The document discusses using digital storytelling to increase literacy skills. Digital storytelling involves combining writing, photographs, audio, and video into short multimedia presentations. It was developed in the 1990s and engages students as active learners by capturing their interest. The document provides guidelines for creating digital stories, including considering point of view, including an emotional element, and using effective pacing. It also lists ways that digital storytelling can improve students' research, writing, and presentation abilities while stimulating engagement with course material.

1. Eric Ambrose
Teaching with Technology
June 16, 2008
Dr. S

2. Increasing literacy skills
Appealing to different learning styles and modalities
in the classroom.
Remaining active, engaging and stimulating is
important to the visual learner.
According to Dr. Wilhelm, “Looking from an
instructional standpoint, multimedia formats capture
children’s interest and are more easily understood,
allowing the learner to focus on higher-level processes
such as identifying problem-solving steps”(2005,
Wilhelm).

3. Increasing literacy skills
According to Dr. Wilhelm, “One strategy to increase
visual literacy is for teachers and students to use
digital cameras, which are becoming cheaper, easier to
use and more commonplace in K-12 schools” (2005,
Wilhelm).

4. The needs of the visual learner.
Color coding.
Videos.
Mental imagery.
Charts, maps, outlining, and filmstrips.
Graphic organizers and diagrams.
Digital Storytelling.

5. Who created Digital Storytelling?
Dana Atchley developed digital in storytelling in 1993.
This form of expression was refined by Joe Lambert in
the mid-1990’s and was promoted at the Center for
Digital Storytelling.
Other people who helped contribute to it were: Abbe
Don, Brenda Laurel, Bernajean Porter, and Pedro
Meyer.

6. Why was Digital Storytelling
increased?
Digital storytelling is a way in which people can
discuss their own stories in an emotional and visually
appealing form.
Technology helps people put together a story, thus
exposing those who have not experienced using this
technology.
Moving images and sounds to engage and audience
when telling a story.

7. What is Digital Storytelling?
A short two through four minute presentation.
It includes: writing, photographs, images, and a
musical soundtrack.
It is a form of modern expression in storytelling.
The final outcome of images and sound collectively
create the final product known as Digital Storytelling.

8. Where can a Digital Story get
recorded?
Digital stories can be recorded anywhere the
technology is present in one’s life.
Here is a list of sights where some recordings may be
available: Joggle, Image Loop, One True Media, Rock
You, Slide, Slide Flickr, Photo Show, Slideroll,
Dandelife, OurStory, Zude, and Comic Tools.

9. How are the elements in Digital
Story laid out (seven points)?
Point of view
A dramatic question
Emotional content
The gift of your voice
The power of your soundtrack
Economy
Pacing

10. When is Digital Storytelling used?
To motivate students.
To help students with their planning and
organizational skills.
To assist students in summarizing their thoughts and
how to effectively write.
To engage students with lessons that appear to be dry
or boring.

11. Increasing Literacy Skills
Using digital skills increases the active learner by:
engaging, enhancing, and understanding what they
are learning.
More students are visual learners than ever before.
According to Increasing Literacy Skills with Dr. Lance
Wilhem, “Looking from an instructional standpoint,
multimedia formats capture children’s interest and are
more easily understood, allowing the learner to focus
on higher-level processes such as identifying problem-
solving steps (2005, Wilhem).

12. Continued
By using this form of literacy they are increasing:
Digital Literacy
Global Literacy
Information Literacy
Visual Literacy
Technology Literacy
Literacy is usually thought of as simply reading and
writing when in actuality it is more than writing words
on a piece of paper with a pencil!

13. Increasing Literacy Skills with
Digital Story
Digital storytelling with pictures is an effective idea in
the following areas: research skills, writing skills,
organizational skills, technology skills, presentation
skills, organizational skills, interview skills, and
assessment skills.
Students are stimulated by sight, sound, and the
feeling of the project, instead of writing a story on
paper with a pencil.
Students are able to be authentic in their own learning
by personalizing with pictures, music, and the written
word.

14. Digital Storytelling
Here is a link to leads to Microsoft which tells
someone how to create a digital story:
http://www.microsoft.com/Education/MultimediaStory.
mspx
Here is an example of a digital story and here is the
link to that:
http://www.storycenter.org/momquicktime.html

15. Works Cited
Center for digital story telling. What is Digital Story telling? May 2008. June 14,
2008. http://www.storycenter.org/whatis.html.
Microsoft. Create a Multimedia Story Format. 7 July 2004. June 14, 2008.
http://www.microsoft.com/Education/MultimediaStory.mspx.
University of Massachusetts. Digital Story
Telling and increasing literacy skills. April 2008. June 14, 2008.
http://www.umass.edu/wmwp/DigitalStorytelling/What%20is%20Digit
al%20Storytelling.htm
Wilhelm, Lance. “Increasing Visual Literacy
Skills With Images. The Journal. February
2005. June 14, 2008.