Monday, October 17, 2011

Use of Digital Storytelling

I think the concept of digital storytelling is an amazing way to grasp a student’s attention. Clearly, children today are more fascinated than ever with technology, which is why using digital storytelling will keep their attention focused. As stated in the article, The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling, by Bernard R. Robin, digital storytelling combines typical story telling with different digital pieces, including pictures, audio and video. They “revolve around a chosen theme” and “are typically just a few minutes long”. As I have stated, the use of technology, I believe, will grab the child’s attention to begin with but also the short clips used in digital storytelling will keep the reader interested and focused.

Before this week’s reading, I had never put much thought into digital storytelling. Bernard R. Robin mentioned how it can be used for personal stories, historical documentaries as well as lessons to inform the reader. The short clip we watched last time in class is a great example of digital storytelling, which was an animated video to explain the smart ways to use the Internet for children. While it may seem short and easy to adults, a lot of thought and effort goes into digital storytelling and illustrates it in a clear way so the reader easily understands.

The article, Young Children and Computers, also presents interesting and useful ways to share digital stories. It states, “having children’s stories available and shared in a variety of formats can have a positive impact on children’s concept of themselves as authors and artists. As the stories receive attention from other children, teachers and families, children’s enthusiasm and skills will grow- simple one-line explanations will evolve into more descriptive stories. Hearing other children’s stories can also provide a window into understanding the thoughts and feelings of others”. Clearly, if a child shares a story digitally, other people can provide input for their ideas to grow and they can expand on their story. Not only will they be able to expand on their story, they gain more support and help from others by being able to do this online. Also, many children might be hesitant to share their ideas with others because they might think that other people will not understand what they are going through or simply because they are shy. By being able to digitally share your stories, children will be able to see what other children are going through and relate to them as well as help them branch out of their shell by getting positive feedback from others around them.

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