This document provides guidance for beginners on creating digital stories. It recommends including elements like a point of view, dramatic question, or emotional content. Stories should be a suitable length and may include sound, music, or voice. First person should be used to make it more personal. Example dramatic questions and emotional content are given. Themes rather than just topics are suggested like learning experiences or connections between lives. Poems or quotes can also be incorporated into the digital story.

1. Digital Storytelling For Beginners

2. Choose Photos That Tell a Story

3. Choose Photos That Tell a Story

4. Elements of an interesting digital story: A point of view – “Wow; I didn’t know that it was so difficult to grow rice!” A dramatic question – “Who lived here?” Emotional content – “It made me so happy to see the children at the pre-school when they saw us coming up the path.” Not too long or too short Sound. Music, voice, sound effects.

5. Use the first person in your stories. I’ve never seen sunflowers growing in a field before.

6. Dramatic Question: How would I survive without my parents for three days? What do the symbols in Phi Mai mean and who put them there? Where does the food that we eat come from? What did I learn from farmers and villagers?

7. Emotional Content Connect to your audience. Make them laugh. Make them cry.

8. Topics Ideas Everyday life Transportation Food Leisure Activities Crafts Culture History Compare and Contrast Explain how Something Works Explain the History of Something Ask Questions Persuade Your Audience

9. Themes instead of Topics What I learned How my thinking changed Connections between my life and the lives of the people I visited Taking risks and trying new things Reaching Out to Another Growing Up or Changing as a Person Unexpected Outcomes

10. How about a poem? You can read or write a poem for parts of your digital story Two roads diverged in a wood and I I took the one less travelled by And that has made all the difference

11. Use Quotes to Begin or End your Story “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Ben Franklin