well as in content courses to present and discuss abstract concepts and material.

1. Creative writing assignment

Individually or in pairs (if this is a first digital storytelling assignment, pairs is probably a better idea), students tell a particular type of creative story, per the assignment. Assignments can include telling a story about a personal experience that they have had and embellishing it so it is partially fictional, or something completely fictional. They can also write something creative as a spin-off or supplement to another class concept, such as telling a fictional story about a day in Socrates’s life to supplement a unit on studying some of his philosophy. This is also a good assignment for a language learning class, where the telling of the story itself is the goal, rather than the ideas that are contained within the story. Target genres can also be assigned if you like, such as humor, adventure, drama, or fantasy.

Rather than writing the entire story and turning it in in written form, students develop the script, then illustrate the story and narrate it as appropriate.

For this assignment, students will employ a variety of software options to tell a creative fictional or personal story. One option is to have the story be no more than 95% narrated, and can be much less than 95% narrated if you wish. The additional portion of the story should be told nonverbally using images on the screen. A minimum of 3 different software formats should be included (e.g. animation, PowerPoint or other presentation software, images, music or other sound track).

Tip! Most digital storytelling assignments involve the use of computer speakers. Take care of this in advance, #2 and #3 from this list are great for classroom use.

Suggested requirements:

Final video length: 2-4 minutes.
Time for completion: 1 month

iSpring Suite

Fully-stocked eLearning authoring toolkit for PowerPoint. No training required to start!

2. Science assignment

Digital storytelling assignments do not have to stop at personal or creative writing. These types of assignments can add flair and creativity to other subjects as well, and present concepts in new and interesting ways. Such creative presentations of topics within the disciplines will help students acquire the material, for both the group of students constructing the story as well as the recipients of the story. For digital storytelling within the disciplines, it is recommended to assign the story to small groups rather than individual students, because these are more challenging assignments and more contributors should make for higher quality production.

In small groups, students use digital storytelling to define and describe a particular scientific concept.

cell growth and division
habitat and diet of a certain animal species or species family
skeletal system growth, wear, strengthening, and deterioration
Anything that has a process is a good topic for a digital storytelling assignment, as is anything that needs description, such as a certain animal’s habitat to support its diet.

Suggested requirements:

Length: 4-6 minutes
Full script is due one week after the assignment.
Full story is due one month after the assignment.

This can also be used for larger concepts, and extended to a quarter-long project if you like. In this case, the total length should be 12-15 minutes.

3. Math or Statistics assignment

In small groups, each group is assigned a particular statistics concept to present. All groups can approach the same concept if it is particularly difficult and students are generally struggling with it, or each group can present a different concept.

Students must creatively develop a story to illustrate the concept. This is a large extension of a word problem. Students create a story, with characters, action, and character problems to solve, to illustrate the need for the concept and the particular use of the concept. Statements of “why only this will help and no other approach” should be included. This will include statements of other options and why those other options are infeasible for resolving the problem at hand.

develop a scenario for which regression statistics is necessary, and no other statistical test will resolve the problem. Include statements of why no other statistical test will resolve the problem
develop a scenario requiring linear algebra to resolve. Include statements of why no other approach will meet the needs of those in the situation.
Students should use a minimum of 3 different software tools in their presentation.

Length: 2-4 minutes (you don’t want the students getting bogged down in the narrative, as will likely be the temptation with a longer assignment. So, keeping it short is designed to keep the focus on the concepts, with the narrative supporting the concepts.)

Full final product is due one month after the assignment.

4. History/anthropology/culture compare/contrast assignment

The social sciences are an easy and logical extension of the digital storytelling technique since the social sciences are inherently about people. Thus, it’s a short jump from the personal or creative fiction narrative to illustrating a concept in the social world. History can easily be told using this technique, as the students make a certain set of events in history come alive in the present via digital storytelling. Similarly, studies of faraway lands and their people can be brought into the classroom using digital storytelling. This enlivens the topic for the learners, as they are participating in both the story construction and in viewing the story being told by their peers. It can be a highly effective way to teach these topics and achieve and retain student engagement in areas that may be traditionally low in terms of student interest.

Individually or in pairs (especially for younger learners), students discuss two particular related topics via digital storytelling. The assignment is to create a character or cast of characters, and tell the story through the character(s) developed, as if those characters were living and experiencing these events first-hand.

Compare and contrast the social mores of 19th century Victorian England with those of 21st century Elizabethan England.
Compare and contrast Islam with Judaism.
Compare and contrast the rise of the Ottoman Empire with the rise of the ancient Chinese Empire
Compare and contrast Roman architecture with Bavarian architecture, circa 20th century
Compare and contrast the art of the Renaissance with the art of the Baroque period

Suggested requirements:

Length: 5-7 minutes (longer if the assignment expectations and timeline are larger)

5. Argument assignment

Argument writing is one of the most difficult types of writing, and argument storytelling one of the most difficult uses of the digital storytelling technique. This approach requires a great deal of creativity and a lot of thinking. First, the arguments need to be crystallized and solid, then creativity needs to be explored to determine ways to present those arguments via digital storytelling tools. It is recommended to have students peruse samples available on the internet to gain a clearer understanding of what an argument would look like in a digital story.

In groups, students illustrate a particular perspective and make a compelling argument using digital storytelling techniques. The script of a digital story argument will not likely look exactly like an argument paper will look. An argument essay has one essential audience member: the grader. A digital story, however, has numerous audience members. The argument needs to be presented in a way that is compelling to all audience members.

One way to achieve this is to create a main character. Through that character, the events that transpire involving that character, the character’s experiences as shown in the story, and expressions of the character’s thoughts and feelings, the argument can be conveyed.

Full script is due 10 days after the assignment. (this script is a little more challenging, so a little more time to develop it is in order)

Assignments can be given to students individually, in pairs, or in groups of 3-4 students. Because this technique strays beyond the traditional assignment, it requires a good deal of outside-the-box thinking. Thus, the more challenging the assignment, the more students should be involved.

Assignments can be short, with 2-3 week deadlines, on a single concept. They can also be mid-range, giving a month or so on a larger or more complex concept, or even quarter-long assignments that emphasize core course objectives. As students gain experience in developing digital stories, the assignment time can be reduced.

The narrative is the most logical use of the digital storytelling approach. However, there are as many ways to use digital storytelling as there are genres of writing. Indeed, digital storytelling techniques can be used for any type of presentation, on any subject. Below are the genres of essay writing, and digital storytelling can be adapted to any of these. Due to the challenges of reducing an abstract argument to images and video, the argument and critical genres especially may be more effective with groups rather than as individual assignments, at least for the first assignment.

Narrative (the cleanest, most obvious connection for digital storytelling)
Descriptive
Compare/contrast
Cause and effect

Any writing style can be adapted to the digital storytelling genre, with a little creativity.

A great way to develop digital stories is to use Microsoft PowerPoint together with iSpring Suite. This PowerPoint add-in that allows story creators to turn their PowerPoint presentations into an engaging video, mobile-ready interactive presentations, or more. It also makes it possible to create a story with a voice over like the one below.

Digital storytelling is the modern version of the classic narrative, and can be used in any discipline or course, and with any genre of essay writing. In the classroom, digital storytelling assignments offer advantages that include heightened student engagement in the subject, creativity, problem-solving, and likely interaction and group dynamics skills, not to mention increased literacy with software and exploration of new software. Whether assigning each group different topics or the same topic to all groups, students benefit immeasurably from using this approach to the material – just remember to be respectful of the learning curve, which can be quite steep (and frustrating and time-consuming) when approaching new software.

If you have any other examples of digital storytelling in mind, feel free to share your ideas in the comments below.

If you liked the article, please let us know by clicking the Share button.

If you have any ideas what kind of e-Learning topics you’d like to see discussed, feel free to leave a comment; we’re always happy to write new content for you.

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8 Steps to Great Digital Storytelling
May 30, 2013

Stories bring us together, encourage us to understand and empathize, and help us to communicate. Long before paper and books were common and affordable, information passed from generation to generation through this oral tradition of storytelling. Consider Digital Storytelling as the 21st Century version of the age-old art of storytelling with a twist: digital tools now make it possible for anyone to create a story and share it with the world.

WHY Digital Storytelling?

Digital stories push students to become creators of content, rather than just consumers. Weaving together images, music, text, and voice, digital stories can be created in all content areas and at all grade levels while incorporating the 21st century skills of creating, communicating, and collaborating.

Movies, created over a century ago, represent the beginning of digital storytelling. Consuming movies has become a cultural phenomenon, but making them was inaccessible to the average person for decades. Film cameras, 8mm and even video cameras served as big breakthroughs, but editing posed a challenge until technology progressed with software, websites, and apps exploding on the scene and putting advanced editing skills into the hands of everyone. Look at the meteoric rise of YouTube and other video sharing websites. At no other time in history have we been able to create, edit and share video on both a personal and global scale. In fact, video and images have become primary ways of communicating, taking the place of traditional print literacies in some areas.

8 Steps to Great Digital Stories

Great digital stories:

Are personal
Begin with the story/script
Are concise
Use readily-available source materials
Include universal story elements
Involve collaboration at a variety of levels

In order to achieve this level of greatness, students need to work through a Digital Storytelling Process.

1. Start with an Idea

All stories begin with an idea, and digital stories are no different. This idea could be the topic of a lesson, a chapter heading in a textbook, or a question asked in class. Digital stories might be fiction or non-fiction. Once you or your student have an idea, make it concrete: write a proposal, craft a paragraph, draw a mind-map, or use any other pre-writing tool.

I once had 5th graders write their proposal on National Parks as a paragraph. The topic sentence was the park that they picked and its location. Then, they had to include three interesting facts about the park. Finally. the conclusion sentence had to explain why they picked that park or were excited to study it. In the process, we not only wrote the proposal but also improved our paragraph writing. One student commented, “I think I finally have this paragraph thing down.”

Enchanted Learning-Paragraph Graphic Organizer
ReadWriteThink-Webbing Tool

2. Research/Explore/Learn

Whether writing a fiction or nonfiction digital story, students need to research, explore or learn about the topic in order to create a base of information on which the story will be built. During this process, students learn both about validating information and information bias as they delve deeper into a topic.

At this stage, organization is very important. I often use mind-mapping to help students keep track of information. Outlines, index cards, and online note-taking tools all work as well. If students can organize their information digitally, then it makes the next steps much easier.

ReadWriteThink-NoteTaker

3. Write/Script

When you are trying to write, there is nothing worse than a blank sheet of paper. That’s why I strongly encourage the 2 pre-writing steps above. If students have a proposal, with a little bit of editing, it can become the introduction. If students research and explored a topic well, the body of the script should fall into place like a jigsaw puzzle. The pieces are already there, students just need to make them fit.

This is also the time where literary decisions come into play. Ask students to determine whether they will use first, second or third person. Challenge them to expand word choices. Give them an opportunity to break out a dictionary or thesaurus. I once worked with high school social studies teachers who had the students write a full essay or research paper before turning it into a script. They told me that when they were done with the project, the students should be “experts” on the topic. It depends all on your goal and your students.

ReadWriteThink – Essay Map

4. Storyboard/Plan

Good stories start with a good script, but they don’t end there. This is where we transition into visual media literacies. George Lucas once said, “If people aren’t taught the language of sound and images, shouldn’t they be considered as illiterate as if they left college without being able to read or write?” Storyboarding is the first step towards understanding sound and images. It is the plan or blueprint that will guide decision making about images, video and sound. Simple storyboards will just have room for images/video and the script. More advanced ones might even include room for transitions, and background music.

ReadWriteThink-StoryMap

5. Gather and Create Images, Audio and Video

This is the “stuff” that makes magic happen and writing come alive. Using their storyboard as a guide, students will gather – or create – images, audio and video. Everything they choose will impact and set the tone for their digital story. Introduce concepts such as visual hierarchy, tone, and illustration. This is also a great time to talk about Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons. Students should use this time to record themselves reading their scripts. I have often noticed that students rewrite their scripts as they record. Through this step in the process, they become acutely aware of mistakes and poor word choices.

Wikimedia Commons
Commonsense Media

6. Put It All Together

This is where the magic happens – where students discover if their storyboard needs tweaking and if they have enough “stuff” to create their masterpiece. You will see students revisit and revise their storyboard. I love this stage. This is usually when students are so engrossed in their work that they don’t leave when the bell rings, or they come back at lunch or after-school to work on the project. They will find ways to push the technology and tools beyond your expectations – blending images, creating unique transitions between video clips, incorporating music or sound effects. I also use this stage to provide students with a rubric so they understand what is necessary for a completed project as well as how to push themselves beyond the expectations.

Little Bird Tales
YouTubeEditor
Digitales Scoring Guides

Sharing online has become deeply embedded in our culture, so as educators, we might as well embrace it. Review your school or district’s Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) and then look for a way to share your students’ stories with a broader audience. Knowing that other people might see their work often raises student motivation to make it the best possible work that they can do.

8. Reflection and Feedback

Too often in education, we do not teach or allow time for reflection and feedback. What did I learn? What do I know about myself that I did not know before? How can I do better next time?

Students need to be taught how to reflect on their own work and give feedback to others that is both constructive and valuable. Blogs, wikis discussion boards, and student response systems or polling tools can all be used to help students at this stage.

Commonsense Media on Digital Citizenship: Blogs, comment threads,etc
Google Form
GoogleForm to Copy

Beyond Traditional Assessment

Schools across the country are embracing digital storytelling as an amazing tool for students to communicate their personal understanding of a topic. Digital stories create a bridge across content areas and provide opportunities for students to break free from print literacies to add deeper dimension to their work. It is critical that schools embraces digital storytelling and video creation as skills our students must learn in order to successfully communicate in the 21st century. This is a “Gutenberg” moment where communication and storytelling have changed so drastically that it “shakes-up” our cultural, social, and academic norms. Digital stories provide us with information that knowledge has been shared and understood. They allow us to ask our students: “What is the story? What is your story.”

Written by Samantha Morra

Use Digital Storytelling to Build Powerful Literacy Skills

Use these examples of digital storytelling to build literacy and connect students more deeply to your classroom curriculum.

Creative use of technology can engage students, and help you integrate your iPads, PCs, or Chromebooks into the curriculum.

Whether you have Chromebooks, iPads, PCs, or Macs in your classroom, you can use technology to engage and inspire your students in the curriculum.

These digital stories were created by students using Wixie.

Interview with an Animal

Students interview animals to demonstrate knowledge of animal characteristics, diet, and more.

Book Trailers

Students explore character, plot, and theme and write persuasively as they develop a movie-style trailer for a book they have read.

Visual Poetry

Poetry's purposeful word choice encourages close, careful reading. Have student demonstrate "understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings" by creating visual poems.

Personification Stories

Students can personify an object and write a story as part of an online book or animated adventure.

Kinders @elmwoodes create stories on #wixie with captions and illustrations. @Jeffrey_hogan @MrsRode pic.twitter.com/3seIpiDH5F — Rita Phillips (@RitaPhillips85) April 1, 2022

Proud of this risk-taker who shared her fantasy story with the class. Everyone was so impressed! #bcpslms #Wixie pic.twitter.com/MnkTX4cnbP — Woodmoor Elementary Library (@WoodmoorLibrary) February 4, 2022

Stories as Response to Literature

#readaloudoftheday is Sam & Dave Dig a Hole by #macbarnettandjonklassen . This is a kick off to our #caldecott unit in 1st grade and they LOVE this book! Students then used #wixie to show who they would dig a hole with and what they would find! #itsworthit #worthreading #edtech pic.twitter.com/zprUF6v3Ii — Danielle Brown (@wes_library) January 17, 2020

Movies to Inform

2nd graders are recording their voice for an informational #wixie movie about their planet research @QuarterfieldES @aacpsoit #AACPSawesome #FutureReadyLibs pic.twitter.com/Am3xdX5jUR — Kristine Nellenbach (@Nellenbach_LMS) February 20, 2018

News Reports

Creating a new page for the book, Breaking News: Bear Alert! @christianson_ms #cherokeeinspires #wixie #monarch pic.twitter.com/b4fak75og5 — Amy Mobile (@cherokeeirc) January 13, 2016

2nd graders interview famous Americans using Wixie. @FGillikinJr @flemingflamingo @VBGifted @vabits @vbits pic.twitter.com/3fufVwnYYv — Mrs. Dana Hand (@thaliagifted) March 21, 2017

5th grade @BormanCSD83 is bringing poetry to life with Wixie! @carolynkdaly @Tech4Learning pic.twitter.com/W4xjgoiIje — Stefanie Ann (@StefanieAnn33) April 25, 2017

Digital Biographies

2nd graders creating a biography project in Wixie after researching famous Americans. #hornetnation #wixie pic.twitter.com/uzoTrHl6Ll — Jennifer Buchko (@Jen_Buchko) March 4, 2016

#3rdgrade Ss choose #wixie to create a book trailer @Tech4Learning @wsesmediacenter #ourfcps pic.twitter.com/5RcQmMn5Wd — Willow Springs ES (@WSESfox) May 24, 2017

Students are using Wixie to bring their words, their voice, and their art to the curriculum.

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Ideas for Digital Storytelling Across the Curriculum

Digital Storytelling is a great way to integrate technology and engage students in deeper thinking about the curriculum as well as help them become powerful communicators.

The process of crafting the digital story builds communication, creativity, visual and sound literacy, and project management skills.

Lesson Ideas

Digital storytelling provides a great way for engaging students in the curriculum while building creativity, communication, and critical thinking. These lessons are a great way to get started.

Find Inspiration at Creative Educator

The digital storytelling section of Creative Educator has articles and classroom stories to help you be successful integrating digital storytelling into your curriculum.

Student Samples

Explore these samples to get a few ideas that will help you integrate digital storytelling into your classroom curriculum.

Samples can also help set expectations when you are beginning a digial storytelling unit with your students.

Katie's Story

Rather than writing straight autobiographies, students can use a digital storytelling approach to communicate the story surrounding important events in their lives. Writing about the events in narrative forms helps students build skills in showing rather than telling a story, improving their writing ability. In this story, Katie shares how she felt about adopting a new baby sister from China!

The Fox in the Moon

Storytellers have been sharing myths, legends, fables, and tall tales for millenia. Students can bring their favorite versions to the digital age, by telling the story with pictures, sound effects, and illustrations to support their narration.

2 Against 27... That Was Villamor!

While many students dread writing biographies, asking them to transform their writing into a compelling digital documentary about a person's life helps motivate them to write. Students select a scientist, politician, inventor, explorer, or other historical figure and develop a biography that answers how their background influenced what they believed and how they acted as well as the personal qualities that helped this person succeed.

Virual Wax Museum - Queen Elizabeth

Students can transform their written biographies into compelling digital documentaries that shows how the person's background influenced what they believed and how they acted as well as the personal qualities that helped this person succeed.

Developing docudramas requires not only extensive research but asks students to place themselves in a distant time or take on the role and view of a person with very different life experiences than their own. As students role-play what life was like they help history take on a life of its own and connect in a very personal ways to their own experiences.

Working Hard for a Woman

Students were assigned the task of researching a time period in history and creating a digital story about that time period told from the perspective of someone who lived during that time. Students found a variety of primary source documents and images to include in their story created in Frames. Students wrote the script from one perspective and were expected to embed a variety of historical facts from their research into their story.

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Digital Storytelling @ UMBC

Story Work for Communities and Higher Education

Project Gallery

This gallery includes a collection of digital storytelling examples from UMBC’s community of practice. Gathered over the past decade, here you will find community-engaged projects and classroom applications of DST. Many projects have been facilitated by UMBC’s New Media Studio .

Digital Storytelling for Community Leaders course at UMBC – Winter 2024

Community leadership digital storytelling class 2023.

Community Leadership Digital Storytelling Class 2023: Students in UMBC’s MPS in Community Leadership program, alongside community members who registered for the course, participated in a 3-day digital storytelling intensive in January 2023….

Communications, Climate, Composting: a video project in Baltimore

In the fall of 2022 students in MCS 395 Television Production and MCS 495 Video Ethnography partnered with the UMBC Climate Action Steering Committee (CASC), and the South Baltimore Community…

Community Partner Digital Storytelling Workshop 2021

During the Spring semester of 2021, UMBC’s Shriver Center hosted a digital storytelling workshop with some of our community partners. While everyone was still working virtually, this allowed us to…

A Place Called Poppleton

A Place Called Poppleton documents the history and culture of the Poppleton neighborhood of Southwest Baltimore. UMBC students will produce a StoryMap digital walking tour of the neighborhood with a focus on the area’s…

Baltimore Green Space Podcasts

During the Fall 2020 semester, MCS MLL 495/695 created podcasts highlighting the work of Baltimore Greenspace, Baltimore’s environmental land trust, promoting vibrant neighborhoods and a healthy environment through land…

Cast Your Whole Vote

In response to the 2020 election, students in MCS ART 395 created a series of videos in collaboration with the UMBC’s Center for Democracy and Civic Life (CDCL). These short…

Global Voices in a Time of Pandemic

During the first month of the Fall 2020 semester, students from UMBC’s MCS 495/695 and Hong Kong University’s CAES2002 classes collaborated on a digital story assignment. The two classes shared…

Shriver Peaceworker Program

Every year students in the Shriver Center’s Peaceworker Program’s Summer Pro Seminar create digital stories reflecting on their service and experiences abroad. Since 2009 over 70 stories have been produced….

Inspiration
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21 best digital storytelling examples, what are digital storytelling apps, what are the six essentials of digital storytelling, techniques to create winning digital stories, digital storytelling – the road to inciting empathy, related articles, 21 top examples of digital storytelling [make powerful stories].

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Updated on: February 14, 2024

In the field of graphic design, communication is the most important part that connects the designer to their audience. A great way for a designer to narrate a story is through a process called digital storytelling which uses a wide variety of digital multimedia to convey an important message.

List of Examples Of Digital Storytelling

In this article, we will be looking at a couple of examples of digital storytelling to understand better how it’s done and why it’s an important part of the design for the 21st century.

If you need more context about storytelling make sure to first check out what is a digital story or what is visual storytelling .

1. Partitions of India (From the BBC)

Your browser does not support the video tag.

This is one of the best examples of digital storytelling.

The story presented by the BBC uses videos, text, and images to explain the traumatic and painful partition of India and all the events that lead to it.

Using powerful images and real-time videos gets the point across and make it all very authentic.

This storytelling design uses a component called fullPage.js which allows you to create amazing one-page stories. Check it out!

2. Faeries of Serbia

Faeries of Serbia Example of Digital Storytelling

This powerful video of the Faeries of Siberia created by the students of a university in Serbia portrays the tale of faeries compellingly, making the audience interested in the tale.

This is one of the best examples of digital storytelling because it encourages the audience to take a moment to absorb the message that is being conveyed through the design.

Stuff is a phenomenal new website that puts Aotearoa on the map when it talks about the people of Aotearoa and their stories.

The thing that sets this website apart is that it uses pleasing visuals, animated gifs, and an intriguing color pallet to guide the users to stick around and read the stories.

4. Gucci With Savoir Flair

The website for Gucci with Savoir Flair has to be one of the best websites out there. It is simple, beautiful, and interactive and portrays a story about the collection from start to finish.

5. Saiga Antelopes

Saiga Antelopes - Example of Digital Storytelling

This chilling tale of the death of the antelopes in Saiga is made a hundred times more impactful with the use of digital storytelling.

The intention behind this design was to bring out empathy for the animals and understand the critical nature of the catastrophe that occurred.

Everything from the images, text, and font to the videos of the expedition makes the entire experience of this digital storytelling website informative yet devastating.

6. Footsteps of My Ancestors

Footsteps of my Ancestors - Example of Digital Storytelling

Another great example of digital storytelling is this video documentation of religion and culture by a group of students from the University of Kragujevac, Serbia.

The effective use of videos and images drives the message home and engages the audience and forces them to listen to the message.

7. Brexit Storytelling

Brexit Storytelling - Example of Digital Storytelling

One of the major events in UK history is Brexit and how it affected millions of people.

This digital storytelling site tells us all the explicit details and statistics about Brexit and makes it easy to digest the information through visuals and minimal text.

8. NBC News

NBC News - Example of Digital Storytelling

Oftentimes when we’re presented with a bunch of data, it is hard for the human mind to sort through it and remember the specific details mentioned in it.

But when the same data is presented with the help of visuals and graphs, the data is much easier to understand.

In this example of digital storytelling, the story of discrimination against Asians has been presented in such a wonderful way.

It enables the audience to connect with the stories of these individuals and empathize.

9. The Path of Exile

The Path of Exile - Example of Digital Storytelling

This video documentary made by the students of the University of Kragujevac, Serbia follows a compelling story about exile that we often read about in our history books.

The great thing about these digital stories is that it manages to convey information to the audience in a way that is interesting and easy to remember.

Related article: Great Storytelling Website Examples .

10. Offerman Woodshop

Offerman Woodshop - Example of Digital Storytelling

The human brain pays more attention to visuals than it does to text. This means that any information that is conveyed through a visual is more likely to be remembered and perceived by the human mind.

Similarly, in this example of digital storytelling, the story about the brand and its ideology has been depicted through images more than words.

It portrays the story of the brand, its ideology, and what they do without any words.

11. Imperial College, London

Imperial College London - Example of Digital Storytelling

There are multiple ways for digital storytelling to take place and one of those ways is through interactive website design.

Text on a website explaining things is great, but images and other visuals are even better. This website for Imperial College, London is proof of that.

Learn more about how to use storytelling in design and create beautiful and powerful stories.

12. BEAR 71

Bear 71 - Example of Digital Storytelling

Bear 71 is an extremely troubling story of a female grizzly bear that was constantly surveyed by the Wildlife Conservation offices for over 8 years.

This digital story recreates the experience of living through that trauma and what it was like for the grizzly bear.

It incites a feeling of sympathy and pity but also the realization of how much we neglect our wildlife.

13. Teaching America to Use the Telephone

Teaching America - Example of Digital Storytelling

This incredible video was developed to convey the message that phones can be used for more than just business.

It used a compelling narrative to drive the message of socializing and connecting with your loved ones without directly saying it in the video.

14. Toca Boca

Toca Boca - Example of Digital Storytelling

Have you ever encountered a website that explains the aesthetic of the brand within seconds of looking at the homepage?

This website for Toca Boca is one of those sites and immediately narrates the story, ideology, and aesthetic of the site without using a single word. One of the best examples of digital storytelling.

15. Utah Health University Storytelling

Utah Health University - Example of Digital Storytelling

Design is meant to evoke an emotion in the audience intended by the designer. Design storytelling makes that emotion all the more powerful, like on this website.

The Utah Health University website uses the image of a burn victim to convey the painful stories from their hospital burn unit.

It brings forth the narrative of their journey from being burned to a new life outside the hospital.

16. Spotify Harry Styles Digital Story

This 30-second video by Spotify on Harry Styles is a hilarious portrayal of how obsessed his fans are with his music, but no one more than you.

This might be one of the best examples of digital storytelling that has been done in 30 seconds with less than 50 words spoken.

17. Bryce Harper

Bryce Harper - Example of Digital Storytelling

The great thing about this website is that it uses text as the major part of the design.

However, it strategically inserts visual aids wherever the data gets complex, just like here where the article is trying to discuss the pitching strategies of Bryce Harper.

18. Modcloth

Modcloth - Example of Digital Storytelling

This website design for Modcloth instantly conveys the message that this is an online clothing website meant for women.

This is a prime example of digital storytelling in website design.

19. Clearly Gottlieb

Gottleib - Example of Digital Storytelling

This example of digital storytelling narrates the truth about healthcare law and how it affects the masses.

The website uses infographics and maps to explain how much private equity has been invested in the healthcare sector in Europe without the user having to read through the entire article.

20. Dove Reverse Selfie Storytelling

Brands have been using digital storytelling to drive up their sales for years, and Dove did the same.

In this one-minute video, the brand is trying to extend the message that being beautiful doesn’t mean using filters and photo editing tools.

21. Patagonia

Patagonia - Example of Digital Storytelling

This unique website design uses digital storytelling to market its stuff.

They use the stories from travelers and hype up the entire process of traveling and expeditions.

This way people are encouraged to partake in a journey with Patagonia’s products.

Digital Storytelling Apps are Apps that enable their users to narrate their stories compellingly. It provides them a way to combine their images, videos, text, and narrations and come up with a story that drives the message home in simple and interesting ways.

Among all the available storytelling Apps we can point out Storyboardthat, Plotagon, Buncee, Comic Life, etc.

The six essentials of storytelling are:

First-person Pronouns . Using these pronouns will make the message more authentic.
Dramatic Questions. Ask a dramatic question and then try to resolve it by the end of the storytelling.
Emotional Stories. Design your story in a way that evokes emotion in the audience.
Condensed Stories. Make your stories as condensed as you can so that the audience can look at them in one sitting.
Remove Unnecessary Details. Pace your story in a way that makes the most sense and remove all the unnecessary details.
Use Your Own Voice. Narrate your story in your voice to elevate the impact of the message.

A few techniques that can help you create impactful, winning digital stories are:

Immersion. Immerse your audience in a story by using the right images, videos, and words, where necessary
Personal Stories. Try to tell a personal story that resonates with you so that you can make it resonate with your audience as well
Suspense. Create suspense in your stories to keep the attention of your audience

Digital storytelling introduces the best way for an individual to express their story and incite emotion from their audience.

It enables the designer to use visual aids wherever it is necessary and makes the entire experience of a story much more authentic and three-dimensional.

We have offered you the best examples of digital storytelling. Now it is your time to be creative and design your own one!

15 Great StoryBrand Website Examples
StoryBrand Website Templates

Juwairiah Zia

Juwairiah Zia is a seasoned professional, a full stack developer and writer in her free time. She’s deeply immersed in various tech domains such as web and mobile application development and mentorship.

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1 Chapter One | What is digital storytelling?

Linda Buturian

Digital storytelling can be a potent learning experience that encompasses much of what society hopes that students will know and be able to perform in the 21st century. Bernard Robin [1]

Mary was one of 15 freshmen in my undergraduate seminar “Water, Water, Everywhere? Investigating & Protecting our Life Source.” The water seminar introduced students to water resource topics from the disciplines representing both humanities and the sciences, and required each student to create a digital story. This particular digital story assignment was a culmination or capstone project which was introduced two-thirds of the way into the semester; each student was asked to create a five to seven-minute movie that combined audio, video, and text in order to educate viewers about a water resource topic. Students integrated research and a first person interview that they conducted with a relevant expert in order to communicate their information in a story form. New to digital stories Mary was nervous about creating a digital story as she, like most students, had never made one before.

Was it a kind of research paper with pictures?

Mary Zahurones digital story on manure management.

A digital story by Mary Zahurones, “Manure Management for Moo-filled Lands”

Mary chose to do her digital story on manure management on dairy farms as it relates to water issues. Mary had a rhetorical challenge on her hands.

We are talking manure. Poop. Cow dung. Cow pies. Waste.

For most of us, cow manure was about as interesting as dragging a two-by-four around; we’d rather not visualize the 120-or-so pounds a single dairy cow produces in a day, multiplied by what seemed like a gazillion cows in our state. We were not inclined to be invested in how surprisingly complicated manure was as a research topic, nor its importance in the context of water quality, but Mary was.

Water pollution from manure as well as synthetic fertilizers can lead to serious environmental damage and harm human health.

Mary Zahurones [2]

At this point in the semester, we had learned that Mary’s family had a dairy farm in rural Minnesota, and that she was recently named the 58th Princess Kay of the Milky Way. [3]

As the Dairy Princess, Mary served as a kind of ambassador to the 4,500 dairy farmers of Minnesota. The year-long opportunity involved visiting schools, meeting with farmers, participating in parades throughout the state, and having her likeness carved out of 90 pounds of butter at the Minnesota State Fair (with long lines of ice cream-eating fair goers trooping by her posing in a rotating glass cooler for the butter statue).

Her classmates and I suggested to Mary to connect her research in manure management to her family farm – maybe take photos of her working on the farm, of her family’s cattle, of the barn and tractor. In terms of the narrator, if she was thinking about being in her own digital story she could include footage of herself being crowned Princess Kay and maybe even talk about manure management with some of the dairy farmers she met.

She could bring her star–power to poop!

The assignment that Mary and the other water seminar students created is one version of the digital storytelling assignments that educators are using for academic purposes. The term “digital story” has become a catch-all for projects ranging from a two-minute narrated PowerPoint to a 10–minute video documentary. For our purposes, the University of Houston’s educational website sums it up cleanly: “Digital storytelling at its most basic core is the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories.” [4]

Digital Story In Action

Classrooms as a Mandala is loosely based on my essay, “Everyday Epiphany” and is a different kind of digital story that uses an interactive interface to tell the story of how a classroom can be more than a place for gathering. The participatory nature of our classrooms are a mandala of sorts that brings students and teachers together in moments of knowledge creation. I collaborated with The Changing Story team on Classrooms as a Mandala in order to communicate my epiphany that as educators engaging with our students in a classroom, we create a kind of mandala of knowledge.

Instructions: To interact with the multimedia story, Classrooms as a Mandala, click or touch different sections of the blackboard to experience an example of how a digital story can take on more forms other than a video.

A collaborative digital story “Classrooms as a Mandala”

Accessible Content Classrooms as a Mandala materials

Stories are foundational to learning

My 20 years of teaching the humanities to undergraduates concurs with the research that “Stories help build connections with prior knowledge and improve memory.” [5]

A colleague I met recently, who is an MD, is choosing digital stories as the means by which to present case studies to the 40 residents he oversees to help them work more effectively with children with terminal diseases. As he put it, “I remember the information from medical school because of the stories about the information, not the information itself.”

Stories help build connections with prior knowledge and improve memory. [6] As a result, good stories are remembered by students. [7]

As Bernard Robin, Associate Professor of Learning, Design, & Technology at the University of Houston explains, “At its core, digital storytelling allows computer users to become creative storytellers through the traditional processes of selecting a topic, conducting some research, writing a script, and developing an interesting story. This material is then combined with various types of multimedia, including computer-based graphics, recorded audio, computer-generated text, video clips, and music so that it can be played on a computer, uploaded on a web site, or burned on a DVD.” [8]

The University of Houston’s Digital Storytelling site has identified the core elements of an educational digital story, ⁸ source: The 10 elements of digital storytelling from Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling (adapting Seven Elements of Digital Storytelling created by the Center for Digital Storytelling). [9]

Scaffolding

In Chapter 3, you’ll find low stakes exercises aimed at assisting students in becoming familiar with each of the following elements of a digital story:

The Overall Purpose of the Story
The Narrator’s Point of View
A Dramatic Question or Questions
The Choice of Content
Clarity of Voice
Pacing of the Narrative
Use of a Meaningful Audio Soundtrack
Quality of the Images, Video & other Multimedia Elements
Economy of the Story Detail
Good Grammar and Language Usage

“At its most basic level, a digital story is a story told in a digital format that shares a point of view, often the storyteller’s point of view. Digital stories are essentially personal expressions with a purpose. Using personally meaningful visual and aural elements (e.g., personal photos and the storyteller’s own narration), the digital storyteller delivers a relevant ‘lesson learned’ that extends beyond her or his specific experience to human experience in general.” [10]

Why digital stories are relevant in today’s classrooms

Instructors from across the University of Minnesota, as well as from high schools and community colleges, have used digital storytelling in disciplines from introductory cellular biology to graduate courses for international students. My experience integrating digital stories in the water seminar led me to adapt the assignment for courses including a hybrid introductory literature course, a first year inquiry course I was team-teaching with a colleague to 100 freshmen using iPads to create the stories, and a learning abroad course in Northern Thailand.

I teach with digital stories as a part of a course design that aims to transform student learning. “Transform” here means: for each student to experience a deepened understanding of their relationship to the subject matter; to gain more of a sense of agency in their own process of learning; and to view themselves as vital participants in a collective working together toward a shared objective. The digital story assignment can play a powerful role in fostering a depth of learning by the individual student, as well as the community that is created in the classroom, about the course content. When successful, each student will emerge from the course with a transformed understanding of both the course material as well as their perceptions of their ability to make a positive difference in society through the use of their academic skills and their participation in the collective. As Joe Lambert put it, author of Seven Elements of Digital Storytelling , “Each of us is tasked with the challenge of aligning purpose and passion while negotiating personal autonomy and simultaneously strengthening community ties.” [11]

I designed the water seminar to equip students with both knowledge about, and agency in, their ability to navigate the resource challenges they and others will face in their lifetime. The students came into class knowing very little about water and emerged from the course with an introduction into the systems that perpetuate unequal distribution to access to clean water, as well as viewing most every thing they use, eat, and drink as a gift of water – a gift that is inequitably disbursed locally and globally, and a gift that students are active participants in regard to its quality and accessibility.

No one assignment can achieve this kind of transformative effect. The digital story, when thoughtfully designed, scaffolded, and planned into the learning design for the course, can be a powerful element in the dynamic of transformation. When students go through the process of choosing a topic, creating a storyboard of the multimedia elements and content, integrating research, shooting still shots, video, choosing audio, determining their narrative stance in their story, determining how best to communicate their findings in a visual realm, and then revising and editing it from peer feedback – all the while knowing that their story will be viewed by others – the digital story assignment can be a kind of initiation; a baptism into the fold of knowledge.

Diagram: Mary + her lived experience + her academic interest + her motivation = compelling narrator shaping content + effective use of multimedia = high level of interest and engagement for the audience

Mary was already a strong and excellent student, but her investment in the digital story project helped her become even stronger as her academic work dovetailed with her lived personal experience. Her motivation to do well was also spurred on by knowing that her digital story, along with the other students’ stories would be published on a public college-hosted website where it could be viewed by family, friends, farmers, and more.

Diagram Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy, from the educational origami blog, Lower Order Thinking Skills build to Higher Order Thinking Skills, Remember, then Understanding, Applying, Analysing, Evaluating and finally Creating

Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy, from the educational origami blog [12]

While the research on digital storytelling is still emerging, several scholars and researchers help us understand why the process of creating a digital story can be transformative. Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy sheds light on the higher level critical thinking skills involved in creating a meaningful, academically viable, digital story. Students must absorb information as well as understand the medium in order to be able to turn around and communicate their findings effectively as a digital story.

Digital Storytelling diagram overlapping circles, Center circle Digital Storytelling, Upper Right Student Engagement, Upper Left Reflection for Deep Leanring, Lower Left Technology Intergration, Lower Right Project-Based Learning

Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy, from the educational origami blog [13]

The Strongest Voices

The strongest voices on digital storytelling are those of the students and teachers who have worked with and used them in the classroom. The Changing Story connects you with some of these voices through video interviews.

Student reflection videos are in Chapters 1, 2, 4, and 5. Paired with each reflection is the digital story assignment that the student speaks about in their reflection. The voices of the students coupled with their work extends a powerful “behind the scenes” view of digital storytelling.

Teacher reflection videos are in Chapters 1 – 4. These video interviews offer a wide range of ideas and experiences from teachers in various institutions from high school to higher ed.

Student Work and Reflection

Sara’s digital story went away from the traditional video–based assignment and took the form of a graphic story. Her reflection on how she decided her topic, as well as how it changed her life, is a beautiful telling of how digital storytelling can, and will, impact your students beyond the classroom.

Behind the scenes of Remembering an Old Friend by Sara Hayat

Student Sara Hayat behind the scenes of “Remembering an Old Friend”

Sara’s digital story took the form of a graphic story.

Slideshow of Sara Hayats’ comic Remembering an Old Friend

A digital story by Sara Hayat “Remembering an Old Friend”

Teacher Reflection

The teacher reflection video for Chapter 1 is a general reflection on what digital storytelling is and what it means to teachers. The strongest voices on digital storytelling are those of the students and teachers who have worked with and used them in the classroom. Student reflection videos, placed throughout The Changing Story , matched up with the digital story assignments that the students made and speak about in their reflection videos.

In addition to student reflection, The Changing Story provides you with teacher reflections as well. At the end of each chapter is a video of teachers from high school and higher ed institutions reflecting on their experiences with digital stories. Chapter 1 is a general reflection on what digital storytelling is and what it means to teachers.

Digital Storytelling in the Classroom

Source: Bernard Robin, Associate Professor, College of Education, University of Houston ↵
source: The Sustainable Table, an organization that promotes a more sustainable future ↵
http://www.kare11.com/news/article/935705/207/Pierz-woman-crowned-2011-Princess-Kay-of-the-Milky-Way ↵
source: University of Houston, College of Education ↵
source: “Tell Me a Story: Narrative and Intelligence” by Roger C. Schank ↵
source: Teachers' pedagogical stories and the shaping of classroom participation “The Dancer” and “Graveyard Shift at the 7-11” by Rex, Murnen, Hobbs, and McEachen ↵
source: “Digital Storytelling: A Powerful Technology Tool for the 21st Century Classroom” by Bernard Robin ↵
source: The 7 elements of digital storytelling from StoryCenter.org ↵
source: From pixel on a screen to real person in your students' lives: Establishing social presence using digital storytelling” by Lowenthal and Dunlap ↵
source: “Seven Stages: Story and the Human Experience” by Joe Lambert ↵
source: Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy ↵
source: The Digital Storytelling Diagram, adapted from California State University Long Beach ↵

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Digital Storytelling Lessons

Ancient Cultures News Broadcast

Students create a news broadcast as part of a unit on ancient cultures.

Personification Stories

Students will personify an object and write a story as part of an online book or animated adventure.

Animal Interviews

Students research the characteristics, adaptations, and habitat of an animal and share their findings in a question and answer session with the animal.

Historical Journal

Students will create a historical journal from a fictional character's point of view.

Legends and Tall Tales

Students will write and produce an animated tall tale about a historical figure or location.

Modernize a Fairy Tale

Students learn about key elements of a fairy tale as they retell a fairy tale in modern times.

Video Biographies

Students complete research on a historical figure and create a video biography of that person.

Create a Visual Poem

Students will create a visual, or video, poem as they analyze the imagery in a text.

Book Trailers

Students will develop a movie-style trailer for a book they have read.

Cycle Stories

In this lesson, students tell the story of a scientific cycle by recreating the adventure of its "main character".

Artifact Interviews

Students will research a historical person or event and retell the story as an animated interview with an artifact from that time or place.

The Shape of Things

Students compose images from shapes, describe their composition, and create their own version of the book, The Shape of Things.

Don’t Let the Earth Down

Students will write persuasively on a conservation issue and create a public service announcement to promote their cause.

Everyday Heroes

Create media resources that celebrate and promote the actions of a real world hero.

Here's to Your Health

Students will research a health issue, write an essay, and transform their argument into a public service announcement.

Visit Our Solar System

Students will learn about the planets as they create a sample travel journal that explains what it would be like to visit one of the planets.

More sites to help you find success in your classroom

Share your ideas, imagination, and understanding through writing, art, voice, and video.

Rubric Maker

Create custom rubrics for your classroom.

Pics4Learning

A curated, copyright-friendly image library that is safe and free for education.

Write, record, and illustrate a sentence.

Interactive digital worksheets for grades K-8 to use in Brightspace or Canvas.

Professional Learning

Digital Storytelling

21st Century Classrooms

Project-based Learning

Teaching and Learning

Informational Text

English Language Aquisition

Language Arts

Social Studies

Visual Arts

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TeachersFirst's Digital Storytelling Resources

This collection features the editors' choices of best digital storytelling resources. Engage and excite students to get writing. Many of the tools shared are device agnostic and will work on all devices in both web browsers and apps. Find tools ideal for all grades. Use digital storytelling in all subject areas to assess, collaborate, share results, and more. Find options in the resources for student projects. View and learn from the professional resources shared.

For even more digital storytelling resources, be sure not to miss our TeachersFirst Edge: Digital Storytelling tools (all tools that will create). We also have even more resources to explore that are tagged Digital Storytelling .

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8 Genius Digital Storytelling Examples [Infographic]

What does every good story have in common? OK — aside from having a beginning, a middle and an end?

They all have that special “something” that makes the reader care.

As a marketer, you’re a digital storyteller. It’s all up to you to weave a tale that attracts your target audience and gets them to truly care about your brand’s message. When you do it right, you can avoid creating just another marketing campaign. Instead, you’ll build a genuine, long-lasting connection with your customers.

Read on to learn about 8 best-in-class digital storytelling examples and start writing your brand’s own happily ever after.

Telling a story: the digital marketer’s most powerful tool.

Modelo World Cup Ad-Sacrifice
Kia’s Robo Dog
The McDonald’s Conundrum
Spotify and Harry Styles
Dove and the Reverse Selfie
Apple’s 911
The 1-Word Tweet Storm

The Benefits of Digital Storytelling

Putting pen to paper: your top digital storytelling tips.

Like any good story, we’ll start from the beginning: What do we actually mean when we say “digital storytelling?”

At its most basic, the digital storytelling process involves using a mixture of content and digital media to bring a narrative to life. These campaigns combine audio, images, animated clips and more all to tell a single story.

As described by Forbes, 3 of the most widely used digital storytelling techniques include:

Customer-generated stories: This category is basically word-of-mouth marketing to the max. Here, you give your existing customers a platform to speak about their experience with your brand in an effort to connect with and educate potential prospects.
Data-focused campaigns: By using compelling data and statistics to demonstrate the impact of your brand, you can attract the eyes of your target audience.
Minis: Sometimes, less is more. Short snippets of teaser information can better capture and engage the increasingly shorter attention span of the modern consumer.

Don’t feel as though your digital marketing campaign has to be constrained to just 1 of these techniques. Depending on your target market, using a combination of 2 multimedia elements or pulling from all 3 might be exactly what you need to tell your brand story. Just remember that all these elements will end up as branded content , which means they need to fully reflect your quality and values. (Hint: Branded content and content marketing aren’t the same, but they have a lot of overlap!

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8 Best Examples of Digital Storytelling

OK — we know what digital storytelling is. But what does it actually look like in practice? Let’s dive into 8 of the most unique digital marketing examples from across different industries:

8 Genius Digital Storytelling Examples infographic

1. Modelo World Cup Ad-Sacrifice

“Because giving it all for your team is worth every drop.”

The drop in question? Not sweat that the soccer players of the biggest soccer game of the year are doused with, but the golden contents of a Modelo can. This short and simple advertisement tells a story efficiently and in a way that is most certainly relatable to anyone who sat on the edge of their couches, cheering their team on. It’s a story as old as time that taps into the passion of fans and hopefully connects that feeling to their product as well … and it’s no big deal if you spill a little of the drink along the way.

2. Kia’s Robo Dog

This Kia ad is far from the first time a brand has used puppy-dog eyes to win our affection — but this time, things are a bit more electric.

The driver of an electric vehicle is fated to fall in love with an electric dog, right? Well, that’s exactly what Kia is playing on in this narrative: love. They show us that a robot puppy is every bit as lovable as a real one, and then subtly encourage us to apply similar logic to electric cars. It’s a smart way to convince gas-powered vehicle owners that the future is friendly.

3. The McDonald’s Conundrum

If you’ve ever been to a drive-thru, you’ve probably experienced the moment captured in this McDonald’s tweet: No thoughts, head empty — just a menu with a million options.

This is a particularly strong example of simple yet smart digital storytelling. Although it’s technically just text, it becomes something much funnier — and more relatable — by stretching the “uh” to fill an entire Tweet. (That’s called “ visual storytelling ,” kids.) Plus, it plays off of something that occurs in drive-thrus across the world every day.

To put it simply, we all know this story — but McDonald’s was the first one to put it in front of us.

4. Spotify and Harry Styles

Spotify has positioned itself as the king of music streaming. Just take a look at social media come December — your newsfeed is likely flooded with screenshots of your friends’ yearly listening breakdowns.

In the “Only You” ad, the company plays on this narrative, comedically highlighting a listener who played Harry Styles’ song over 15 times in a row. By providing a personalized breakdown of users’ listening habits, Spotify works to connect with its audience by focusing on what sets each of us apart.

5. Dove and the Reverse Selfie

Since first launching the “Real Beauty” campaign in 2004, Dove has committed itself to tackling traditional beauty standards. With this ad, the brand reaffirms that mission.

We watch in reverse as a young woman gets ready to take a selfie. The video unwinds as she takes a glamorous photo, applying image distortion effects, filters and heavy makeup to achieve the look she wants. At the end, we’re left with a young girl staring sadly in the mirror. Dove shares a poignant message about the negative impact of social media, urging viewers to appreciate their natural beauty.

6. Apple’s 911

Unlike Mcdonald’s and FTX, Apple decided to put humor aside and take their great digital storytelling down a chilling but powerful path.

In this ad, we hear from a handful of people who found themselves in tough situations. Luckily, they were all wearing Apple watches, which allowed them to reach help quickly. It’s a story about the power of connectedness, but it’s also a convincing reason to go buy yourself a smart watch.

While not an advertisement, this interactive documentary by the National Film Board of Canada is perhaps the most impressive example of how you can bring different media types together to tell a good story.

The narrative is told from the perspective of a bear who is rescued from a snare and released into the wild with a tracker collar. As she tries to return to her normal life, she shares her new reality with viewers — and we find that our everyday, human activities might be more disruptive than we realize.

Video, photographs, an interactive map and other elements come together to form this immersive experience. It’s not just a fascinating story; it’s one of the best examples of how digital tools can turn into something much bigger than themselves.

8. The 1-Word Tweet Storm

Okay, this one’s happening as we write this article. You’re hearing it here first, folks.

hotels — Marriott Bonvoy (@MarriottBonvoy) September 1, 2022

universe — NASA (@NASA) September 1, 2022

trains — Amtrak (@Amtrak) September 1, 2022

This gives a whole new meaning to “short and sweet.” The fascinating thing about this string of Tweets is that it would be an entirely different digital story if 1 brand did it 1 time, or if a single brand was responsible for every Tweet. Instead, we’re seeing entire conversations happening through single-word posts and replies, and the result is an internet-wide narrative.

For example, let’s say you replied to NASA or Amtrak like this: “what.”

Like it or not, you just took part in the 1-word Tweet story, and now you’re interacting with brands in a fun, playful way. That’s the power of digital storytelling: You’re not always just the audience; sometimes, you’re also the narrative.

as a marketer, you're a digital storyteller.

In 2000, Microsoft conducted a study measuring how long people can focus on one thing for a specific amount of time. The results came in at around 12 seconds.

15 years later? It dropped to 8 seconds.

Although there hasn’t been an update on the study since, researchers estimated that the number would only continue to dwindle.

Consumers are exposed to thousands of ads every single day. If you’re a digital marketer, cutting through the noise and actually capturing your audience’s attention for that sacred 8 seconds (or fewer) is going to take a more compelling narrative than a traditional ad could contain.

In addition to capturing the attention of your target audience, digital storytelling offers your team a host of other benefits:

Genuine messaging: Customers are inundated with aggressive advertising and other sales practices all the time. Leveraging a thoughtful brand story can help you stand out among the crowd.
Cohesive content planning: Once you create a digital storytelling project, the hard part is done. From there, you can leverage aspects of your story across social media and other channels to get the word out there.
Meaningful branding: Actions speak louder than words for today’s consumers. When you use a digital story to demonstrate how your company is dedicated to your mission as well as your customers, you prove that you’re in for the right reasons.

In today’s market, digital storytelling is quickly becoming the new norm. Keeping up with your customers’ expectations and your competitors’ marketing will take some extra creativity on your part.

Now that we know what a good storytelling campaign looks like and why it’s so important, let’s break down what you should keep in mind as you develop your own:

Show, don’t tell: It may be tempting to over-explain your story. However, try to lean more heavily on engaging visuals and compelling audio cues to let the audience come to their own conclusion .
Keep it brief: Just look at the campaigns we went over today — not 1 was longer than a minute. The best digital stories don’t need more time than that to get their point across.
Stay consistent: Don’t pull a bait-and-switch maneuver and follow an emotional personal narrative with an outright ad. Be sure that your story flows through from start to finish.
Look for inspiration: There’s inspiration to be had just about anywhere — especially through Creative Commons licenses. This allows free use of copyrighted content, which means you can scour the Creative Commons database for videos, images and other media to use in your digital story.

Looking for some extra pointers when it comes to crafting your own one-of-a-kind digital campaign? Subscribe to the Brafton newsletter for marketing tips, industry updates and more!

Editor’s Note: Updated March 2023.

Amanda Ciarci

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Amanda Ciarci is a senior writer and editor at Brafton. When she isn’t busy overusing the em dash, she can be found playing with her cat, drinking pots of coffee at a time or finding her next concert to attend.

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Digital Storytelling

Digital Storytelling Fundamentals

The Digital Storytelling Process

Getting started, storyboarding.

StoryMaps Projects
Audio & Video Projects
Finding Media Resources
Writing for Digital Storytelling
Student Toolkit

Digital Pedagogy Librarian

Research shared as a story engages broader audiences, including folks outside of university settings, in your research. It is a way of expressing information with narration - and the content is as important as the container. Digital stories can be basic - a narrated PowerPoint, for example, or detailed and professionally produced. Most fall somewhere in between, but they share a common process.

A graphic showing the eight steps of the digital storytelling process in a circle.

Come up with an idea: Define your topic or research question, state your purpose, and identify the audience for your work
Research, explore, and learn: Conduct your research and identify evidence
Write or script your story: Develop an outline for the research you are presenting, much like you would for a paper
Storyboard and plan for your digital story: Create a timeline and flow to visualize how your digital story will progress
Gather media: Locate the images, audio, and video you will use for your digital story
Put it all together: This is where you move into 'production' - build out your story in the platform or tool you selected
Share: Make your story accessible to your intended audience
Collect feedback and reflect
8 Steps to Great Digital Storytelling
Create a Digital Story A short tutorial guiding readers through the steps of creating a digital story.

Digital storytelling projects require students and researchers to think about four core categories:

Purpose: What is the motivation behind creating a project? To teach? Inform? Persuade?
Audience : Who is the project for? Who is the intended audience - and how will they access, interpret, and use the information?
Perspective : What is the point of view through which the story will be told? Does it reinforce or challenge stereotypes?
Design : How will the components of this project be organized and presented?

(adapted from Tufts University Digital Storytelling Proposal Guide )

Narrow Your Topic & Define Your Audience

Thinking about your research in the form of a digital story helps you to better define your topic, research questions you will pose, and the kinds of information you will need to construct a narrative - including media that will connect with your audience. The resources below can help you think about your topic broadly, then narrow it to the focus of your story and collect information that supports your research and its readers.

Digital Storytelling Research Worksheet
NPR Storytelling Project Blueprint

TIP: Create a Digital Project Charter

A project charter is a simple document that can help get everyone on the same page from the beginning. Essentially, the project charter is an agreement reached by all contributors about what the project is, who is responsible for the different parts, and what a successful outcome might look like. It is a resource that the team can refer back to whenever there is uncertainty about the direction or progress of the project.

Digital Project Charter Template

Digital stories require planning. Just like you start with an outline to write a paper, digital storytelling relies on a flow of information, ideas, and resources. Media projects like these often begin with a storyboard, which is an outline that also includes multimedia objects.

A storyboard doesn't need to be fancy - many times, it may even be hand-drawn. Like an outline for a paper, the goal is to establish the flow of content and determine what elements you need to write, illustrate, or include media for.

Hand drawn sketch of a digital exhibit storyboard layout in a notebook

Example of a hand-drawn storyboard for a multi-media digital story

Storyboard Tools & Ideas

Planning and Outlining Your Story A guide from ArcGIS detailing an approach to outlining a digital story. This article refers specifically to StoryMaps, but its process can be useful for other platforms as well.
Creating Storyboards for Narrative Projects Suggestions for mapping and planning your digital exhibit. by Beth Fischer, Hannah Jacobs, and Melissa J. Lingle-Martin in Visualizing Objects, Places, and Spaces: A Digital Project Handbook
What is a Storyboard? An introductory guide to storyboarding from University of Houston College of Education, with examples.
<< Previous: Digital Storytelling Fundamentals
Next: StoryMaps Projects >>
Last Updated: Jul 18, 2024 5:31 PM
URL: https://libguides.udayton.edu/digitalstorytelling

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Article Contents

Introduction, theoretical framework and key concepts, acknowledgements, digital storytelling project as a way to engage students in twenty-first century skills learning.

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Supplementary Data

Aleksandra Lazareva, Gibran Cruz-Martinez, Digital Storytelling Project as a Way to Engage Students in Twenty-First Century Skills Learning, International Studies Perspectives , Volume 22, Issue 4, November 2021, Pages 383–406, https://doi.org/10.1093/isp/ekaa017

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This paper is focused on the implications of a collaborative digital storytelling project on student engagement in the higher education context. The empirical study is conducted with an interdisciplinary group of bachelor students in a Nordic University ( N = 22) and a university in Southern Europe ( N = 21), and the data are collected through an online student survey. The results demonstrate that the digital storytelling project supported students’ behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. In general, the students had positive emotional experiences with the project. This assignment format was found less stressful than a frontal presentation in the classroom, allowing the students to express their perspectives more freely and confidently. The digital storytelling format also opened up for more creative ways to approach the task. It was important for the participants to have the project assignment split up in several checkpoints with feedback from the instructor. At the same time, the students suggested several areas for further improvement. Those are mainly related to the guidance on the use of technology and scripting the learning process within the small groups. Based on the results of the study, a range of practical implications for teaching practice is formulated.

Extracto: Este artículo se centra en las implicaciones de un proyecto colaborativo de narración digital en la participación de los estudiantes dentro del contexto de la educación universitaria. El estudio empírico se lleva a cabo con un grupo interdisciplinario de estudiantes de licenciatura de una universidad nórdica (N=22) y una universidad en el sur de Europa (N=21), y los datos se recopilan a través de una encuesta en líea para estudiantes. Los resultados demuestran que el proyecto de narración digital respaldó la participación conductual, emocional y cognitiva de los estudiantes. En general, los estudiantes tuvieron experiencias emocionales positivas con el proyecto. Este formato de tarea resultó menos estresante que una presentación al frente de la clase, lo que permitió que los estudiantes expresen sus perspectivas con mayor libertad y confianza. El formato de narración digital también dió lugar a formas más creativas de abordar el trabajo. Para los participantes fue importante dividir la tarea del proyecto en varias instancias de control con comentarios del profesor. Al mismo tiempo, los estudiantes sugirieron varias áreas en las que se debe mejorar aún más. La mayoría de ellas se relacionan principalmente con la orientación acerca del uso de tecnología y guiones en los procesos de aprendizaje dentro de grupos reducidos. En función de los resultados del estudio, se formuló una serie de implicaciones prácticas para el método de enseñanza.

Abstract: Cet article se concentre sur les implications d'un projet de narration numérique collaboratif sur l'engagement des étudiants dans le contexte de l'enseignement supérieur. Cette étude empirique a été menée via un groupe interdisciplinaire d'étudiants en licence dans une université d'Europe du nord (N=22) et une université d'Europe du sud (N=21), les données étant recueillies par le biais d'une enquête en ligne auprès des étudiants. Les résultats démontrent que ce projet de narration numérique a soutenu l'engagement cognitif, émotionnel et comportemental des étudiants. Les étudiants ont globalement vécu des expériences émotionnelles positives dans le cadre de ce projet. Ce format d'exercice a été jugé moins stressant qu'une présentation devant la classe et a permis aux étudiants d'exprimer leurs points de vue d'une manière plus libre et confiante. Le format de la narration numérique a aussi ouvert la voie à davantage de manières créatives d'approcher l'exercice. Il était important pour les participants que le projet qui leur était confié soit divisé en plusieurs points de contròle avec commentaires du professeur. Dans le même temps, les étudiants ont suggéré plusieurs domaines à améliorer davantage. Ces suggestions concernent principalement les consignes d'utilisation de la technologie et l'orchestration du processus d'apprentissage en petits groupes. Toute une série d'implications pratiques pour la technique d'enseignement ont été formulées en se basant sur les résultats de l'étude.

Learners achieve more when they work together compared to working individually. The application of collaborative and cooperative learning has been referred to as an “unusually strong psychological success story” ( Johnson and Johnson 2009 , 374). Students in a cooperative learning environment outperform students in a traditional learning environment. Kyndt et al. (2013) covers sixty-five studies carried out from 1995 onward, and reveals the positive effects of cooperative learning on student achievement and attitudes. These findings are in line with earlier meta-analyses in the field, which demonstrate that cooperative teams outperform individual learners on the various types of problem-solving ( Qin, Johnson, and Johnson 1995 ) and promote greater academic achievement, better attitudes toward learning, and increased persistence in students ( Bowen 2000 ).

Combining collaborative learning with modern technological advancements provide better opportunities for students’ active knowledge construction through working on complex phenomena ( Weinberger 2011 ). Some of the learning benefits include improved productivity, fostering of higher-order thinking skills, and student satisfaction with the learning experience ( Resta and Laferrière 2007 ). Use of technology has also been found to contribute to students developing their skills as independent learners ( Hafner and Miller 2011 ). Educational technology serves as a source of authentic information and has been demonstrated to advance students’ critical thinking skills ( Lindquist and Long 2011 ). The integration of new media in the educational context plays an important role in promoting broadened access to socially embedded and interest-driven learning, linking the different contexts of learning (e.g., the home, school, community, and peer groups) together ( Ito et al. 2013 ). 1

It is crucial for students to develop “twenty-first century skills” such as the ability to collaborate, be critical and creative, and be able to use technologies for learning. This has become even more evident with the COVID-19 pandemic and the unexpected shifts toward online learning in university classrooms accustomed to traditional teacher-led teaching. The development of students’ twenty-first century skills in a university classroom implies that students are active participants in the learning process and are able to use technology to improve their learning outcomes. Yet, collaborative learning and computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) may be challenging to carry out in higher education practice, as many students are used to traditional teacher-led approaches ( Häkkinen et al. 2017 ).

The success of collaborative learning groups is conditional to the instructor's guidance strategies ( van Leeuwen and Janssen 2019 ). It is crucial for the teacher to recognize the learning opportunities that become available for the students during the collaboration process and help students turn these opportunities into real moments of learning. The same is relevant for computer-supported collaboration. While CSCL can be characterized by multiple opportunities that are normally not available for students in a traditional classroom setting, many students may experience challenges as (computer-supported) collaboration can be motivationally and cognitively demanding ( Weinberger 2011 ). Lack of appropriate guidance often leads to superficial participation and recent research has paid more attention to the scaffolding of collaborative learning ( Zheng, Huang, and Yu 2014 ), i.e., providing complementary instructional support for guiding learners through tasks that exceed their current level of competence ( Kobbe et al. 2007 ). A significant part of the CSCL research has focused on the role of the so-called collaboration scripts ( Dillenbourg 2002 ; Kobbe et al. 2007 ). 2 Providing adequate support and facilitation is thus crucial to promote students’ behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement ( Fredricks, Blumfeld, and Paris 2004 ) in collaborative learning projects.

When linking CSCL and student engagement, previous research show how students acquire skills though collective interaction, although the pedagogical engagement of student remains a challenge ( Adefila et al. 2020 ). While, higher education students are familiar with the use of smartphones, the internet, and other technological devices, research is needed to confirm if by incorporating them into a collaborative environment in a university classroom facilitates their engagement with the material they are expected to learn. Thus, in this paper, the issue of student engagement in a collaborative computer-supported learning assignment is problematized. Focusing on the implementation of a collaborative digital storytelling assignment in the context of a Latin American Studies class and an Introduction to Political Science class, the impact of the project on students’ behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement is discussed, with a special focus on the role of the instruction (i.e., the collaboration script).

The empirical study is based on survey data from an interdisciplinary group of bachelor students at a Nordic University and South European University. The results demonstrate that the digital storytelling project had a positive effect on each of the three engagement types. Students had positive experiences with the project in general and found this assignment format much less stressful than a more common frontal presentation in the classroom. The digital storytelling format opened up for more creative ways to approach the task and allowed the participants to express their perspectives more freely and confidently. The participants appreciated having the project assignment split up in several checkpoints with feedback from the instructor. At the same time, several areas for further improvement are suggested based on student responses. Those are related to such aspects as the guidance on the use of technology and scripting the learning process within the small groups. Based on the results, a range of practical implications for teaching practice is formulated (see the Supplementary Information).

The paper is organized as follows. The second section presents the key concepts forming the theoretical framework for this study and introduces the hypotheses and the main research question. The method is presented in the third section, describing the procedure of the assignment, the survey tool used to collect the data, and the data analysis procedure. The fourth section presents the research findings and is followed by a discussion (Section “Discussion”) of the video project's impact on students’ engagement and suggestions for improving the assignment. The sixth section concludes the paper.

Student Engagement

It may be a challenging task to specify what the concept of student engagement entails, as it is rather often confused with such concepts as interest, emotions, and motivation ( Järvelä and Renninger 2014 ). However, there is a difference. While motivation refers to the psychological processes that underlie energy, purpose, and durability of the action (and are thus difficult to see directly), engagement is the visible manifestation of those processes ( Skinner and Pitzer 2012 ). Those “visible manifestations” can thus be helpful for the teacher when following up on the students. Student engagement is in general meant to be a practical concept, as its origin is based in attempts to improve student learning ( Reschly and Christenson 2012 ).

Student engagement can be defined as a student's active involvement and commitment to mastering the knowledge and opposed to superficial participation and lack of interest ( Newmann, Wehlage, and Lamborn 1992 ). Understanding what it is that affects student engagement is crucial for educators to choose suitable pedagogical approaches, design effective learning activities, and provide appropriate guidance.

This paper employs the three-part typology of student engagement suggested by Fredricks, Blumenfeld, and Paris (2004) , which includes behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement . Behavioral engagement implies a student's participation and involvement in learning activities. For example, a student participating in a group discussion would mean that she is engaged behaviorally. However, it would not necessarily mean that the student is having positive attitudes to the assignment or participants of the learning process, nor would it necessarily imply that the student achieves a meaningful learning outcome through this activity. Therefore, it is important to talk about the other two types of engagement. Emotional engagement implies positive attitudes of a student to teachers, peers, and academic assignments in general. And, finally, cognitive engagement focuses on the investment and commitment a student puts in learning and mastering new knowledge and skills.

It is crucial to take into account all three types of student engagement. Attending to students’ behavioral engagement may be a somewhat “easier” operation, as students participate willingly in the assignments that count toward the final grade or are a prerequisite to sit for the final exam. At the same time, it may be rather simple to come up with activity most of the students would find fun or entertaining, but which would not necessarily contribute to students’ cognitive engagement resulting in learning. Thus, ensuring all of the three dimensions of engagement in the students is crucial for an effective learning process.

Antecedents of engagement are multiple, and many of them come from the classroom context and are thus directly dependent on how the teacher organizes the teaching and learning process. For example, reaching a balance between structuring the classroom environment and supporting learner autonomy is crucial for student engagement ( Fredricks, Blumenfeld, Paris 2004 ). At the same time, an engaging task should ideally be authentic, meaningful, relevant, and focused on problem-solving ( Newmann, Wehlage, and Lamborn 1992 ). Collaboration skills need to be learned and practiced ( Rummel and Spada 2005 ), and learners who do not have experience in collaborative learning need proper guidance in order to complete collaborative work successfully. Otherwise, there is a risk of collaborative learning scenarios turning out as frustrating and unsuccessful ones.

Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL)

When different kinds of learning situations are labeled as collaborative it becomes challenging to discuss what effects collaborative learning has on students learning ( Dillenbourg 1999 ). Therefore, it is important to clearly define how the terms “collaborative learning” and “CSCL” are understood in the frame of this research article.

Collaborative learning implies such an educational practice where interactions among peers represent the most important aspect of learning ( Dillenbourg, Järvelä, and Fischer 2009 ), as opposed to the teacher passing the information over to the student. One could often notice that the terms “collaborative” and “cooperative” are used interchangeably (e.g., Sung, Yang, and Lee 2017 ). While it is natural that work is split among the different partners in both collaborative and cooperative learning situations, the key difference is in the nature of this division. In cooperative learning, tasks would be more independent, while in collaborative learning tasks are still highly interwoven and imply the participants monitoring each other. In collaborative learning, the focus is on the mutual engagement of group members with the aim to reach a solution together ( Roschelle and Teasley 1995 ). In addition, the division of labor is less stable in collaboration (e.g., the roles may change) ( Dillenbourg 1999 ).

Taking a starting point in the definition of collaborative learning, the concept of CSCL can be defined. In CSCL, knowledge is also considered an interactional achievement ( Stahl, Koschmann, and Suthers 2006 ), but the key point here is the focus on joint meaning-making practices mediated by technology ( Stahl, Koschmann, and Suthers 2006 ). It is important to note that the role of technology is not only in enabling the communication and collaboration processes, but actually in improving and facilitating the group learning processes, helping participants have effective interactions ( Resta and Laferrière 2007 ; Dillenbourg, Järvelä, and Fischer 2009 ). Technologies used for collaborative learning have to provide learners with the opportunity to engage in a joint task, communicate effectively, share resources, receive support for effective collaboration, engage in co-construction, regulate their learning, and build communities ( Jeong and Hmelo-Silver 2016 ).

It has been empirically proved that collaboration scripts have a great potential in supporting CSCL learners (e.g., Wichmann and Rummel 2013 ; Popov et al. 2014 ). A recent meta-analysis on collaboration scripts ( Vogel et al. 2017 ) demonstrates that learning with scripts has a strong positive effect on collaboration when compared to unscripted CSCL. Students acquire effective collaborative learning skills when they are repeatedly supported by scripts ( Vogel et al. 2017 ). A number of challenges have been identified in collaboration scripting research, for example, over-scripting, i.e., providing too rigid structure ( Dillenbourg 2002 ) which may lead to overload for learners ( Kollar, Fischer, and Slotta 2007 ) and make them avoid using the script whatsoever ( Popov et al. 2014 ), and “collision” with students’ already established strategies used in collaborative learning situations—“internal scripts” ( Kollar, Fischer, and Slotta 2007 ).

Finally, for the purpose of this article, it is also important to make a distinction between (1) collaborative situations where collaboration is happening face-to-face and the partners share the same physical location while being supported by technological artifacts and (2) situations where communication in itself is computer-mediated (synchronously or asynchronously) and participants are located in different physical spaces. Research presented in this article is primarily based on the first scenario.

Digital Storytelling

Robin (2008 , 222) defines digital storytelling as an activity allowing “computer users to become creative storytellers through the traditional process of selecting a topic, conducting some research, writing a script, and developing an interesting story.” The steps in the digital storytelling activity can be combined with different kinds of multimedia, such as graphics, audio, video clips, and music. Digital storytelling can be described through seven key elements: point of view, a dramatic question, emotional content, using the gift of your voice, the power of soundtrack, economy (i.e., using just enough content to tell the story without overloading the viewer), and pacing. Generally, digital stories can be categorized into three groups: personal narratives, stories that inform or instruct, and stories that examine historical events ( Robin 2008 ).

Digital storytelling is perfectly suited for a constructivist classroom where students are to construct their own meaning ( Robin 2016 ). Digital storytelling approach has been found to facilitate student engagement, reflection for learning, and project-based learning ( Barrett 2006 ). Giving students the task to create their own digital stories addresses the issue of developing twenty-first century skills ( Robin 2008 ), such as critical thinking and information and technological literacy ( Yang and Wu 2012 ; Niemi and Multisilta 2016 ; Kotluk and Kocakaya 2017 ). Thus, it is a powerful technology-enhanced learning method ( Wu and Chen 2020 ).

Although digital storytelling has been applied in education for two to three decades, there is still a limited amount of systematic reviews on what has been achieved in this field ( Wu and Chen 2020 ). The first attempt may have been a recent review by Wu and Chen (2020) , where they review fifty-seven studies on educational digital storytelling to conclude that digital storytelling activity may also be helpful for learners in overcoming language difficulties. Their review suggests that multimodal expressions make fluent communication possible even if the choice of words is not appropriate. The focus is often on orchestrating meanings of images, music, captions, and other formats. The mechanical aspect of language is usually not emphasized by the facilitators. Instead of pointing out grammatical errors, the facilitators emphasize the generation of ideas.

Hypothesis and Research Question

On the basis of the introduced key concepts and earlier research work, the main research question is formulated to guide the qualitative inquiry: Is a digital storytelling project an effective way to engage university students in computer-supported collaboration?

In order to answer the research question, the discussion will explore the implications a digital storytelling may have for students’ emotional, cognitive, and behavioral types of engagement. The following hypothesis is formulated: The scripted collaborative digital storytelling video project has a positive effect on emotional, cognitive, and behavioral student engagement.

Context of the Study

The empirical research involves two studies. The original study (onward the alpha study) takes place in a Nordic University and the second study (onward the beta study) takes place in a South European University.

The alpha study was conducted with an interdisciplinary group of Bachelor Degree students at the Faculty of Social Sciences in a Nordic University. The students were following either a development studies Bachelor's program or a one-year Spanish Studies program. The course, Introduction to Latin American Studies, is organized in twelve face-to-face lecture sessions (three hours each) and twelve group work sessions (two hours each). The university learning management system (LMS) Canvas was used to distribute the course material (i.e., course outline, plan for lectures, reading list), communicate with the students, and to hand in the assignments.

The Introduction to Latin American Studies course is mandatory for the majority of students enrolled in the course. Being one of the three courses in the Department of Global Development and Planning taught in English at the undergraduate level, it was a popular choice for international exchange students. The course is intended to provide students with a broad overview of some of the essential characteristics of Latin American history, politics, economics, and social conditions with the purpose of enabling students to understand and analyze current development processes in the region and in a global context.

The beta study was conducted to test the reproducibility of the original results in a different country. The beta study was conducted with a group of freshman Bachelor Degree students at the Faculty of International Relations in a South European University. The forty-two students were enrolled in a double major in International Relations and Business Administration. The mandatory course, Introduction to Political Science, consists of thirty face-to-face sessions (eighty minutes each). This course also involved using an LMS, in this case Blackboard, to distribute the course material, communicate with students, and hand in the assignments.

The Introduction to Political Science course aims to provide students with a core background in the central topics of contemporary political science, including the epistemology and methodology of political science, political ideologies, (non)democratic regimes, social system, political institutions, interest groups, political parties, elections, public policy, political economy, and international relations. One of the co-authors was the lecturer in both courses.

Procedure of the Learning Assignment

The assignment was designed taking into account earlier research on (1) student engagement and its antecedents, (2) collaboration scripting, and (3) digital storytelling.

In the alpha study, students had to complete two group assignments as a prerequisite to taking the final exam. The first six group work sessions were focused on a collaborative digital storytelling project and the last six to prepare a face-to-face presentation. Students in the beta study also were to complete the collaborative digital storytelling project and the face-to-face group presentation to sit for the final exam. However, an important difference was that these two assignments accounted for a percentage in the final grade. The video project accounted for 25 percent of the final grade, and the face-to-face presentation accounted for 20 percent. In contrast to the alpha study, there were no programmed group work sessions. Students met and completed the tasks in their preferred time and place.

The video project involved the use of technology to create a three to five minute long video on a subject chosen by each group and related to the course outline (i.e., (post)colonial history, social policy, alternatives to development, electoral studies, social stratification, and gender). Instructions were provided in the face-to-face lectures and were available in the LMS. Students were organized in groups consisting of three to five participants. Students had the opportunity to form their own group. Only a minority chose to do so in the alpha study, while a majority formed their own groups in the beta study. Students without groups were randomly assigned to groups by the lecturer.

The groups prepared the video project in four steps: forming groups, choosing the object of study, elaborating the script, and the final submission. These steps served as a collaboration script supporting the students during their learning process:

The first step was to create groups, familiarize with the concept of storytelling and learn the basics of the video-making software (i.e., WeVideo). The lecturer introduced digital storytelling and the WeVideo software in one of the lectures. Online tutorials were also made available. Students could choose to use other software to create videos if the resulting videos could be downloaded. Students had seven days to complete this task in the alpha study and four days in the beta study.

The second step was to choose and develop the idea for the digital storytelling project. Students were encouraged to share interests and experiences related to the subject in order to find a common interest. For this task, each group sent one to two sentences via the LMS describing the idea of the digital storytelling project. Students disposed seven days to fulfill this task in the alpha study and four days in the beta study. Individual feedback was provided to each group.

Conducting the research and elaborating the script was the third step. Students were encouraged to use academic materials available at the university library and repository. For this task, each group created a storyboard with ideas, images, references, footage available on the web, and methods to present the results. Students had fourteen days to prepare the third task in the alpha study and fifteen days in the beta study. The preliminary script was submitted via the LMS and individual feedback was also provided at this step.

The final task was to submit the video project including the reference list. Students had twenty-eight days to translate the storyboard and script into the final video in the alpha study, and nine days in the beta study.

On the contrary, there was no step-by-step guidance for the face-to-face presentation. In contrast to the digital storytelling project, the lecturer submitted a list of potential topics that could be used for the face-to-face presentation. At the same time, the groups had the freedom to propose another topic for their presentation as long as it complemented the course outline. Students made face-to-face presentations during the last three weeks of the course in the alpha study and the last two weeks in the beta study. Each group had fifteen minutes for the presentation and fifteen minutes for the discussion. Each group also had the responsibility to act as a discussant for another group. The main task of the discussant was to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the presentation and ask two or three questions to ignite the debate in the classroom.

The time allowed for preparing the presentation was seven weeks in the alpha study and either twenty-four or thirty-one days in the beta study (depending on the group). The videos and PowerPoint slides were made available to everyone in the LMS. The groups prepared the video project in both studies following the same four steps. However, students had less time to prepare both tasks in the beta study. The teaching term in the alpha study lasted from August to December, while in the beta study it went from October to December.

Figure 1 summarizes the procedure of the assignment. The key principles the assignment can be formulated are follows: (1) indicate a specific amount of checkpoints and script student activity for each step, (2) provide feedback to students after each checkpoint, (3) guide students on the use of technology by introducing short tutorial videos and going through the functionality in the lecture, and (4) final videos should be three to five minutes long, as shorter videos would not allow students to elaborate on their ideas, while videos exceeding five minutes could easily become too long.

Procedure of the assignment in the alpha study.

Survey Tool

Based on the concept of student engagement, a survey was designed to evaluate the impact of the digital storytelling assignment on student engagement. The survey in the alpha study was administered in the last lecture using SurveyXact, while in the beta study the link to the survey was shared online in the last lecture using Google forms. Twenty-two out of the forty students (55 percent) who finished all the requirements of the course in the alpha study participated in the survey. Twenty-one out of the forty-two students (50 percent) who finished all the requirements of the course in the beta study participated in the survey.

The survey tool was constructed to measure students’ behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. The survey questions and layout were constructed by the authors of the paper, as there was no suitable survey available fitting the purpose of the study. The Cronbach’s alpha for the complete set of questions is 0.81, which indicates a high level of internal consistency ( Nunnally 1978 ; Field 2018 ). Thus, the questionnaire as a whole is considered a reliable tool to measure student engagement. Nonetheless, Cronbach’s alpha's results must be taken with caution due to (1) a very small number of participants, which affects the alpha score, (2) the mix of negatively and positively stated statements in the alpha and beta studies, and (3) the fact that the statements were operationalized as an indicator of a specific student engagement; however, as stated earlier in the paper, the frontiers between one type of engagement and the other are diffused.

Earlier research on survey development was used to guide the construction of the survey. The questions were organized under three sub-topics providing a short description in each of them ( Lietz 2010 )—the background information, the Likert-scale questions set, and a number of open questions. The questions related to the background information were placed at the beginning of the survey to establish the feeling of trust between the researcher and the survey participants ( Andrews, Nonnecke, and Preece 2003 ).

In the first part of the survey, students were asked questions related to their background, namely, their age and gender. These data are not shown here, but the sample of respondents followed the age and gender structure of the class.

The second part included ten Likert-scale statements that students were to evaluate on a scale from 1 to 7 (1–“completely disagree” and 7–“completely agree”). Four of the Likert-scale questions in the survey refer to cognitive engagement, three refer to emotional engagement, and three refer to behavioral engagement. Likert-scale questions 3, 4, and 8 involve an explicit comparison between a traditional PowerPoint presentation and a video project involving a tight collaborative learning process to produce the final product. In addition, the students were asked if they were more confident using English in their video projects than in face-to-face classroom presentations.

Finally, the third part included open questions for students to reflect on:

What did you like about the video project (most)?

What were the things you didn't like about it?

What would you change to make the task more engaging?

Do you have any other suggestions?

Open questions allow collecting alternatives implications of the video project related to asynchronicity (i.e., allowing more than one students to be able to work at the same time in the project from different geographical locations thanks to technology and the internet) and feedback on how to make the collaborative tasks more engaging. In the third open question, students were provided with a list of six options (i.e., more time to prepare the video, more guidance on the use of technology, clearer instructions on the task, work in smaller groups, work in larger groups, an assigned leader for each group), and they were allowed to mark as many options as they wanted to. Questions 1, 2, and 4 in this section were open field questions.

Table 1 shows the Likert-scale questions of the alpha and beta study. Each of the questions was aimed to measure one of the three types of student engagement (i.e., behavioral, cognitive, and emotional). The types of engagement are closely interrelated. However, for the purposes of the analysis and discussion, the authors of the paper have discussed and agreed on the key type that was intended to be measured by each of the items.

Cognitive engagement (questions 2, 3, 6, 10). These questions focused on students having the opportunity to improve their understanding of the subject, which can be achieved by presenting learning material in a different format than text (Q2) and discussing different perspectives on the subject openly (Q3). In addition, following a script is meant to help students avoid extra coordination efforts, allowing them to invest their effort in the learning task itself (Q6). Being able to access the project space from anywhere and anytime is also assumed to open up for more opportunities for the students to bring a contribution in the project if compared to scheduled face-to-face sessions (Q10).

Emotional engagement (questions 1, 4, 9). These questions directly attend to the emotional dimension of engagement, that is, whether the students experienced positive feelings and satisfaction with the learning experience. Students were asked whether they enjoyed collaborating with classmates (Q1) and whether they found the digital storytelling activity more interesting than a traditional PowerPoint presentation (Q4). In addition, they were asked whether having a video as a final product of their work was a satisfying experience (Q9).

Behavioral engagement (questions 5, 7, 8). These questions attend to the issues that directly affect the students’ initiating learning episodes. For example, having easy access to the learning materials is meant for the students to utilize those materials more frequently (Q5). The same goes for the use of the technology—easy access to the project space and the opportunity to contribute are expected to result in students initiating the activity more frequently (Q7). Finally, opening up for more alternative ways to address the task is expected to involve students in the learning activity more easily (Q8).

Likert-scale questions in the alpha and the beta study (in the same order these were presented to the students in the survey)

# .	Question (alpha study in a Nordic University) .	Question (beta study in a South European University) .	Type of engagement .
1	I enjoyed collaborating with classmates on the video project		Emotional
2	It will be easy for me to revise this topic with the videos when I prepare for the final exam	It will be easy for me to revise this topic with the videos when I prepare for the final exam	Cognitive
3	I was more confident to share my opinions in the video than in the face-to-face presentations		Cognitive
4	It was more interesting to prepare the video than a usual PowerPoint presentation		Emotional
5	I like to have access to my classmates’ videos on Canvas	I like to have access to my classmates’ videos on the Blackboard web page	Behavioral
6	Multiple steps (form group; idea; script; final video) made it easier for me to accomplish the project	Multiple steps (form group; idea; script; final video) made it easier for me to accomplish the project	Cognitive
7	WeVideo is good to support team projects	The software we used to create the video is good to support team projects	Behavioral
8	The video project allowed more creativity than a PowerPoint presentation		Behavioral
9	I like to have the video as an output of my work		Emotional
10	It made it easier for me to work on the task in WeVideo because I could access it from anywhere at anytime	–	Cognitive

# .	Question (alpha study in a Nordic University) .	Question (beta study in a South European University) .	Type of engagement .
1	I enjoyed collaborating with classmates on the video project		Emotional
2	It will be easy for me to revise this topic with the videos when I prepare for the final exam	It will be easy for me to revise this topic with the videos when I prepare for the final exam	Cognitive
3	I was more confident to share my opinions in the video than in the face-to-face presentations		Cognitive
4	It was more interesting to prepare the video than a usual PowerPoint presentation		Emotional
5	I like to have access to my classmates’ videos on Canvas	I like to have access to my classmates’ videos on the Blackboard web page	Behavioral
6	Multiple steps (form group; idea; script; final video) made it easier for me to accomplish the project	Multiple steps (form group; idea; script; final video) made it easier for me to accomplish the project	Cognitive
7	WeVideo is good to support team projects	The software we used to create the video is good to support team projects	Behavioral
8	The video project allowed more creativity than a PowerPoint presentation		Behavioral
9	I like to have the video as an output of my work		Emotional
10	It made it easier for me to work on the task in WeVideo because I could access it from anywhere at anytime	–	Cognitive

Note : See in italics survey questions that were modified for the beta study following the suggestions of one of the reviewers. Question 10 was eliminated in the beta study because WeVideo was not mandatory.

The survey questions in the alpha study are short, simple, and formulated as positive statements. Statements in a positively structured survey aim to prevent respondent inattention and confusion ( Converse and Presser 1986 ). However, this might guide the respondents to answer positively on every statement (see Choi and Pak 2005 ). Having positive statements might increase the acquiescence bias if the respondents tend to agree with most statements in the Likert-scale questionnaire ( Van Sonderen, Sanderman, Coyne 2013 ). To reduce the acquiescent response bias one might include a mix of positively and negatively worded statements in the questionnaire to force students to have a mix of agreements and disagreements. Nevertheless, Qasem and Gul (2014) along with Lewis and Sauro (2009) and Solís Salazar (2015) showed evidence that this strategy of combining positively and negatively worded statements creates problems of criterion-related validity, lowers the internal reliability of the study, and distort the factor structure/construction of the data set.

Originally, this research was conceived as a single case study with positively stated questions. Nonetheless, following comments and suggestions from a blind reviewers, the original study was replicated modifying five of the survey questions either by rewording as negative statements or by switching the comparison made in the statement. This allowed confirming if the impact of the digital storytelling project on student engagement is artificial due to acquiescent response bias or not.

Data Analysis

Due to a small number of respondents in the alpha and beta study, the aim of the analysis was not to draw statistical generalizations, but instead, focus on a more analytical approach. The results are shown on average for each sample of students in the Nordic and South European University. Nonetheless, the results must be interpreted with caution and a number of limitations should be borne in mind. Thus, local factors may have influenced the results. With a small population size (i.e., forty students), the sample size should be thirty-seven students to be able to have a 95 percent confidence interval and a margin of error of 5 percent. With the twenty-two respondents in the original study, the margin of error increases to 15 percent. The lack of a control group, due to ethical reasons for having different evaluation criteria for students in the same course, and of a randomized sample imply the inability to generalize the research findings. Future research could overcome these limitations easily if the research is conducted in several sections of the course. For example, a professor teaching international relations to three different groups might use a control group along with two treatment groups with two different treatments (i.e., a video project and a traditional PowerPoint presentation). By default, more groups would also translate to a bigger population and the issues with the sample size would be reduced, although not completely resolved if most students do not participate as respondents in the survey.

The second part of the survey (i.e., Likert-scale questions) was used to obtain an aggregated view of students’ perceptions of the digital storytelling project. The third part of the survey was approached with a more qualitative perspective. Quotes from student responses are included in the Results and Discussion sections of the paper. Quotations are coded with a combination of the respondent number and the university of origin (e.g., R01N is the first respondent from the alpha study at the Nordic University).

Likert-Scale Questions

Table 2 presents the descriptive statistics and study students’ responses to the second part of the survey in the alpha and beta studies. In sum, the digital storytelling project had positive effects on the three types of student engagement (hypothesis confirmed, although as previously mentioned, the readers must recognize the limitations of a small- n study).

Descriptive statistics of alpha and beta studies

Alpha study .
.	I enjoyed collaborating with classmates on the video project .	It will be easy for me to revise this topic with the videos when I prepare for the final exam .	I was more confident to share my opinions in the video than in the face-to-face presentations .	It was more interesting to prepare the video than a usual PowerPoint presentation .	I like to have access to my classmates’ videos on Canvas .	It made it easier for me to work on the task in WeVideo because I could access it from anywhere at anytime .	Multiple steps (form group; idea; script; final video) made it easier for me to accomplish the project .	WeVideo is good to support team projects .	The video project allowed more creativity than a PowerPoint presentation .	I like to have the video as an output of my work .
Mean	5.91	5.32	4.73	5.45	6.64	5.27	5.95	4.86	6.23	4.82
Median	6.00	5.00	5.00	6.00	7.00	6.00	7.00	5.00	6.50	5.00
Standard deviation	1.15	1.32	2.10	1.84	0.79	1.72	1.62	1.39	0.97	1.89
	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22
	(Scorings of statements 1, 3, 4, 8, and 9 are reversed for comparability purposes with the alpha study)
	I didn’t enjoy collaborating on the video project with classmates	It will be easy for me to revise this topic with the videos when I prepare for the final exam	I was more confident to share my opinions in the face-to-face (PowerPoint) presentations than in the video	It was more interesting to prepare the PowerPoint presentation than the video	I like to have access to my classmates videos on the IE Blackboard webpage	Multiple steps (form group; idea; script; final video) made it easier for me to accomplish the project	The software we used to create the video is good to support team projects	The PowerPoint presentation allowed more creativity than a video project	I don´t like to have the video as an output of my work
Mean	6.00	3.33	4.29	4.57	5.76	6.05	5.19	5.19	5.52
Median	6.00	3.00	4.00	5.00	6.00	7.00	5.00	5.00	6.00
Standard deviation	1.38	1.49	1.68	1.80	1.09	1.50	1.63	1.33	1.66
	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21

Alpha study .
.	I enjoyed collaborating with classmates on the video project .	It will be easy for me to revise this topic with the videos when I prepare for the final exam .	I was more confident to share my opinions in the video than in the face-to-face presentations .	It was more interesting to prepare the video than a usual PowerPoint presentation .	I like to have access to my classmates’ videos on Canvas .	It made it easier for me to work on the task in WeVideo because I could access it from anywhere at anytime .	Multiple steps (form group; idea; script; final video) made it easier for me to accomplish the project .	WeVideo is good to support team projects .	The video project allowed more creativity than a PowerPoint presentation .	I like to have the video as an output of my work .
Mean	5.91	5.32	4.73	5.45	6.64	5.27	5.95	4.86	6.23	4.82
Median	6.00	5.00	5.00	6.00	7.00	6.00	7.00	5.00	6.50	5.00
Standard deviation	1.15	1.32	2.10	1.84	0.79	1.72	1.62	1.39	0.97	1.89
	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22
	(Scorings of statements 1, 3, 4, 8, and 9 are reversed for comparability purposes with the alpha study)
	I didn’t enjoy collaborating on the video project with classmates	It will be easy for me to revise this topic with the videos when I prepare for the final exam	I was more confident to share my opinions in the face-to-face (PowerPoint) presentations than in the video	It was more interesting to prepare the PowerPoint presentation than the video	I like to have access to my classmates videos on the IE Blackboard webpage	Multiple steps (form group; idea; script; final video) made it easier for me to accomplish the project	The software we used to create the video is good to support team projects	The PowerPoint presentation allowed more creativity than a video project	I don´t like to have the video as an output of my work
Mean	6.00	3.33	4.29	4.57	5.76	6.05	5.19	5.19	5.52
Median	6.00	3.00	4.00	5.00	6.00	7.00	5.00	5.00	6.00
Standard deviation	1.38	1.49	1.68	1.80	1.09	1.50	1.63	1.33	1.66
	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21

Over 54 percent of the sample responded “completely agree,” “mostly agree,” or “somewhat agree” on all ten survey questions in the alpha study. The average scores on the statements related to the emotional engagement was 5.4 out of 7, while those related to the cognitive and behavioral engagement received an average score of 5.6 (i.e., on average, students somewhat agree that the video project had a positive effect on their emotional engagement and mostly agree on the positive effects on the cognitive and behavioral engagement).

These results from the Nordic University are confirmed in the beta study at a South European University. After paraphrasing five of the statements, on average, the video project had positive effects on the three types of student engagement (in contrast to the alpha study, average scores are not presented in this case because of the mix of positively and negatively stated questions).

The number of students that somewhat, mostly, or completely agree to the four statements that were repeated identically (questions 2, 5, 6 and 7 in table 1 ) remained above 60 percent in both studies (78.4 percent in the alpha study and 64.3 percent in the beta study). To control and confirm the potential acquiescence bias in the alpha study by having all positively stated questions, we decided to paraphrase five of the survey questions to negatively stated questions in the beta study (questions 1, 3, 4, 8, and 9 in table 1 ). Seventy-four percent of the students in the alpha study somewhat, mostly, or completely agree to the five statements, while 68.6 percent of students in the beta study answered “completely disagree,” “mostly disagree,” or “somewhat disagree” to negatively stated questions. In sum, both sets of questions—the identical questions and the ones changed to negative statements—demonstrated a reduction in the share of students agreeing on the positive impact of collaborative storytelling projects. However, this reduction was smaller in the negatively stated questions than in the positively stated questions. Therefore, not only the impact of the storytelling project remained significantly relevant for student engagement when using negative statements, but also these results do not appear to be a consequence of the acquiescence bias (See table 3 ).

Comparative overview of responses: Identical versus paraphrased questions in alpha and beta study

Identical questions in both studies .
Alpha study .	(somewhat, mostly or completely agree) .	Percent (somewhat, mostly or completely agree) .	Beta study .	(somewhat, mostly or completely agree) .	Percent (somewhat, mostly or completely agree) .
WeVideo is good to support team projects	13	59.09 percent	The software we used to create the video is good to support team projects	15	71.43 percent
I like to have access to my classmates’ videos on Canvas	21	95.45 percent	I like to have access to my classmates’ videos on the Blackboard webpage	17	80.95 percent
Multiple steps (form group; idea; script; final video) made it easier for me to accomplish the project	18	81.82 percent	Multiple steps (form group; idea; script; final video) made it easier for me to accomplish the project	18	85.71 percent
It will be easy for me to revise this topic with the videos when I prepare for the final exam	17	77.27 percent	It will be easy for me to revise this topic with the videos when I prepare for the final exam	4	19.05 percent
Average		percent			percent

Alpha study	(somewhat, mostly or completely agree)	Percent (somewhat, mostly or completely agree)	Beta study	(somewhat, mostly or completely disagree)	Percent (somewhat, mostly or completely disagree)
The video project allowed more creativity than a PowerPoint presentation	20	90.91 percent	The PowerPoint presentation allowed more creativity than a video project	15	71.43 percent
I was more confident to share my opinions in the video than in the face-to-face presentations	12	54.55 percent	I was more confident to share my opinions in the face-to-face (PowerPoint) presentations than in the video	10	47.62 percent
I like to have the video as an output of my work	14	63.64 percent	I don’t like to have the video as an output of my work	14	66.67 percent
It was more interesting to prepare the video than a usual PowerPoint presentation	17	77.27 percent	It was more interesting to prepare the PowerPoint presentation than the video	13	61.90 percent
I enjoyed collaborating with classmates on the video project	19	86.36 percent	I didn’t enjoy collaborating on the video project with classmates	20	95.24 percent
Average		percent			percent

Identical questions in both studies .
Alpha study .	(somewhat, mostly or completely agree) .	Percent (somewhat, mostly or completely agree) .	Beta study .	(somewhat, mostly or completely agree) .	Percent (somewhat, mostly or completely agree) .
WeVideo is good to support team projects	13	59.09 percent	The software we used to create the video is good to support team projects	15	71.43 percent
I like to have access to my classmates’ videos on Canvas	21	95.45 percent	I like to have access to my classmates’ videos on the Blackboard webpage	17	80.95 percent
Multiple steps (form group; idea; script; final video) made it easier for me to accomplish the project	18	81.82 percent	Multiple steps (form group; idea; script; final video) made it easier for me to accomplish the project	18	85.71 percent
It will be easy for me to revise this topic with the videos when I prepare for the final exam	17	77.27 percent	It will be easy for me to revise this topic with the videos when I prepare for the final exam	4	19.05 percent
Average		percent			percent

Alpha study	(somewhat, mostly or completely agree)	Percent (somewhat, mostly or completely agree)	Beta study	(somewhat, mostly or completely disagree)	Percent (somewhat, mostly or completely disagree)
The video project allowed more creativity than a PowerPoint presentation	20	90.91 percent	The PowerPoint presentation allowed more creativity than a video project	15	71.43 percent
I was more confident to share my opinions in the video than in the face-to-face presentations	12	54.55 percent	I was more confident to share my opinions in the face-to-face (PowerPoint) presentations than in the video	10	47.62 percent
I like to have the video as an output of my work	14	63.64 percent	I don’t like to have the video as an output of my work	14	66.67 percent
It was more interesting to prepare the video than a usual PowerPoint presentation	17	77.27 percent	It was more interesting to prepare the PowerPoint presentation than the video	13	61.90 percent
I enjoyed collaborating with classmates on the video project	19	86.36 percent	I didn’t enjoy collaborating on the video project with classmates	20	95.24 percent
Average		percent			percent

The standard deviation scores in table 2 indicate a relatively low variation (coefficient of variation < 1), indicating that student scores are consistent through the sample and do not spread above and below the mean. Readers should be careful when interpreting the negatively stated questions in the beta study, as scorings of statements 1, 3, 4, 8, and 9 are reversed for comparability purposes with the alpha study. Therefore, these five statements should be read with the statements in the alpha study.

Fourteen students in the alpha study made their video projects in English and the remaining in Spanish as it was allowed in the Latin American Studies class. In contrast, all students in the beta study made their videos in English as it was mandatory. Twenty-nine percent of respondents felt more confident to use English in the videos than in the face-to-face presentation in both the alpha and beta study, whereas 64 percent felt the same about both in the alpha study and 62 percent felt the same way about both in the beta study. While these results do not seem illustrative, students’ responses to the open-ended questions demonstrate that the video project was a useful tool to avoid the stress related to face-to-face presentations.

R07.N : I don't like to stand in front of people, talking, so for me a movie was a better solution than an oral PowerPoint presentation.

R19.N : It was a good way to start the year, working in groups but without the nerves you have before a presentation!

R09.SE: I came to class with everything done and could pay more attention to the videos because I wasn't nervous about presenting.

The results shown in the open-ended questions go in line with earlier research. As learning experience using video projects occurs in a less hostile environment, it contributes to increasing learners’ self-confidence ( Ting 2013 ). It also goes in line with the perspectives presented in a recent meta-analysis on digital storytelling ( Wu and Chen 2020 ), suggesting that this activity may be helpful in overcoming language difficulties, as the focus is switched from the mechanical aspect of language to generation of ideas and orchestrating meanings of various formats.

Open-Ended Questions

Students’ reflections in the open-ended questions show the aspects of the assignments they liked the most and the least. Creativity and fun were the two aspects most frequently highlighted by students in the alpha study as positive aspects. More than a third of the respondents mentioned these two traits directly in their responses. Majority of the students in the beta study highlighted creativity and innovation as the two things they like the most about the video projects.

One negative aspect of the assignment stood out above the others in both studies. The most popular response in the alpha and beta studies relates to the “inconvenience” of learning new software and the video-editing process rather than investing that time in learning new material and conducting the research for the task. Students in the beta study also mentioned they did not like their group because of issues concerning the division of labor and the presence of “free riders.” These results are discussed in more detail from the perspective of students’ cognitive engagement in section “Cognitive Engagement”.

Students were asked to choose from the list of six options what they would like to change to make the assignment more engaging (as many options as they want, but at least one). The top three suggestions in the alpha study (with over a quarter of respondents in each one) are having more guidance on the use of technology, working in smaller groups, and having an assigned leader for each of the groups (see black bar in figure 2 ). These results are in line with the top responses the participants mentioned in the open-ended questions when asked about the things they did not like about the video project.

What would you change to make the task more engaging?

The gray bar in figure 2 shows the results of the same multiple-choice question, but in the beta study at a South European University. The same multiple-choice question was used as a measure to keep the study as close as the original one. More guidance on the use of technology was the only option to appear in the top three in both the studies. Forty-three percent of the students considered that they needed more time to prepare the video, and a third of respondents would have liked to have clearer instructions on the task. Students in the original study had fifty-six days to prepare the video project, while students in the replication study only had thirty-two days; this was due to a shorter teaching term in the South European University. This might explain why this option was not considered in the alpha study, while it was the top suggestion to modify in the beta study.

Finally, the last open-ended question was the only voluntary question. When asked for any other suggestions, only a third of the sample responded in the alpha study and 18 percent in the beta study. The most popular response in the alpha study suggested increasing the weight of the assignment in the final grade. Based on this suggestion, the two collaborative tasks were included as part of the grade in the beta study. The remaining suggestions in the alpha study were to be able to use the full version of the WeVideo software, to allow students to work individually on the task, and to show more examples of video projects that could serve as a model for students. In the beta study, respondents were concerned with the groups, suggested having discussants assigned to the videos when showing them in class, and requested more time. The fifth section of the paper provides more discussion around some of these aspects from the point of view of student engagement.

R06.N : It's already creative enough to create a video in our project, but it will be better to put a mark on our result to build the motivation in the making of the video.

R04.SE : I know time is a limitation, but making people create groups from the start wasn't very efficient since we really didn't know each other. The video project is a good idea, but maybe sharing the script to all students can be helpful to follow along. Also, do the same thing we did with the PowerPoint presentations of having one group assigned another group to ask questions to.

In this section, each of the engagement types is discussed in more detail. The section also offers a discussion on how the assignment could be potentially improved based on student survey responses. Student quotes are included to support the discussion.

Behavioral Engagement

From the point of view of behavioral engagement, the digital storytelling project opened up for more creative ways to approach the task. In addition, the chosen online video editor was a good support for the team project. Finally, the results of the video project were made easily accessible on the LMS, and students appreciated having easy access to the work of their peers.

Earlier research demonstrates that students prefer to use online search engines for learning material instead of looking for resources in the library ( McCoy 2011 ). Results of this research go in line with that, suggesting that opening up for more alternative ways to contribute to the task makes it easier for the students to initiate the learning episode. When asked about what they like about the storytelling project, the students mentioned:

R17.N: [ The video project] allowed us to try teamwork in another way than the usual PowerPoint.

R06.SE : The possibility of being creative (e.g., adding testimonies of people)

R18.SE: The synergy of the group and the fact that each one of us had their own role. I personally really enjoyed making the video. I like the fact that we had a new way of presenting, though it was challenging.

R21.SE : It was an interesting and original way to express our opinions. Through this format, we have way more instruments to use such as music, subtitles, videos, which we can use in order to communicate emotions, and it is always the best way to make people pay attention to what you are presenting (. . .). Moreover, the fact that you give us the chance to choose our topic was great because everyone has chosen a subject that they like which necessarily makes them more involved in the project.

At the same time, using the free version of software also resulted in some challenges, which potentially could impede students’ behavioral engagement in the task:

R22.N : The WeVideo doesn't allow us to collaborate with other members of the group if we use the free version. My group had problems when one member made changes while another one was logged in, so the changes were not saved.

Emotional Engagement

From the perspective of emotional engagement, students enjoyed preparing the digital storytelling project overall and considered this assignment more interesting than the face-to-face presentation. It was also rewarding for the students to have a video as the final output of their work. The students mostly had positive experiences of working with their classmates. However, as mentioned in section “Open-Ended Questions,” some students had some negative experiences as well, such as free riding. These are addressed directly in section “Cognitive Engagement”.

According to students’ perceptions, this task was different from what they have done before in school or previous courses at the university:

R12.N : I liked collaborating with the other members of the group. I liked investigating the chosen topic and learning more about it. Having a video project also allows for more creativity, which is fun.

R16.N : I liked to learn how to work with the software and actually make a video which I couldn't before this task.

R05.SE : Different way of presenting a project, it is innovative as well as more fun to create.

While educational technology may have a positive impact on learners’ motivational engagement ( Ang and Wang 2006 ), the implementation of educational technology in the learning process has always to be grounded in a solid pedagogical justification ( Ang and Wang 2006 ); otherwise, it may become a source of distraction or confusion for the learners. For example, Wu and Chen (2020) warn about the “novelty effect” that might affect research results in studies implementing novel technology in the classroom. When novel technology is introduced in the classroom, students may increase their attention and effort in response. Such a “novelty effect” might be causing positive outcomes in student engagement. Therefore, longitudinal studies should be considered to confirm that the combination of collaboration with technology in the learning process is the factors behind the increase in student engagement and not the “novelty effect.”

Cognitive Engagement

Finally, the video assignment demonstrated to be beneficial for students’ cognitive engagement as it allowed them to express their opinions more confidently thus acknowledging more alternative perspectives. Moreover, the students in the alpha study considered the digital storytelling project as a resourceful output for preparing for the final exam.

The video format also allowed students to craft the expression of their thoughts and ideas more carefully. The digital storytelling project was seen as less stressful than the face-to-face presentation. This may be an especially important aspect in the context of a multicultural learning environment. When asked about what they like about the storytelling project, the students mentioned:

R18.N : We can describe the topic more closely because during the presentation it can happen that because of the stress, our explanation is not so understandable and sometimes some important things are forgotten.

R06.SE : The degree of attention people exercised toward a video (more than a presentation)

R20.SE : Learning about new topics from the point of views of my colleagues and classmates.

Working on the task step-by-step made it easier for the students to accomplish the project successfully. As discussed in the second section, effective collaboration may happen spontaneously, but usually, this does not happen ( Strijbos, Martens, and Jochems 2004 ). In case of this digital storytelling project, splitting the assignment into several steps and providing students with feedback after each step resulted in increased student engagement. Thus, it can be concluded that in general this script helped students coordinate their efforts and pay the focus to the learning assignment instead of coordination and management activities.

Yet, clearer instructions on the task was a popular suggestion from the students to improve the assignment. This suggests that having a more elaborated step-by-step guidance would be beneficial. The lecturer provided instructions on the video project during the first day of class and afterward in a workshop (1.5 hours in the alpha study and 45 minutes in the beta study). Instructions were also available in the LMS. As attendance to the lectures was not mandatory in the Nordic University, making an explanatory video available to everyone in the LMS with visuals and clearer instructions could help solve this limitation. Making a list of relevant potential research topics could facilitate developing the project idea (i.e., step 2). Making a storyboard in class or recording one to make it available online could expedite the planning process as students would be able to fully exploit the benefits of pre-visualizing the video project as a set of images, videos, ideas, and scripts. Finally, providing examples of storytelling videos made by peers in other universities, as some respondents suggested in the survey responses, could give students ideas on the topics to research and animation techniques to deliver their story. Another alternative would be to invite experts on storytelling and the video-making software and organize a longer workshop.

Some student responses to the open-ended questions indicate that more micro-scripting (i.e., scripting the processes within the small group) would be beneficial as well. Students from the alpha study believed that working in smaller groups and assigning a group leader would be beneficial. Students from the beta study reported some free-riding group members and believed that a more detailed task instruction would be beneficial. Earlier research found that students believe an assigned leader would contribute to the dynamics of the group processes ( Lazareva 2017 ). Moreover, there have been studies reporting on positive results for student learning outcomes when different roles were assigned in a group ( Olesova, Slavin, and Lim 2016 ).

R12.N : I prefer working alone, because many times I have done my part of the work, and the other members haven't. And that leads to me “wasting my time” waiting for them to finish their part. I think it would've taken less time if I worked alone.

R21.SE : I think even if everyone has to work on the script . . . it still is just one person who works on the video editing, and if others think it is not a lot, in fact, it is.

As mentioned in section “Open-Ended Questions”, students expressed concern regarding the need to invest time in mastering the software instead of focusing on the task right away. That could potentially impede students’ cognitive engagement when it comes to the subject of the learning task itself.

R11.N : I found that the editing took a lot of time that could have been used to improve the content.

R19.N : Well, learning the new program and organizing the video takes time! So, a lot of the focus and time goes to that and not studying and researching.

It should also be mentioned that in the alpha study, the students’ videos were made available online but not discussed in class. These students reflected that they would like to watch the videos in class to be able to discuss the arguments and the process of video making. This goes in line with research on digital storytelling which argues that showing the video outputs to peers is a critical and essential part of the learning process in a collaborative video project, as it enables “a safe and empowering space for cross-cultural collaboration and learning” in the classroom ( Benmayor 2008 , 188). Following this suggestion, a session to watch and discuss the videos and its content was assigned for the beta study. Students enjoyed watching the videos in class, asked questions to their peers on the cases being presented, practiced the role of being a discussant, and it allowed the lecturer to deepen concepts and theories.

The final point worth mentioning is the nature of group composition. Earlier research has demonstrated that random group assignment contributes to more “knowledge spillovers” outside the group than self-selected student groups that normally are based on friendships and similar cultural background ( Rienties, Alcott, and Jindal-Snape 2014 ). Thus, random group assignment could potentially contribute more to the cognitive engagement of the students.

The present study reports on a positive experience of implementing a collaborative digital storytelling video project in a Latin American Studies class and in an Introduction to Political Science class. Student insights were collected through an online survey, and the results demonstrate that the task had a positive impact on students’ behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement.

The digital storytelling project offered students various alternative ways to approach the task, thus contributing to their behavioral engagement. The software, in general, offered good support for team projects. The participants also appreciated having easy access to their peers’ work. Students’ emotional engagement was also supported, as they had mainly positive experiences working with their peers, found the project assignment fun, and enjoyed working on it more than on a more common PowerPoint presentation format. Finally, the digital storytelling project had a positive impact on students’ cognitive engagement as they felt they could express their perspectives more confidently. Working on a video made them work more on crafting their thoughts carefully and comprehensively. At the same time, this work was perceived as much less stressful than doing a presentation in front of the class.

An important part of the assignment was a step-by-step guidance from the instructor with feedback after each of the checkpoints. This allowed students to focus on the learning assignment instead of putting the effort into the management and organization issues.

At the same time, the student insights also shed light on the aspects of the task that could be improved. More guidance on the use of technology was pointed out by many of the respondents. This aspect is crucial, as putting the effort into learning the new software may impede students’ cognitive engagement in the actual content of the task. Student insights also suggest that scripting the processes on a micro-level (i.e., within the small group) could also be beneficial. Assigning the leader along with other specified roles could help students avoid such negative group effects as free riding or lurking.

Thus, a number of practical recommendations for the implementation of a digital storytelling project can be formulated on the basis of this research: (1) thorough initial guidance on the use of technology, (2) random assignment of students into relatively small groups with an assigned leader and other roles if relevant, (3) division of the project into several checkpoint tasks with step-by-step guidance (i.e., script) provided to students and formative feedback after each step, ensuring adequate time is given to students in each step, and (4) demonstration of the final video products in class to make it possible for the students to discuss and reflect.

This research provides an exploratory thesis that needs further research. Storytelling combined with group work and technology has shown to improve student engagement in this study. Replication of research results in other settings (e.g., discipline-oriented courses, other countries) is needed. Experimental research could confirm the impact of scripting processes within the small groups (e.g., role assignment) on student engagement. Also, further research could incorporate a focus group session to delve more into the potential effects of the digital storytelling task on student engagement and obtain data for further qualitative analysis. Importantly, future research should also look into the effects of the digital storytelling activity on students’ learning outcomes, for example, by evaluating the quality of students’ line of reasoning in the exam essays and comparing the results with the control group following a more common frontal presentation format. Investigating the learning outcomes in terms of collaboration skills and digital literacy would also be valuable.

There are multiple definitions of twenty-first century skills, which make it difficult to clearly enumerate them. As mentioned in the Introduction section, twenty-first century skills often include the ability to communicate and collaborate, find and critically evaluate information, interpret messages from a global perspective, and, importantly, the ability to use technology to improve learning and performance ( Robin 2008 ). The results discussed in this paper demonstrate that a collaborative digital storytelling project covers multiple components of the twenty-first century skill set and has an immense potential to contribute to their development in university students in an engaging way.

A meta-analysis by Fu and Hwang (2018) on the use of mobile technology for collaborative learning demonstrate that mobile technology supports ubiquitous learning, promotes more interpersonal social interaction, facilitates context-based learning, develops self-regulated learning and self-reflection skills, as well as advances cross-cultural interaction.

Dillenbourg (2002 , 61) defines collaboration script as a “set of instructions prescribing how students should form groups, how they should interact and collaborate and how they should solve the problem”.

The authors would like to thank the students at the Nordic and South European Universities for their active participation in this project. They also thank four anonymous reviewers and participants of the workshop “Beyond Descriptions and Good Practices: Empirical Effects of Active Learning Environments on Political Science Students’ Learning Outcomes” in the 2018 ECPR Joint Sessions, who provided much appreciated comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. The authors acknowledge the support of the publication fee by the CSIC Open Access Publication Support Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI). Shortcomings, of course, remain our responsibility.

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About Digital Storytelling
Example Stories
DS Software
Educational Materials

"The (digital storytelling) project confirmed my belief that everyone has a story about a place that is important to her or him, and that by using multimedia to develop and share those stories, we strengthen our understanding of our communities. "

-Tom Banaszewski

What is Digital Storytelling?

Educational Uses
The 7 Elements of Digital Storytelling
21st Century Skills
Web 2.0 Resources

Digital storytelling at its most basic core is the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories. There are a wealth of other terms used to describe this practice, such as digital documentaries, computer-based narratives, digital essays, electronic memoirs, interactive storytelling, etc.; but in general, they all revolve around the idea of combining the art of telling stories with a variety of multimedia, including graphics, audio, video, and Web publishing.

As with traditional storytelling, most digital stories focus on a specific topic and contain a particular point of view. However, as the name implies, digital stories usually contain some mixture of computer-based images, text, recorded audio narration, video clips, and/or music. Digital stories can vary in length, but most of the stories used in education typically last between 2 and 10 minutes. The topics used in digital storytelling range from personal tales to the recounting of historical events, from exploring life in one’s own community to the search for life in other corners of the universe, and literally, everything in between.

Despite its emphasis on computer technology, digital storytelling is not a new practice. One of the field’s most noted pioneers is Joe Lambert, the co-founder of the Center for Digital Storytelling ( CDS ), a nonprofit, community arts organization in Berkeley, California. The CDS has been assisting young people and adults in the creation and sharing of personal narratives through the combination of thoughtful writing and digital media tools since the early 1990's.

Another pioneer in the field, British photographer, author, and educator Daniel Meadows defined digital stories as “short, personal multimedia tales told from the heart.” The beauty of this form of digital expression, he maintained, is that these stories can be created by people everywhere, on any subject, and shared electronically all over the world. Meadows added that digital stories are “multimedia sonnets from the people” in which “photographs discover the talkies, and the stories told assemble in the ether as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, a gaggle of invisible histories which, when viewed together, tell the bigger story of our time, the story that defines who we are.” Researcher and digital culture consultant, John Seely Brown described digital storytelling this way: I’m particularly interested in Digital Storytelling, in new ways to use multiple media to tell stories and in the ability of kids, who are now growing up in a digital world, to figure out new ways to tell stories. They have the ability to build interpretive movies very simply and to lay sound tracks around the content. They condition or “sculpture” the context around the content. The serious interplay between context and content is key to what film—and rich media in general—are about.

Today the use of digital storytelling is being practiced in neighborhood community centers, schools, libraries and businesses, by novice technology users to those with advanced skills. In the field of education, teachers and their students, from early childhood classrooms through graduate school, are using digital storytelling in many different content areas and across a wide range of grade levels.

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COMMENTS

10 Digital Storytelling Examples (And Techniques to Try)
Most digital storytelling examples feature micro-interactions and other interactive elements. Interactions like clickable show/hide elements, hover effects, scroll-triggered animations, and other user-initiated actions let visitors explore at their own pace and even provide feedback. Interactivity is a brilliant way to immerse your audience in ...
Using Digital Storytelling in the Classroom
Step 4: Let Students Take the Lead. Remember, the point of digital storytelling is for students to share a narrative and demonstrate their creativity. While it may be tempting to place more constraints on them, try to keep the assignment as open-ended as possible to allow students' creativity to shine through.
The Changing Story: digital stories that participate in transforming
The text and the ideas around digital storytelling were very accessible. I look forward to including a digital storytelling assignment in my spring 2018 teacher preparation course. Reviewed by Norb Thomes, Learning Systems and Services Coordinator, Winona State University on 2/1/18
5 Digital Storytelling Assignments in the Classroom
1. Creative writing assignment. Individually or in pairs (if this is a first digital storytelling assignment, pairs is probably a better idea), students tell a particular type of creative story, per the assignment. Assignments can include telling a story about a personal experience that they have had and embellishing it so it is partially ...
Digital Storytelling: Benefits, Examples, Tools & Tips in 2024
Other Uses of Digital Storytelling. Digital storytelling has also proved to be useful in areas outside of schools. For instance, projects such as Silence Speaks have allowed for the expansion of digital storytelling into the sectors of public health and social services. Digital stories from the Silence Speaks initiative shed light on the structural causes of gender oppression, violence, and ...
An Exercise in Digital Storytelling
An Exercise in Digital Storytelling. Digital media can be a good way for students to explore interpretations of a literary work, and to tell their own story. To engage my 11th-grade English students during the 2020-21 school year, I created a digital storytelling unit. Whether they attended school in person or remotely, it was a success.
8 Steps to Great Digital Storytelling
Are personal. Begin with the story/script. Are concise. Use readily-available source materials. Include universal story elements. Involve collaboration at a variety of levels. In order to achieve this level of greatness, students need to work through a Digital Storytelling Process. 1. Start with an Idea.
Sample Curriculum
This short video by WeVideo is a good way to introduce students to the basic steps of planning a digital story.. Assignments Digital Storytelling Assignment Packet. Click here to download a .docx copy of a complete Digital Storytelling assignment packet by Dr. Dan Trudeau.This complete assignment packet includes an overview, formatting suggestions, ethical considerations, examples of topical ...
Digital Storytelling Ideas
Use Digital Storytelling to Build Powerful Literacy Skills. Use these examples of digital storytelling to build literacy and connect students more deeply to your classroom curriculum. Creative use of technology can engage students, and help you integrate your iPads, PCs, or Chromebooks into the curriculum. Whether you have Chromebooks, iPads ...
Powerful Tools for Teaching and Learning: Digital Storytelling
There are 5 modules in this course. Powerful Tools for Teaching and Learning: Digital Storytelling introduces educators to digital storytelling and explores ways to use digital stories to enhance students' learning experiences. The course is designed to be comprehensive yet fundamental. By comprehensive we mean that the course provides a ...
Digital Storytelling Ideas
Ideas for Digital Storytelling Across the Curriculum. Digital Storytelling is a great way to integrate technology and engage students in deeper thinking about the curriculum as well as help them become powerful communicators. The process of crafting the digital story builds communication, creativity, visual and sound literacy, and project ...
Digital Storytelling Examples
This gallery includes collection of digital storytelling examples from UMBC, including community-engaged projects and classroom applications. Skip to content. ... Fall 2020 semester, students from UMBC's MCS 495/695 and Hong Kong University's CAES2002 classes collaborated on a digital story assignment. The two classes shared…
How to Use Digital Storytelling in Your Classroom
One good way to do this is to have students pitch a one-paragraph description of their project and provide a production schedule. In essence, it's a work contract. 6. Consider yourself the executive producer. Work with your students as a partner learning about technology and storytelling, but don't forget that you call the shots.
Digital Storytelling in the Primary Classroom
The process of developing a digital story provides opportunities for students at all competency levels to develop and improve their writing craft. Many digital storytelling tools include a storyboard view of the pages in a project, helping students see how their writing is organized and providing an easy way to change the order events and ideas.
21 Top Examples of Digital Storytelling [Make Powerful Stories]
Another great example of digital storytelling is this video documentation of religion and culture by a group of students from the University of Kragujevac, Serbia. The effective use of videos and images drives the message home and engages the audience and forces them to listen to the message. 7. Brexit Storytelling.
Chapter One
The assignment that Mary and the other water seminar students created is one version of the digital storytelling assignments that educators are using for academic purposes. The term "digital story" has become a catch-all for projects ranging from a two-minute narrated PowerPoint to a 10-minute video documentary.
Digital Storytelling Lesson Plans
Visit Our Solar System. Students will learn about the planets as they create a sample travel journal that explains what it would be like to visit one of the planets. Creative Educator lessons provide high-level ideas for engaging students in the curriculum while building creativity, communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving.
TeachersFirst's Digital Storytelling Resources
Explored ideas to integrate digital storytelling across your curriculum. tag(s): twitterchatarchive (176), digital storytelling (300), In the Classroom Find resources and information about digital storytelling. ... participate in the five activities by completing each segment within 48 hours. The complete project takes place within a two-week ...
8 Genius Digital Storytelling Examples [Infographic]
Telling a Story: The Digital Marketer's Most Powerful Tool. 8 Best Examples of Digital Storytelling. Modelo World Cup Ad-Sacrifice. Kia's Robo Dog. The McDonald's Conundrum. Spotify and Harry Styles. Dove and the Reverse Selfie. Apple's 911. Bear 71.
Digital Storytelling Process
STEP 1: Brainstorm a timeline for your story. - The beginning, or introduction, should ask a question or state a thesis. - The middle will provide supporting evidence and research. - The end will provide a conclusion, and maybe a call to action. STEP 2: Outline the key 'scenes' of your digital story.
Examples, Tools, and Tips for Digital Storytelling
1. Evoke Emotion through Real Stories. One of the classic uses of storytelling in marketing is to appeal to the emotions of your audience and connect those feelings to your brand. You can write a story featuring fictional characters, or you can spotlight users or the employees of your company.
Digital Storytelling Project as a Way to Engage Students in Twenty
Moreover, the students in the alpha study considered the digital storytelling project as a resourceful output for preparing for the final exam. The video format also allowed students to craft the expression of their thoughts and ideas more carefully. The digital storytelling project was seen as less stressful than the face-to-face presentation.
Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling
However, as the name implies, digital stories usually contain some mixture of computer-based images, text, recorded audio narration, video clips, and/or music. Digital stories can vary in length, but most of the stories used in education typically last between 2 and 10 minutes. The topics used in digital storytelling range from personal tales ...
How I Used Gen AI to Create a Highly Engaging Assignment
A s educators, we're constantly thinking about how we can keep our students locked in to the learning with interesting and relevant assignments. But crafting really engaging ones—that also mimic the complex, real-world problems students will face as professionals—can be laborious. And while there are many resources and learning materials available online, they don't always address the ...

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10 Digital Storytelling Examples (And Techniques to Try)

What is Digital Storytelling?

Example Digital Storytelling Design Techniques

Scrollytelling

10 Digital Storytelling Examples to Inspire You

Hidden Heroes

Hearing Birdsong

Yuri Gargarin

Service Now

Nattog Oslo Bergen Sov

Create Your Own Digital Stories with Vev

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What is Digital Storytelling and How Can I Use It to Help My Students?

Step 3: Focus on Technology for Storytelling Purposes

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The Changing Story: digital stories that participate in transforming teaching & learning

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5 Digital Storytelling Assignments in the Classroom

1. Creative writing assignment

Suggested requirements:

2. Science assignment

Suggested requirements:

3. Math or Statistics assignment

4. History/anthropology/culture compare/contrast assignment

Suggested requirements:

5. Argument assignment

WHY Digital Storytelling?

8 Steps to Great Digital Stories

1. Start with an Idea

2. Research/Explore/Learn

3. Write/Script

4. Storyboard/Plan

5. Gather and Create Images, Audio and Video

6. Put It All Together

8. Reflection and Feedback

Beyond Traditional Assessment

Use Digital Storytelling to Build Powerful Literacy Skills

Interview with an Animal

Book Trailers

Visual Poetry

Personification Stories

Stories as Response to Literature

Movies to Inform

News Reports

Digital Biographies

Students are using Wixie to bring their words, their voice, and their art to the curriculum.

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Ideas for Digital Storytelling Across the Curriculum

Lesson Ideas

Find Inspiration at Creative Educator

Student Samples

Katie's Story

The Fox in the Moon

2 Against 27... That Was Villamor!

Virual Wax Museum - Queen Elizabeth

Working Hard for a Woman

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

Project Gallery

Digital Storytelling for Community Leaders course at UMBC – Winter 2024

Communications, Climate, Composting: a video project in Baltimore

Community Partner Digital Storytelling Workshop 2021

A Place Called Poppleton

Baltimore Green Space Podcasts

Cast Your Whole Vote

Global Voices in a Time of Pandemic

Shriver Peaceworker Program

In This Article

1. Partitions of India (From the BBC)

2. Faeries of Serbia

4. Gucci With Savoir Flair

5. Saiga Antelopes

6. Footsteps of My Ancestors

7. Brexit Storytelling

8. NBC News

9. The Path of Exile