Seven Elements of Digital Storytelling

Seven Elements of a Digital Story from the Center for Digital Storytelling:

1) A Point (of View) – Stories are not just a recitation of mere facts, there needs to be a story that is told. For this project, instructors are to tell a key story about what inspired them to teach in this discipline.

2) A Dramatic Question – Capture the audience’s attention at the beginning of the story and answer it by the end. For this project, the question will be how or why did I get here? Was there a pivotal point that led me to teaching in this discipline?

3) Emotional Content – Hold your audience’s attention. For this project, we will use images, music and the tone of your voice.

4) Gift of Your Voice – This adds a personal touch to the narration and helps relate your story to the audience. For this project, the instructors voice with be recorded to tell the story.

5) Power of the Music – Music sets the tone for the story. It can convey the time and emotional setting. For this project, the instructor will choose background music for the beginning and end of the story.

6) Economy – Create a compact, fast moving digital story containing only necessary elements of the story to lead the audience through the experience. Leave some details out for the audience to fill in the blanks. For this project, the story will be told in less than 3 minutes and contain only bits and pieces of an instructors journey to teaching in the discipline.

7) Pacing – This keeps your audience engaged in the story. For this project, we will be using Voice Thread, so the viewer will be the one in control of going to the next slide and making comments.

Step 4 - Create your Voice Thread Account

Go to Voice Thread and create a free account. You will be allowed 3 free projects with 10 GB of space. Before you start your project, select the Browse Tab and check out some of the Voice Thread projects. Next, go the Create Tab and follow the instructions on creating your first Voice Thread Project.

Here is the link: http://www.voicethread.com

Step 3 - Create a Storyboard

This is where you pull it altogether before you go to production. A storyboard template is a great tool for organizing your words and images. Just Google "storyboard template" for a variety of examples and downloads.

Chunk out your story script into small bits and match them to the images or artifacts you have collected.

Example of a storyboard:

	Hello, my name is Melody Buckner and I teach, therefore I am. Well… that is how I feel sometimes. Actually, I do live to teach, but where did my journey into to teaching begin?
	I could say that it started back in my childhood, because my mother was a teacher. However, I did not follow in her footsteps, because…well…I wanted to do something much more nobler…make money!

Step 2 - Collect images and artifacts

Photographs, letters, maps, items from your discipline are all things that can be used. You can use a digital camera for still photography or a flip cam for video. If making a video, keep it short and simple. Internet images can also be used, just be careful that you are using royalty free images. Images from the Internet are easy, but do not give the personal touch like a photo from you. When looking for music, it is important that you have permission. Create a folder with all of your images and music.

Here are some sites for photos:

· Stock.xchng - http://www.sxc.hu

· FreeFoto – http://www.freefoto.com

Here are two sites for royalty free music:

· http://www.freeplaymusic.com/

· http://www.jamendo.com/en/

Step 1 - Writing a Script

The script should be about 250 to 300 words or one page, double-spaced. Your narrative will be between three and five minutes. Consider your audience as you are creating your script. Before writing your story, it is a good idea to watch a few examples of digital stories.

The following examples are from the traditional digital storytelling ormat:

· Center for Digital Storytelling -http://www.storycenter.org/stories/

· Creative Narrations - http://www.creativenarrations.net/site/storybook/index.html

· Ohio State University -http://digitalstory.osu.edu/stories/community/

· University of Houston- http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/index.html

The next examples are from Voice Thread:

· Amiddle school teachers journey -http://voicethread.com/?#q+my+journey.b50574.i264754

· My short demo http://voicethread.com/?#u391831.b519097.i2768573

How can I create a Digital Story fast and cheap?

There are a couple of pathways to take when creating a digital story. For this project, I will be using a Web 2.0 tool called Voice Thread. This is a free tool that is easy to use and allows the reader to respond to the story. However, there is some prep work to do before we start creating a Voice Thread.

Why would an instructor want to create a Digital Story?

The main reason for creating a digital story is to relate a personal experience and make a connection to the reader. When instructors are teaching online there can be a personal connection lost between the instructor and the students. When instructors tell a story about their educational journey, they could make a personal connection to their students. This might also be an opportunity for the instructor to inspire students to further pursue the discipline.

What is Digital Storytelling?

Digital storytelling started at the Center for Digital Storytelling in Berkley, California. Digital storytelling is a way to tell a personal story. It can be used for a variety reasons including: self-discovery, reflection, community building, education, program documentation, advocacy or entertainment.

For my project, digital storytelling will be used as a vehicle for faculty to share with their students about the their journey into education. The story will be up load either to a webpage or into a course management system for student to view.