Digital Storytelling

Digital story telling improves the effectiveness of storytelling by incorporating valuable technical skills, high levels of student engagement, expanding the audience for student stories and enhancing critical thinking, expository writing and media literacy skills in students (Ohler, 2006). An example of it could implemented into a unit on bullying. Following is a small segment of a unit that (it has been made for year 7 students) has been designed around the Engagement Theory by Kearsley and Shneiderman (1998).

Have the principle present in the class (hook to the unit). Show learners a variety of recent media articles on the horrific, and inclining amount of bullying and fights in schools, with the most recent, the death of a year 9 boy in New South Wales. As bullying is a large problem at the school these learners are currently at, have the principle state that similar cases have been happening within their school and he is relying on them to help him prevent this behaviour. This specifically fits into the RELATE component of the Learning Engagement Theory.

Learners would then be divided into small groups of three (learning collaboratively), and given a scenario which they were to portray and deal with through a digital story whilst incorporating feeling and emotion in the audience, and putting across the important message intended (CREATE). In this they may use photos, music and text; however, they must keep it effective and engaging to the audience. These will be shown, one per week, on assembly as a means to stop bullying in the school. This fulfils the DONATE aspect of the Engagement Theory.



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Reference List

Kearsley, G., & Shneiderman, B. (1998). Engagement Theory:A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved September 1, 2009 from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm


Ohler, J. (2006). Educational Leadership. The World of Digital Storytelling, 63(4) 44-47. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development: Virginia.