Digital Story - Part 1

  • Due No Due Date
  • Points 20
  • Submitting a text entry box, a website url, a media recording, or a file upload

Overview

The Digital Story assignment is a term-long assignment that has been divided into 2 parts. For this assignment, you will explore a topic that interests you, related to course content. This assignment has been created in two parts.  Part 1 includes selecting a topic, doing the research and creating a storyboard for your story.  At this point you will hand in the assignment for feedback from your instructor. Part 2 of the assignment includes writing the script, narrating and then editing the final project. Each part of the assignment will be handed in as a separate submission. 

A digital story is a short compilation of any kind of digital material that narrates a particular experience. Digital stories may be used to tell any kind of narrative, and can include video, writing, drawing, photos, music, animation and any other kind of digital material. These materials are then compiled in particular ways by the storyteller in order to convey information.

A digital story provides rich opportunities for self-reflection.  For example, education students could create narratives from a memorable learning experience, and then analyze the stories to identify common criteria in positive (or challenging) learning experiences.  Digital storytelling is also a powerful learning tool for intercultural learning.  Students can compare their "stories" with those authored by people from other cultures and life experiences. Students with diverse life experiences can also collaborate using technology without thinking about geographical distances. 

The process of creating a digital story lends itself well for staged student projects. Here’s an example of some story making stages:

  1. Select a topic
  2. Conduct research
  3. Find resources and content
  4. Create a storyboard
  5. Script the video
  6. Narrate the video
  7. Edit the final project

Digital Story - Part 1 

For the purposes of this assignment you will create a digital story that touches on one of the following topic areas:

  • digital storytelling in education
  • a personal narrative exploring a transformative educational experience
  • using digital stories for interdisciplinary projects
  • problem based learning
  • reflection from a practicum experience

Once you have selected a topic, you will need to do some research supporting your topic (minimum 5 articles). While doing research it is also important to look for resources and content to use in your digital story.  

How to complete this assignment 

How students create their project can be up to them.  This gives them the opportunity to be creative, use tools they are comfortable with, and experiment as needed.  A digital story does not have to be long to be effective.  A digital story can be 2 minutes in length and it can also be 8 minutes in length. There are several technology tools available to use for the creation of a digital story.  Some of the options are listed below. 

Select a topic from one of the choices above.  Then complete the following steps. 

  1. Brainstorming Ideas
    • First, you'll thinks about your ideas and how they might look in a digital story.  Use a mind map or concept map to put your thoughts and ideas down.
  2. Proposal
    • Next, you'll develop a proposal for what you would like to research and turn into a digital story. 
    • Once you have submitted your Project Proposal, the instructor will gives feedback on your initial ideas and you have the opportunity to change/edit your initial proposal.  
  3. Literature Review - link to another previous assignment in course
    • As part of you research you will complete a small-scale literature review on your topic.  
    • Locate at least 5 educational journal articles and write a 4-5 page literature review on the articles selected.
    • Your literature review assignment should include the following:
      • The main ideas, theories and concepts related to your topic.
      • Areas of agreement and disagreement related to your topic
      • Any problems or gaps in the literature related to your topic.
  4. Storyboard - use a hard copy template or one of the digital tools below to create your storyboard for your digital story
  5. Part 1 of Assignment - includes the following submissions
    • Project Proposal - topic you will be exploring
    • Literature Review (maximum 750 words)
      • supports your proposal idea
      • contains minimum of 5 sources, no more than 7)
    • Storyboard 
      • visual of how you see your final product

Sample

Download Storyboard Sample

How to submit this assignment

When submitting, please include your name in your file. When ready, simply submit your file via the Submit Assignment button on the top right. 

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