The elements of a great digital story, Day #9--Digital Storytelling in a nutshell

The last piece to the project is deciding upon what makes a great digital story. This will determine how you put together your story.

According to the author of DigiTales, there are six elements to an effective digital story:

1. Living in your story--share YOUR story through your heart, personal feelings, and emotions
2. Unfolding lessons learned--express a personal meaning or link to how the story affected your life
3. Developing creative tension--use tension to develop twists and hook the reader
4. Economizing the story told--find the shortest path to the message/point made
5. Showing not telling--use vivid/intense details to show a story rather than tell (heart vs. head)
6. Developing craftsmanship--use technology in creative ways

Meanwhile, the Center for Digital Storytelling has seven elements that are essential to good digital storytelling. The list is simple to DigiTales' list. David Jakes adapted the list into a helpful chart for educators and students. 

1. Point of view
2. Dramatic question
3. Emotional content
4. The gift of your voice
5. The power of the soundtrack
6. Economizing
7. Pacing

The digital story is similar to a personal narrative, but it uses technology and the art of storytelling to create a story that shares a powerful message. Any rubric created should incorporate these elements as these are what make a digital story distinct from other writing forms. 

If you are looking for a digital storytelling unit already constructed that can be adapted for your use, check out ePals Digital Storytelling Project. This is a project where schools from across the globe can participate. 

If you're looking for some good examples of digital stories, consult these sites:

• Creative Narrations:  http://www.creativenarrations.net/site/storybook/index.html
• Telling their stories (from WWII, Holocaust, Civil Rights and more):  http://tellingstories.org/index.html
• Elementary student examples:  http://www.dtc.scott.k12.ky.us/technology/digitalstorytelling/studentstories.html 
• Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction:  http://mcli.maricopa.edu/storytelling/examples  
• Or, consult the digital story guild where there are numerous links to sites offering Digital Stories. 

Stay tuned for a wrap-up of digital storytelling tomorrow--the best of the best.