Digital Storytelling: A Modern Approach to Storytelling

This report discusses the project summary of the video proposed on digital storytelling, which is a means of combining the new world of digitized photography, videos, and art with the ancient world of narrating stories. It also covers literature review, critique, discussion, target group, tools, story methodology, and concepts in digital storytelling.

Running Head: DIGITAL STORYTELLING 1
Digital Storytelling
Student’s name
Institution’s name
Date

DIGITAL STORYTELLING 2
Introduction
Storytelling has a vibrant tradition aimed at passage of meaning. It has been used for ages
to share, communicate, and interpret experiences. Like any other aspect of humanity, storytelling
has tremendously grown and extended to acquire a dynamic, modern presence across its
functions and settings while still holding its original purpose. Stories have been used for years as
a useful educational tool (Robin, 2008). Digital storytelling adopts modern technology to
develop a story that is appealing to the viewer and educative at the same time. The emerging
technologies help in availing stories on screens.
The digital storytelling can, therefore, be defined as a means of combining the new world
of digitized photography, videos, and art with the ancient world of narrating stories. Digital
storytelling makes stories more practical, lively, and easy to understand and remember. Hence its
integration in the old-fashioned way of storytelling makes the whole process very practical and
relevant to the generation of today as the project shall seek to reveal. This report will discuss the
project summary of the video proposed.
Literature Review
According to (Fields, A. M., 2008), technology has become an essential part of the way
people communicate with others and also express themselves in our world today. Many studies
have revealed a paradigm shift in storytelling, which has happened as a result of technology.
According to (O’Byrne, 2018), digital storytelling can be used by educators to support the
students’ learning through encouraging them to arrange and express their knowledge and ideas in

DIGITAL STORYTELLING 3
a personal and meaningful manner while developing facility and voice in a child. This is an
attribute written stories do not possess.
Boase, (2008) argues that digital storytelling is fundamentally the application of
technology to the old way of sharing individual narratives as well as seeking to teach as well as
learn from them. He adds that availability of tools to develop, enhance, store as well as publish
stories in modern ways make the digital stories potentially powerful. Use of digital storytelling
according to (Boase, 2008) could support a shift from the ancient over-reliance on the written
text as the primary teaching and learning method. This can help the students who face literacy
challenges to take advantage of the shifted persistence away from the printed text. Lies
Brice, (2009) state that in every story lays a powerful force to shape mental models
needed to convince and motivate other people as well as to teach life lessons. Digital storytelling
helps in bringing out the realism of the storyteller’s subject. It allows viewers to analyze and
understand the story critically. The viewer can also read clearly and accurately the context of the
story facilitated by the emotional richness of a digital story Lundby, (2008). Unlike traditional
storytelling, digital storytelling fills the heads of the viewers with interactive emotional rhetoric
which paves the way for a convincing reason to think and act differently.
According to Boase, (2008) Storytelling has been digitalized technologically to
incorporate graphics which represents physical storytellers who passed the content in the
presence of the targeted audience. Incorporation targets minimizing human errors through
editing, proper analysis, and delivery of the whole content. Through the digital tool, a flashback
is enhanced in storytelling where an earlier situation was presented to the viewers. This tool
enhances believability and keeps track of the main idea.

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Critique
Storytelling should include a discussion of the main themes, and traditional media uses
the first page to give an overview of the main aspects. Giving an overview in the introduction is
essential to the audience through enhanced analysis while interacting with the content. The
central theme may be overridden by the minor ideas, and it requires critical analysis to unveil
them. In this case, the parents are the targeted audience, and simplification of content is
paramount. The level of simplification depends on the audience and should be organized
appropriately from the main ideas.
Digital storytelling, like the video provided, should incorporate traditional aspect like
writing. Writings are used to provide some information that would be difficult to compliment, for
example, names of participants and unique objects. The videos target people involved in
parenting from any part through contextualizing the message with those living in the coastal
area. The audio incorporated in storytelling uses words that are difficult to comprehend, and it
should have used this tool for common understanding.
The voice used in the storytelling should have been edited for better projections. Some
words are lost, and it distracts from getting the main objectives leading to lesser concentration
and may end up losing the audience’s attention. In this case, all words used should be adequately
projected to minimize negativity
Discussion
The video took a narrative approach to conveying a story with the help of digital tools.
These aid video viewers’ attitudes towards writing change with the implementation of digital
storytelling

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Digital Storytelling Concepts and Criteria
A story was complete, straightforward, detailed, and with an engaging description for it
to fully meet the story teller’s objectives (Robin, 2008). From the criteria perspective, the story
followed a “Hero’s Journey” story pattern, which is common in ancient folktales and modern-
day adventures.
It also gave a dramatic question that keeps the viewer attentive to the end of the story
when it will be answered. Too, the story emotionally rich with issues which develop in a
powerful and personal way and tends to connect the account to the audience. The storyteller’s
voice well personalized to assist the audience in understanding the context easily.
Great soundtrack in the form of music and other sounds which embellish and support the
story is also essential. So, the video tended to use free licensed music that it needed to mention it
in the video credits. The story is economically balanced its content to ensure that the viewer is
not overloaded. Pacing is another essential aspect that required the story’s pattern and how it
progresses quickly or slowly.
Target Group
The video has been targeted mainly for grandparents and parents. This is because of their
closeness to children to whom stories are generally targeted. The objectives in the story are
taking care of their children, playing a part in shaping the future of their offspring and setting
targets for them. They, therefore, have the first-hand information on the effectiveness of the
combination of these two strategies in meeting the objectives of storytelling.

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Tools
The tools used in the video project’s development are video editing software, digital
drawing tablet, art software, audio composing software, and animation software. The tools used
in the video aids in representing an ideal situation that imaginary created in traditional
storytelling.
Story Methodology
The story has been an inspiration by mixed methods design. Qualitative data collected
through interviewing parents, researching from history books and the web was the primary
research method. Brainstorming and creation of a storyboard for motion animation have been
applied in the video. The chronological approach in storytelling has been implemented through a
smooth flow in unfolding the events. The music incorporated in the story was as per the situation
and the desired effect to enhance believability and cultivates attention.
Case Study
A case study provides details concerning a single or a small group of the participant and
should be detailed enough to serve as a representative of the targeted audience. The video
targeted coastal area as an ideal place where the main themes would rhyme in respect to the
context serving as the case study. A Case Study is a sort when a given ideology needs a clear
representation to enhance believability and attachment with the targeted audiences. In the video,
the introduction represented a young man walking along a water body which introduces the
audience to the desired context.

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Conclusion
Storytelling has been used as a communication tool for ages and evolves with the needs
of a particular situation. Storytelling aims at communicating a given message which can be
encoded depending on the targeted audience. The video analyzed is a digital storytelling device
which incorporates advanced technological tools for enhanced passing of the message. The
unique instruments used in the video are editing software, digital drawing tablet, art software,
audio composing software, and animation software. The tools are harmoniously utilized, and the
result is a complete story.
The literature reviewed has portrayed technology as an enhancing factor in
communication and is used in the education system as an agent of best practices. Revolution in
technology has enabled digitalization of the traditional narratives and encouraged practicality of
the story. All stories have a dominant force in shaping mental representations needed as a
motivation factor.
Digital storytelling is flexible and encourages relaxation while interacting with the
content through posing, rewinding, and forwarding. The audience interacts with the story in a
free will, which is in contrast with the traditional method.
Consideration concerning the targeted audience is paramount, which is guided by an
objective case study. The representing group should create a bond with the other audiences
through sharing a common objective and ideology. The study case used in the video represents
people in the coastal region, and the goals presented are shared by parents.
The methodology is of great importance in digital storytelling, and this aspect helps in
designing the approach used in unveiling objectives chronologically. The method enhances the
collection of the necessary information from the characters used.

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Concepts in digital storytelling should be straight forward with enough details conveying
the main objectives. Objectives in the video are delivered dramatically as a best practice to
capture the attention of the audience. Storytelling should appreciate the use of enhancements,
and in this case, the video has used free licensed soundtracks. The methodology encourages the
improvement of emotions but should be monitored and delivered in a balanced manner.
The difference between traditional storytelling and digital aspect is utilization of
technology. The tool used in digital story telling enhances the message and should be used
appropriately to avoid disconnection and complication of the objectives. Incorporation of
traditional aspects is advisable when digital tools are not in a position to change some limits
experienced.

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Bibliography
Boase, K., (2008). Retrieved from Digital storytelling for reflection and engagement: A study of
the uses and potential of digital storytelling.:
https://gjamissen.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/boase_assessment.pdf
Brice, A., (2009). Digital Storytelling. Curriculum Corp.
Fields, A. M. (2008). Fostering community through digital storytelling: a guide for academic
libraries. Libraries Unlimited.
Hartley, J., & McWilliam, K., (2009). Story circle: digital storytelling around the world. U.K.:
Wiley-Blackwell.
Lundby, K., (2008). Digital storytelling, mediatized stories: Self-representations in new media.
New York.
O’Byrne. (2018). Digital Storytelling in Early Childhood: Student Illustrations Shaping Social
Interactions. Frontiers in Psychology. Retrieved from frontiersin.org:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01800/full
Robin, B. R., (2008). Digital storytelling: A powerful technology tool for the 21st-century
classroom. Retrieved from
http://digitalstorytellingclass.pbworks.com/f/Digital+Storytelling+A+Powerful.pdf