Welcome! Here are just a few resources for incorporating digital storytelling techniques into your classes…
why digital storytelling?
- We all love stories – it’s a big part of what it means to be human
- Stories can be just as effective in communicating critical thinking and scholarly reading as a standard essay
- Stories create a unique space for listening
- Our world is increasingly one in which argument and persuasion happen in multimedia, rather than in words alone
- These kinds of projects can help your students (and you!) practice skills they already have while also asking them to move beyond their comfort zone
why a project menu?
- Give your students choice and agency in how to engage with course content
- Alleviate grading burnout for you (and even possibly embrace the idea of NOT grading these projects at all!)
Here’s a draft version of a project that I used with my Fall 2018 first-year students.
not sure where to start?
Want to incorporate digital storytelling projects in a course but not sure where to start? Check out this repository of tons of different assignments from UMW’s popular ds106 course for inspiration!
want to start small?
If you just want to dip your toe into the pool, try one of these smaller ideas for homework or in-class projects; although these are not content-specific, they offer low-stakes options for getting students engaged with digital storytelling.
- Photoblitzer: a 20-minute project that helps hone your story-finding skills
- 5 frame story: tell a story using only 5 photos
- The Daily Create: a mini storytelling project every day that should take just a few minutes to complete
- Also, search the web for various story generators – kind of like random, themed Mad Libs – as ways of getting started with digital storytelling (e.g. Fairy Tale Plot Generator 1, Fairy Tale Plot Generator 2, Fantasy Kingdom Generator)
want to see some sample projects?
You’re welcome to check out some experiments that I did at my DS workshop this summer! Check out my digital storytelling blog posts to see 4 projects that I created (photoblitz, designblitz, 5-minute soundscape, and challenge project) in just 2 days … with no previous experience whatsoever! Be warned, the challenge project is rather silly, but if you are a Jim Henson fan, it will probably make you smile…
