The Beauty of Digital Storytelling

I initially had reservations about digital storytelling because I felt that students may be taken away from the act of writing. Yet, after watching examples of digital storytelling, I have come to the understanding that that is not the case at all. In order for students to successfully execute their digital storytelling, they need to have an organizational framework in mind, such as what they are going to say and how will it appropriately correspond to their visuals and music. There is a lot of planning needed and what I love most of all, there is so much room for creativity!!! I believe that assigning students to work in partners or groups can even be more enriching for students throughout the process.

I am now completely fascinated about the educational uses of digital storytelling. The fact that students can incorporate their own creativity, using images, audio and video is simply remarkable. It is a step above writing a story and one that I am sure that most students will be engaged in. This is something that I hope to incorporate in my classroom, as the benefits are endless; fosters collaboration, student engagement, incorporates various learning styles and forms of expression, organization, presentation, personal ownership and accomplish…the list can go on and on!

The one thing that I do worry about is the amount of time it will take for students to complete their digital storytelling. Practically speaking, I see this being my primary challenge. As for a specific time frame, how long should something like this take to complete?