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Digital Storytelling is used to convey a message.  It is an engaging way to present information - whether it is a marketing tactic, a teacher's opening hook to a lesson, a social media piece, or a method to give voice to a difficult subject.  In education, students can create and give voice to a subject or project close to their hearts, tell us what they know or believe, or inform us of something they feel is silly or meaningful.  As students get older, they can take their knowledge about storytelling to use in both their professional and personal lives. Digital storytelling is a way to enhance a variety of literacy skills including both digital literacy and traditional literacy.

This is a collection of articles, videos and websites about the powers of giving voice through Digital Storytelling.  I have also included links for tools available for educators of  Elementary classrooms and up.

Click here for my annotated bibliography:

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Annotated Bibliograpy - Padlet - Discovery Activity.pdf

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TED Talk: Everyone around you has a story the world needs to hear  

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TED Talk: Everyone around you has a story the world needs to hear  

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Dave Isay created Story Corps, an independent non-profit project whose mission is to collect and preserve stories across humanity to create a more compassionate world.

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Dave Isay: Everyone around you has a story the world needs to hear

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Dave Isay opened the first StoryCorps booth in New York's Grand Central Terminal in 2003 with the intention of creating a quiet place where a person could honor someone who mattered to them by listening to their story. Since then, StoryCorps has evolved into the single largest collection of human voices ever recorded.

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Digital Storytelling in the Elementary Classroom

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Digital Storytelling in the Elementary Classroom

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Short video told from the point of view of students from Oak Hill Elementary.

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Oregon Writing Project at University of Oregon

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Digital Storytelling in the Elementary Classroom

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Ken Burns in the Classroom | PBS LearningMedia

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Ken Burns and his collaborators have been creating historical documentary films for more than forty years. Known for a signature style that brings primary source documents, images, and archival video footage to life on screen, these films present the opportunity to pose thought-provoking questions for students, and introduce new ideas, perspectives, and primary sources.

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A sample Stop Motion video using Tsum Tsum toys to parody the Avengers Age of Ultron on the channel, "Doing as Dreamers Do".  A variety of Tsum shorts and stories "by emoji" are posted to YouTube by Disney as well.  Stories like these may be used to encourage kids to make their own Stop Motion animated videos.  Links to Stop Motion tools are also listed on this Padlet.

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Avengers: Age of Tsum Tsum ** A Tsum Tsum Stop Motion Short **

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Washington Post Article: The indispensable Ken Burns has a new initiative: A one-stop online resource for teachers 

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Washington Post Article: The indispensable Ken Burns has a new initiative: A one-stop online resource for teachers 

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Ken Burns, a pioneer in Digital storytelling, offers an online resource for educators through PBS Learning Media.

The indispensable Ken Burns has a new initiative: A one-stop online resource for teachers:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/11/19/indisensable-ken-burns-has-new-initiative-one-stop-online-teachers/

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The University of Houston has set up a site for students and educators to show how digital storytelling can be incorporated for educational purposes.

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About this Site

The Goals of this Website
The primary goal of the Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling website is to serve as a useful resource for educators and students who are interested in how digital storytelling can be integrated into a variety of educational activities. The site was originally created in 2004 and faculty members and graduate students in the Learning, Design and Technology Program at the University of Houston College of Education continue to maintain the site and add new content.

The EUODS Website in 2004

The EUODS Website in 2008

The Current EUODS Website

Our long term goal is to make the Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling website a comprehensive clearinghouse of information for both those just starting to use digital storytelling as well as for educators, graduate students and researchers who want to deeply explore the many facets of this educational technology tool.

Educational Fair Use
Although we stress to our students that they should try to create their own materials for use in their digital story projects, some of the digital stories contained on this site include still images, audio files and video clips that were found on the Internet using commonly available search engines, websites such as YouTube, as well as from television broadcasts, commercial VHS tapes and DVDs. We hope that these digital stories can serve as examples to educators of how the power of accessible multimedia can be used to engage students in today's K-12 and higher education classrooms and excite them about the possibility of creating their own digital stories.

Permission to Use Material from this Site
Permission is granted to all educators and students who wish to use or link to any material on the Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling Website, including text, images, digital stories and other resources, for personal, educational, and/or non-commercial purposes. Please note that if material is published in print or online, appropriate attribution to this site is required and should include the following information:

Robin, B. (2020). The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling Website
University of Houston College of Education
http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu

Contact Information
Questions or comments about this website or any materials found on the site should be emailed to Bernard Robin, Ph.D. at:brobin@uh.edu

News & Announcements

2016 Announcements

Conference Announcement

The II Sessions on Personal Digital Storytelling in Formal and Social Education, will take place on 28th and 29th of November, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain.

The conference will include conference sessions, roundtables and presentation of communications on creating personal digital stories (autobiographical narratives, life stories), with educational and expressive purposes, in formal educational contexts, or educational intervention in other areas such as social education, health services, social work, civic associations, to name a few.

The event is aimed at teachers and workers of different educational levels, trainers, master and Ph.D. students (especially those in areas such as Teachers' Training, Education, Social Education and Social Work), as well as researchers and professionals interested in the subject.

Conference Website: http://greav.ub.edu/jornadas/eng/

Abstracts submission: until July 15th, 2016
Notification non-acceptance of proposals: July 25th, 2016
Sending the final communication: until 30th October, 2016
Last day to register for the sessions: October 30th, 2016
Objectives of the sessions: http://greav.ub.edu/jornadas/eng/communications/

Digital Storytelling MOOC (Massive Open Online Course)

Powerful Tools for Teaching and Learning: Digital Storytelling is a free 5-week MOOC that introduces educators to digital storytelling and explores ways that educators might use this technology tool to enhance their students' learning experience. The MOOC will provide a solid foundation in the basic components of digital storytelling with tutorials, example stories and links to additional readings. The MOOC will also provide hands-on opportunities for learners to create their own digital stories.

The MOOC may be taken for free and the only requirements for participating are a PC or Mac desktop or laptop computer, an Internet connection and an interest in learning to use digital storytelling tools and techniques to support teaching and learning. This MOOC is intended for K-12 teachers in all disciplines, although it is open to anyone with an interest in digital storytelling. Course participants will use WeVideo, a free web-based video editing program to create a digital story that can be shared online.

Teachers in the state of Texas may be eligible to receive Continuing Education Units if they complete the major requirements of the course.

Powerful Tools for Teaching and Learning: Digital Storytelling is currently being offered on-demand so interested students may sign up for the course at any time.

For more information or to enroll in this MOOC, please go to:
https://www.coursera.org/course/digitalstorytelling

2015 Announcements

Wednesday, March 4, 2015, 9am-4pm
Thursday, March 5, 2015, 9am-noon
Campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette

The Humanities And Technology Camp is an open and inexpensive meeting where practitioners in the humanities and technologies collaborate in impromptu sessions to learn, build, and solve problems together. THATCamp is intended to open conversations on how scholars are using technology to work through problems and learn new skills. The first day will consist of sessions on how Humanists use digital technology in their work, while the second half-day will consist of workshops/training on specific tools and software.

For more information about THATCamp, contact Dr. Thomas Cauvin ( cauvin@louisiana.edu) or visit the conference website here.

Joe Lambert, founder of the Center for Digital Storytelling, will conduct a digital storytelling workshop at Texas A&M University from March 9 - 11, 2015. The workshop is open to the public, although registration is limited. for more information.

2014 Announcements

The Seventh International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling
Singapore, 3-6 November 2014
http://narrativeandplay.org/icids2014/index.html

ICIDS 2014 will take place in Singapore at the National University of Singapore, and marks the conference's first venture to Asia. The conference is hosted by the Department of Communications and New Media, National University of Singapore ( http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/cnm), in collaboration with the Keio-NUS CUTE Center ( http://cutecenter.nus.edu.sg).

Digital Storytelling MOOC (Massive Open Online Course)

Powerful Tools for Teaching and Learning: Digital Storytelling is a free 5-week MOOC that introduces educators to digital storytelling and explores ways that educators might use this technology tool to enhance their students' learning experience. The MOOC will provide a solid foundation in the basic components of digital storytelling with tutorials, example stories and links to additional readings. The MOOC will also provide hands-on opportunities for learners to create their own digital stories.

The MOOC is free and the only requirement for participating is a PC or Mac desktop or laptop computer, an Internet connection and an interest in learning to use digital storytelling tools and techniques to support teaching and learning across different grade levels and multiple content areas. This MOOC is intended for K-12 teachers in all disciplines, although it is open to anyone with an interest in digital storytelling. Course participants will use WeVideo, a free web-based video editing program to create a digital story that can be shared online.

Teachers in the state of Texas may be eligible to receive Continuing Education Units if they complete the major requirements of the course.

Powerful Tools for Teaching and Learning: Digital Storytelling is scheduled to begin on September 8, 2014 and end on October 12, 2014.

For more information or to enroll in this MOOC, please go to:
https://www.coursera.org/course/digitalstorytelling

Fulbright - National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship

The U.S. Department of State and the National Geographic Society are partnering to launch the inaugural Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship competition. This new component of the Fulbright Program will offer up to five awards to U.S. citizens. Over a nine month period, awardees will create multi-media stories on globally significant social or environmental topics including biodiversity, cities, climate change, cultures, energy, food, oceans, and water.

The Fulbright-National Geographic Fellowship provides a unique platform for U.S. Fulbright awardees to build awareness of transnational challenges, comparing and contrasting cross-border issues. Fellows will share their stories through National Geographic's platforms, using a variety of digital storytelling tools, including text, photography, video, audio, graphic illustrations, and/or social media.

The deadline for submission is February 28, 2014.

For more program information and to apply for the Fulbright-National Geographic Fellowship, visit
http://us.fulbrightonline.org/fulbright-nat-geo-fellowship

2013 Announcements

Storytelling: From Oral to Digital
Presented by Public Partnership & Outreach and the College of Education, Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture, Texas A&M University

Through narrative, we learn from experience by reflecting upon experience, declaring what it means, and distilling it into a symbolic form to be expressed and remembered. Digital storytelling integrates oral storytelling with technology. Constructing a digital story requires individuals to organize information, write and utilize technology, but most importantly authors must reflect on experience (Barrett, 2005).

Unlike oral stories that are subject to varying interpretations, digital stories are permanent artifacts capturing a specific moment in time; one telling of an experience that stands as an object for personal reflection and evaluation (Lathem, Reyes, & Qi, 2006).

Workshop Presenters:
Dr. Lynne M. Walters
Dr. Martha R. Green

Date: Wednesday, July 24 & Thursday, July 25, 2013
Time: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Location: General Services Complex
Fee: $125.00: Includes curriculum materials & lunch both days
CPE/GT/ESL Credit: 14 hours
Register online: https://secure.touchnet.com/C21490_ustores/web/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTID=3273

For additional information, contact Dr. Martha Green at mgreen@tamu.edu or 979-862-6700.
Workshop flyer available at: http://worldroom.tamu.edu

Workshop focus:
This workshop will engage participants in the development of a digital story, provide theoretical support for the use of digital storytelling in education and qualitative research, and demonstrate pedagogical approaches for using digital storytelling in the writing and social studies classroom.
Topics include:
* Designing a Digital Story using Audacity & Windows Moviemaker 2.6
* Theoretical and research-based support for Digital Storytelling
* Using Digital Storytelling to teach the narrative writing process and increase voice
* Digital Storytelling as a Qualitative Research Methodology
* Qualitative interview methods
* Digital/visual literacy: using authentic images in storytelling
* Copyright issues in digital video production

Martha R. Green, Ph.D. is a program coordinator for Public Partnership & Outreach, Office of the Provost and Confucius Institute, Texas A&M University, and a lecturer in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture. She conducts workshops, does research, and teaches about digital storytelling and documentary development as tools for critical thinking, reflection and transformative learning.

Lynne Masel Walters, Ph.D. is an associate professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture, Texas A&M University. From 2011-2013, she was a visiting associate professor, Universiti Utara Malaysia. With a doctorate in mass communication from the University of Wisconsin, her research and teaching focuses on media, technology and culture.

Welcome to the 2013 version of the Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling website. This new version has been in development for many months and although it is still a work in progress, I hope that you will find lots of interesting material on the site related to the use of digital storytelling in educational settings. The site is aimed at those just starting to explore this technology as well as long-time users as well as educators and students who are interested in exploring articles and research studies that deal with digital storytelling.

I would like to especially thank several of my colleagues who have helped make this website possible:

Arthur Beltran, who is the chief designer of the website; Rashmi Chhetri, who has cataloged all of the digital stories on the site and made them ready for web delivery; Sara McNeil, who has provided academic, professional and technical support for the website and all of our digital storytelling efforts at the University of Houston; Michael Rapp, who makes sure that the website is accessible 365 days a year;
and all of my current and former digital storytelling students who have contributed much of the content on the website.

And for those visitors who may want to access content from the previous version of the EUODS website, it is still available at: http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/archive

If you have any questions or comments about the website, or would like to suggest that additional information be added to the site, please contact me at: brobin@uh.edu

Thanks and happy digital storytelling!

Bernard Robin, PhD
Learning, Design and Technology Program
University of Houston College of Education
Houston, TX, USA

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Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling

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The Goals of this Website The primary goal of the Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling website is to serve as a useful resource for educators and students who are interested in how digital storytelling can be integrated into a variety of educational activities.

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Stories from people of all backgrounds and beliefs

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An organization in California founded in the 1990's that specializes in helping other people and organizations give voice to their stories.  Establisted by pioneers in Digital Stortelling, including the late Dana Atchley and Joe Lambert. Storycenter has a number of ongoing social projects including Silence Speaks, Nurstory, Staying Positive and California Listens.  In addition to their ongoing story projects they offer a number of workshops online - including a free workshop for educators.

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Whether you are an educational technologist, a K12 classroom teacher, an educator working in language arts and humanities, the social sciences, the natural sciences, or in community education for youth and adults, or someone who plays an educational role for your organization or institution, digital storytelling can be an incredibly powerful way to foster creativity, engage community, transform perspectives, and encourage reflect upon learning and life processes.

In this one hour overview, we will look at the range of applications for digital storytelling in education and briefly share stories from some of our hundreds of implementations in K12 and higher education settings.

Upcoming Dates

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Digital Storytelling for Educators - STORYCENTER

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Whether you are an educational technologist, an educator working in language arts and humanities, the social sciences, natural sciences, or community education for youth and adults, or someone who plays an educational role for your organization or institution, digital storytelling is an incredibly p

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Knowldge Quest Article (AASL): What is Old is New Again

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Knowldge Quest Article (AASL): What is Old is New Again

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One of my favorite topics in library school involved storytelling. It was well before the advent of PowerPoint or digital storytelling and actually involved memorizing and telling stories to a live audience. I remember performing for my peers the classic Casey at the Bat, sharing the rhythmic Possum Come A-Knocking, and acting out a Jack Tale costumed in faded overalls, an old straw hat, and chewing on a piece of straw. Inwardly, I could picture myself one day captivating students in my school library with my storytelling repertoire.

As far back as I can remember, I loved stories. I liked the ones that were read to me but more than anything I loved being baited, carried along, reeled in, and then gently released by a skilled storyteller. More often than not, the best storyteller was someone I could relate to; someone who may have talked like me, perhaps sounded like me, and described experiences that were often familiar to me.

As a student of American history, I was most compelled by the stories of unpretentious, unassuming, everyday people who, in diaries and letters, documented their stories of adversity and hardship against incredibly challenging backdrops of war, famine, poverty, or disease.

With technology, the prominence and art of storytelling from my library school days went the way of card catalogs, floppy disks and dot matrix printers. And, really, I thought, as I incorporated less and less storytelling with my classes, and in my urgency to demonstrate accountability, how would I measure or provide quantitative evidence of success through lessons involving storytelling? (That's for another post.) I already had an assistant principal who had informed me that essentially all my daily efforts to produce a student-run morning news program were superfluous. I could only imagine what he might think about my value to students if he were to observe me "only" storytelling?

Nonetheless, thinking back on my teaching, I still naturally, usually unconsciously, incorporated storytelling techniques into my work with students. Second and third graders told their stories through the exciting new medium of PowerPoint. Kindergarteners used collages to share author stories with their classmates. Fourth graders dressed as and recorded stories of themselves as historical figures. Fifth graders told news and human interest stories on our morning news program. And I continued to tell stories to my students through booktalks, through introductions to folklore and fairytales, and through any and every reader advisory occasion. Although not realizing that what I was doing at the time would today be considered storytelling, I also told my stories at professional development sessions and conferences about integrating technology, about planning and co-teaching, and especially about the success of flexible access in an elementary school library.

Today, I find it absolutely fascinating that storytelling is being promoted not for literacy or cultural value but rather as a hot topic, success strategy for sales and marketing. Books, webinars, YouTube videos, and leadership gurus by the dozen now pitch storytelling to the business world as an exciting, revolutionary new marketing strategy. "Story is the new marketing," says author Jeff Goins (2015), while Bruna Martinuzzi (2014), a leadership and presentation trainer, calls storytelling, "One of the most powerful tools in your business communication toolkit..." She refers to Get Storied, a storytelling training company that was started by Michael Margolis because he considered story as the reason people 'buy your message, or buy your product, or even hire you to do a job.' Annette Simmons (2006), author of Story Factor: Inspiration, Influence, and Persuasion Through the Art of Storytelling, says storytelling is the oldest "tool of influence in human history" (p. xix) and asserts that great leaders have always understood how to use storytelling to drive, manipulate, or influence others.

When Simmons (2006) describes the connection between the listener and her story - I know what she means. I have seen students so enthralled by a story they forget briefly where they are. At conferences, I have seen the understanding nods from people in the audience and the way certain people look when they totally buy into what I am saying. I am conscious of their "ah ha" moments, and, like Simmons, I know at that point I have made a connection with my story. For all my love of storytelling (the old fashioned kind), however, it had never occurred to me to use my storytelling skills to market my library. I was forgetting to tell the most important story of all.

Telling our stories could be huge for school librarians! Jean Donham (2013) believes that school librarians can best lead through influence. As school librarians, we are already familiar with storytelling, but probably not as it is now being promoted in business as a leadership tool, as a way to influence others, and as a way to make connections with people you want to work with. For school librarians, quite simply, storytelling could be a powerful, new advocacy tool to use with our teachers, our principals, and our community.

One of the repeat questions I have fielded across my career as a school librarian is, "What exactly do you do?" Maybe if I were to frame my answer as a story, I might finally be able to help others understand and, more importantly, connect with me. Simmons (2006) writes, "A good story simplifies our world into something that we feel like we can understand" (p. 30). Perhaps this is the place to start our advocacy using storytelling - by telling the simple story of who we are and what we can do to support students and teachers.

--

Donham, J. (2013). Enhancing teaching and learning: A leadership guide for school librarians. Chicago: Neal-Shulman.

Goins, J. ( 2015). 3 Reasons why you must become an expert at telling your own story [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://goinswriter.com/tell-your-story/

Martinuzzi, B. (2014, Aug. 7). 11 Powerful ways to tell your story [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/11-powerful-ways-to-tell-your-story/

Simmons, A. (2006). Story factor: Inspiration, influence, and persuasion through the art of storytelling. NY: Basic Books.

Categories: Blog Topics, Student Engagement/ Teaching Models

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Storytelling: What is Old is New Again | Knowledge Quest

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One of my favorite topics in library school involved storytelling. It was well before the advent of PowerPoint or digital storytelling and actually involved memorizing and telling stories to a live audience. I remember performing for my peers the classic... Read More ›

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Websites and Apps for Making Videos & Animation

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Websites and Apps for Making Videos and Animation | Common Sense Education

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Put students in the spotlight with these great video and animation creation apps. Explore this Websites and Apps for Making Videos and Animation Top Picks list of 32 tools curated by Common Sense Education editors to find relevant and engaging edtech solutions for your classroom.

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Animation & Drawing by Do Ink is the fun, creative way to make animations on your iPad. The app was designed to be easy for beginners and young animators, but with powerful tools for creating advanced animations. Use the drawing editor to create vector artwork and frame-by-frame (flip book) animations. Use the composition editor to combine your artwork - along with props from the Do Ink prop library - into more complex and sophisticated scenes. Save to the camera roll, then share your creations with friends, classmates, or the world!

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Do Ink provides Creativity Apps -Green Screen by Do Ink and Animation and Drawing by Do Ink for students to show what they know in education.

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Write & Code Interactive Stories for Free

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Elementari is an online platform to write, code, and share interactive stories using professional illustrations and sounds. Get started for free.

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Voki | Speaking Characters For Education

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Stop Motion Studio - Let's Make a Movie.

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Want to create movies like Wallace and Gromit or those groovy Lego shorts on YouTube? Stop Motion Studio helps you to create terrific stop action movies with a whole host of unique features. Like the frame-by-frame editor, the never get lost timeline and the sound editor.

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Free creative tools for everyone. Including the world famous Brush Ninja animated gif maker. Use for free on your web browser on any device.

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Free Storyboarding Software — Online Storyboard Creator

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Storyboard That: Easy online storyboard creation! Perfect for filmmakers, teachers, and students. Create storyboards and comics with Storyboard That today!