Digital storytelling

What do you want to create today? (Source: Wes Fryer, showwithmedia.com, under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 licence)

Digital storytelling involves creating multimodal, or multimedia, narratives. A digital story typically involves some combination of text, images, audio and/or video structured into a narrative.

Digital storytelling, much like data visualisation, is not a tool as such, but rather a technique which can involve a whole variety of different web 2.0 tools and/or mobile apps. Mobile devices like smartphones or tablets are frequently used to take the photos and make the audio or video recordings (see also the multimedia recording page) which are combined to compose digital stories, with the creation of the final stories taking place either on the mobile devices themselves or on laptop or desktop computers. In this way, digital storytelling is linked not only to web 2.0 learning but also to mobile learning.

Because of the way it draws together a range of language, literacy, presentation and ICT skills, digital storytelling is becoming an increasingly common educational activity. Digital stories may be individually or collaboratively created, and may be static, dynamic or even interactive. They offer an ideal opportunity for students to hone digital literacies such as multimodal literacy (in creating multimedia digital stories which communicate their messages effectively to their intended target audiences) and network literacy (in disseminating their own digital stories, and accessing and commenting on peers’ digital stories). There may also be an intercultural literacy aspect if digital storytelling is used in collaborative online international learning (COIL) or virtual exchange (VE) initiatives, where students interact and share work with peers from different parts of the world.

Digital stories can be stored in students’ PLEs or e-portfolios. Note that if students show their faces or reveal their identities in their digital stories, it may be advisable to share these only in password-protected online spaces. Conversely, if students plan on sharing their work more widely, it may be appropriate to encourage them to disguise their identities (for example through the use of animated characters in place of photos or videos of themselves).

For useful educational ideas and resources, including examples of digital stories, see:

• • Show What You Know with Media (Wes Fryer, 2016; see also the original image from this site at the top of the page)
  • Multimodal Stories for Language and Cultural Exchange (Grace Oakley & Mark Pegrum, 2017)
  • What is Digital Storytelling? [Video] (U of G Library, 2019)
  • Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling (University of Houston, 2023)
  • Digital Storytelling (University of Wollongong, 2023)

Digital storytelling: What it is … and … what it is not (Source: Langwitches, goo.gl/upkTPw, used by permission of Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano)

Traditionally there have been three main options for creating digital stories, namely manual digital storytelling, automated digital storytelling, and mobile digital storytelling. Combinations of these are also possible, for example when mobile devices are used to take photos or make audio recordings, and to carry out initial editing, before these materials are transferred to a laptop or desktop computer, perhaps edited further, and then integrated into a final format for sharing. It is also becoming easier to engage in interactive digital storytelling, and there is an increasing array of AI digital storytelling options, as outlined below.

Manual digital storytelling

Some tools can be used to create manual digital stories on laptop or desktop computers. Such stories require users to interact with them, for example by clicking through from one section to the next, or opening photos, launching audio files and videos, and so on. However, many digital stories created in this way could potentially be turned into automated digital stories in the form of videos, captured using screencast software. The tools themselves can be easily accessed on the web. Some are free to use; others work on a freemium model where basic functionality is available for free, but users pay for more advanced functionality; and still others are fully paid services. Any videos created from the digital stories can be shared online using videosharing services, or in LMSs or other institutional online spaces. Key tools for creating manual digital stories are shown in the table below; note that AI-enabled digital storytelling tools are now beginning to appear.

Automated digital storytelling

Some tools allow the creation of automated digital stories which, once launched, run by themselves in either audio or, more commonly, video format. As with the manual digital story tools, some are free to use; others work on a freemium model where basic functionality is available for free, but users pay for more advanced functionality; and still others are fully paid services. Any audio or video files created can be shared online using podcasting or videosharing services, or in LMSs or other institutional online spaces.

For the new generation of AI-enabled video creation tools, some of which lend themselves to digital storytelling, see the videos page of this website.

Mobile digital storytelling

A number of the tools listed above are available in mobile app versions. In addition, there are numerous mobile-only or mobile-first apps which are appropriate for creating digital stories. The apps below can be used on either Android or Apple iOS smart devices, or sometimes both; you can search for them in the Apple App Store or the Google Play store. Some, though not all, are available in free versions.

These kinds of digital storytelling apps make it easy to create template-based digital stories, and they are highly suitable for young or digitally inexperienced learners. Note, however, that users are often restricted to preset templates, and it may be difficult to export and share work: the digital stories created will in some cases only be viewable by others who have the same app running on the same operating system.

ICON	APP TYPE	APP NAME
	Animation	Puppet Pals
	Animation	Toontastic 3D
	Explanation	Explain Everything
	Storybook	Book Creator
	Storybook	Creative Book Builder
	Storybook	Little Story Maker
	Storybook	Story Creator

New digital storytelling software is becoming available all the time. For more ideas, you might like to check out:

• • The 32 Best Digital Storytelling Apps and Sites (TeachThought, 2022)
  • Best Sites and Apps for Digital Storytelling (Diana Restifo/Tech & Learning, 2022)
  • 19 Sites and Apps for Digital Storytelling (Jill Webb/Teaching Expertise, 2023)
  • Some of the Best Free Digital Storytelling Tools for Teachers (Med Kharbach/Educators Technology, 2023)
  • Best Apps for Creating Books and Storybooks (Common Sense Education, n. d.)

Interactive storytelling

Interactive forms of digital storytelling have now also become possible, for use on computers or mobile devices, using branching software such as Yo Scenario and Stornaway (for interactive videos). Check out the gaming page of this website for other tools, some AI-enabled, that can be used in a similar way.

AI storytelling

It is possible to have generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT create text-based stories with set parameters (characters, plot, timeframe, location, etc), or to collaborately create such stories paragraph by paragraph or line by line, and to subsequently illustrate them using AI image generators and present them using existing digital storytelling software or apps. In addition, dedicated multimodal AI storytelling software has now emerged, such as DeepFiction, Depth Tale and Reading Club, while AI-enabled video or gaming software could also be employed for digital storytelling.

Last update: March 2024.