I think that at this point there’s no denying the important role digital storytelling can play in a classroom. Teachers react positively too it but there remain as many barriers between teachers and the ability to implement digital storytelling in their classrooms as there might be between digital storytelling and ELLs.  “In a study to investigate the implementation of DST in the classroom after a training workshop, Dogan (2007) discovered that the teachers generally had positive reactions towards DST. However, disappointingly, almost half of the teachers did not actually use DST in their classrooms attributing that to several barriers: unconducive school environment, lack of access to technology and necessary software, and incompatibility of the computers’ operating system. Despite the low rate of implementation among these teachers, those who used it and even those who failed to use it were willing to consider using it in the future” (Thang et al., 2014, p. 313). I think moving forward, it is necessary for educators and administrators to work together in order to ensure that teachers have the opportunity for professional development and then the support needed to actually be able to employ that professional development in the classroom. This means creating infrastructure and funding in a world that seems to be cutting both rapidly for educators. As with all things, the question posed to educators is what do our students need and how can we ensure we’re able to provide that to our students in a capacity that actually allows them to learn and grow. 

-Ana

Thang, S. M., Lin, L. K., Mahmud, N., Ismail, K., & Zabidi, N. A. (2014). Technology Integration in the Form of Digital Storytelling: Mapping the Concerns of Four Malaysian ESL Instructors. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 27(4), 311-329.

Vinogradova, P., Linville, H. A., & Bickel, B. (2011). "Listen to My Story and You Will Know Me": Digital Stories as Student-Centered Collaborative Projects. TESOL Journal, 2(2), 173-202.