1. The Educational Uses of
Digital Storytelling
Bernard Robin
College of Education
University of Houston

2. What is Digital Storytelling?
• Combining the art of telling stories with
some mixture of digital graphics, text,
recorded audio narration, video and music
to present information on a specific topic.
• Revolve around a theme and often contain
a particular viewpoint; stories are typically
just a few minutes long.

3. Types of Digital Stories -1
• Personal Narratives as described by the CDS:
• Character Stories – explore how we love, who we are inspired by, and the importance of finding meaning
in our relationships.
• Memorial Stories – deal with memories of people who are no longer with us. These stories are often
difficult but are emotionally powerful and can help with the grieving process.
• Stories about Events in Our Lives
• Adventure Stories – revolve around places we visit and adventures we have in our travels.
• Accomplishment Stories – deal with achieving goals and understanding defining moments in our lives.
• Stories about Places in Our Lives – examine the important places in our lives: our homes, our towns,
and our experiences that connect us to our communities.
• Stories about What We Do – allow us to talk about our jobs, professions and careers in terms of how we
value and find meaning in the work we do.
• Other Personal Stories
• Recovery Stories – deal with how we overcome great obstacles and challenges in our lives.
• Love Stories – provide us with an opportunity to share some of the most meaningful parts of our lives with the people
we most cherish.
• Discovery Stories – let us reflect on what we have learned and illustrate our journeys of discovery.

4. Tools We Use
• Photo Story 3 (Free from Microsoft)
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx
• System Requirements (Requires Windows XP & Windows
Media Player 10)
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/sysreqs.mspx
• Stories Can Be Converted with Premiere
Elements for Playback on Apple Computers
or Older Versions of Windows

5. Types of Digital Stories -1
• Examples of Personal Narratives
• Almost Paradise
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/almostparadise.htm
• The Computer and I
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/computer-I.htm
• Fleeing Hurricane Rita
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/rita.htm
• Coming to Houston
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/comingtohouston.htm
• My Mama
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/mymama.htm

6. Types of Digital Stories -2
• Examination of Historical Themes and Events
• Based on Material Students Explore
• Facilitates Research and Organizational Skills
• Needs to Go Beyond the Digitized “MTV Video” or
the “Encyclopedia Entry”*
* Digital Storytelling: Moving from Promise to Practice
Mark Hofer, College of William & Mary, USA; Kathleen Owings Swan,
University of Kentucky, USA - 4:00pm Wednesday, Universal E1

7. Types of Digital Stories -2
• Examples of Historical Digital Stories
• The Gettysburg Address
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/stories/gettysburg-with-intro-final.wmv
• Race to the Moon
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/civilization.htm
• The Holocaust
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/holocaust.htm
• Hiroshima
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/hiroshima.htm

8. Types of Digital Stories -3
• Stories that Inform or Instruct
• Can be Argued that All Digital Stories Inform
(or Instruct)
• But the Distinction is that Digital Stories Can
Be Created that Deliver Instructional Content
on Many Different Topics, Including: Math,
Science, Language Arts, Medicine, etc.

9. Types of Digital Stories -3
• Examples of Stories that Inform or Instruct
• Geometry: Art & Architecture - Using the van Hiele Levels
of Geometric Understanding to Improve Student Achievement
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/geo-story.htm
• Pinhole Cameras
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/pinhole.htm
• Aging Well
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/agingwell.htm

10. An Effective Tool for Teachers
• Stories Created by Teachers Can
Serve:
• As a Lesson Hook
• As a Way to Integrate Multimedia into
the Curriculum
• As a Way to Make Difficult Content
More Understandable
• To Facilitate Classroom Discussion

11. An Effective Learning Tool
for Students
• Research Skills
• Writing Skills
• Organization Skills
• Technology Skills
• Presentation Skills
• Interview Skills
• Interpersonal Skills
• Problem-Solving Skills
• Assessment Skills

12. Student Literacy
• Digital Literacy
• Global Literacy
• Technology Literacy
• Visual Literacy
• Information Literacy

13. Challenges to Students Creating
Digital Stories
• Trouble Formulating a Sound Argument
• Less Interest in the Storytelling
• Access to Technology Hardware and
Software
• Limited Ability to Save from the Internet
• Time Consuming
• Copyright and Intellectual Property Issues

14. Research on the Impact of
Digital Storytelling
Educators who ARE Using DS:
• How are you using Digital Storytelling?
• Are you creating digital stories to show to your
students?
• Are you teaching your students to create their own
digital stories?
• If students are using Digital Storytelling, what are the
outcomes? Have you demonstrated Digital Storytelling
to others? If so, to other teachers? Who else?
• Do you feel that Digital Storytelling has changed your
teaching practice?

15. Research on the Impact of
Digital Storytelling
Educators who ARE NOT Using DS:
• Why are you not using Digital Storytelling? What are the
obstacles?
• Do you have questions about how to use Digital Storytelling
in your instruction?
• Are you experiencing technical problems? If so, what
problems are you having?
• Are you interested in additional Digital Storytelling training
sessions?
• Are there other issues that are preventing you from using
Digital Storytelling in your instruction?
• Are you planning to use Digital Storytelling in the future?

16. More Research on Digital Storytelling
Helen Barrett's Research Design:
• How do digital stories provide evidence of deep learning?
• Under what conditions can digital stories be used to support
assessment for learning?
• Under what conditions do students take ownership of their
digital stories?
• What are the benefits of developing digital stories as perceived
by students, teachers, administrators, and/or parents?
• What are perceived obstacles to implementing digital storytelling
with P-12 students and how can they be overcome?
• How does the quality of paper-based reflection differ from digital
stories?

17. University of Houston’s
Educational Uses of
Digital Storytelling Website
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling