Digital Storytelling

Google Images, 2011

Traditional storytelling has been in existence for centuries. They can be told in a variety of formats including myths, legends of all kinds, fairy tales, fables, ghost tales, hero stories, and epic adventures. These stories were told, and retold. Passed down from generations, these stories reflect the knowledge and wisdom of early people. Effective storytelling connects the teller and listener through empathy and emotion; a well told story draws the listener in and keeps them interested until the end. Children and adults love stories. There is just something special about a compelling story you cannot forget; it can inspire you to help others or change your life.  

Google Images, 2011

What is digital storytelling?  It is defined as a short form of digital film making that allows anyone to tell their life story, recount historical events, highlight an event or anything in between.  Digital storytelling is a relatively new term which describes the modern practices by which people tell their life story, usually combining photographs, video, animation, sound, music, text, and often a narrative voice. These multimedia short films are typically 2-3 minutes and can be shared over the internet in a variety of ways such as YouTube, Podcasts, Blogs, and other digital distribution formats.  Digital storytelling allows the individual to quickly convey a message that can be informative, thought provoking, entertaining and interesting. Digital storytelling can give a voice to a struggling reader or writer; it places the technology in the hands of the learner giving them control of the objectives.

Google Images, 2011

Digital Storytelling and the Media Center

Digital storytelling allows the community and the media center to interact externally and internally, connecting people and building relationships. What do users know that others might wish to learn? What do users care about? What and who is in the library? These questions and more can be answered through digital stories; they can explore communities, enhance the social environment in libraries and introduce collections to users, donors and curators. Digital stories can give users a look inside the media center from a distance, introducing them to the resources and services the media center has to offer. Library digital stories may not be the remedy for every challenge facing libraries and media centers but they can become another piece in the fabric of forging new technologies to develop new relationships, new services and new roles for libraries and media centers in the community (Courtney, 2007).

Seven Elements to Digital Storytelling       
 Use these elements as a starting point for creating a digital story. 

1. Point of View- What is the point of the story?  What is the author’s perspective?
2. A Dramatic Question - Ask a key question to keep viewers interested. Will the question be answered at the end of the story?
3. Emotional Content - Serious issues that come alive in a personal and powerful way and connects the story to the audience.
4. The Gift of Your Voice –Adding narration   is a way to personalize the story to help the audience understand the context.
5. The Power of the Soundtrack- Add music or other sounds that support and embellish the storyline.
6. Economy- Using just enough content to tell the story without overloading the viewer.
7. Pacing- Consider the rhythm of the story and how slowly or quickly it progresses.  (Center for Digital Storytelling, 2011) 

   Effective digital story planning

Creating a digital story can be time consuming and daunting therefore, careful planning is key when producing a short film.  According to the International Society for Technology in Education the following sequence of steps can help you effectively plan and produce a great story. 
1. Write an initial script
2. Plan an accompanying storyboard
3. Discuss and revise the script before hand
4. Sequence the images in a video editor such as, iMovie, Illustrator, and Movie Maker
5. Add the narrative track/voice over
6. Add transitions and special effects
7. Add music/soundtrack
Resources
Follow the links below to explore digital resources such as information, images, music and more to help you create your own digital story.
http://www.storycenter.org/cookbook.pdf
http://creativecommons.org                                                                                                                                              http://www.animoto.com
http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/7elements.html
REFERENCES
Bull, G., & Kajder, S. (2004, November). Digital Storytelling. Retrieved November 16, 2011, from International Society for Technology in Education website: http://www.digitalstoryteller.org/docs/DigitalStorytelling.pdf  
Courtney, N. (Ed.). (2007). Library 2.0 and Beyond. Westport , CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Digital Storytelling. (2011, November 12). Retrieved November 15, 2011, from Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_storytelling
 
Seven Elements of Digital Storytelling. (2011, January). Retrieved November 16, 2011, from University of Houston website: http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/7elements.html