Digital Storytelling is a new educational technology that uses old pedagogical ideas in that there is a lecturer/speaker and then there is the audience/viewer. The audience does not physically or verbally interact with the person telling the story; but the audience can interact with the video by playing, rewinding, and forwarding it. I also suppose the storyteller can add additional elements of asking quiz or reflective questions at the end of the story for interactive purposes. Still, the main voice comes from the speaker and the stories are often educational or seek to share some unique or interesting experience.

Digital storytelling is a good and necessary thing, especially for those who have archival materials with which they can use to create the video. People can transition old (or new) photographs into a story and even add music. In this day and age, this is helpful because it allows everyone to have a voice and to tell their own stories through their own narratives. People who would not otherwise have “a voice” now get to share their unique experiences through digital storytelling. With that alone, I see digital storytelling as a gained opportunity for anyone who wishes to share a story and for those who get the opportunity to listen.

Below is a very cute video that summarizes the art of digital storytelling. Enjoy!