Students in the 21st century must develop clear and precise writing skills as part of their abilities to exhibit effective communication skill. Teachers should integrate writing whenever possible in order to help students develop skills in expression as well as an understanding of subject material. Digital Storytelling is a great tool to use to reinforce their communication skills because it begins with pre-writing, and planning, and involves script writing in the process. DigitalStorytelling is a digital explanation. Both teachers and students can create digital stopries to enhance instruction. Teachers will generally use digital stprys in a similar fashion as to why they might create a PowerPoint presentation. It can be used to: introduce a new topic explain a complex idea or summarize several ideas that are part of the lesosn or unit Digital Storytelling can result in the production of a podcast animation slide show video And it can be produced using simple tools such as PowerPoint, PhotoStory3, MovieMaker, or one of the Online tools. Microsoft has prepared a great ebook to help you use several of their tools to promote the development of Digital Storytelling in your classroom.

Planning Digital Storytelling Assignments Consider the following as you design assignments: Provide clear, concise explanations as to what the student is required to do in the assignment. Students should understand the topic and the format requirements. Provide information on how the assignment will be evaluated when the assignment is given. Develop a schedule of due dates if the assignment involves multiple parts and preliminary documents. Address the intended audience for the assignment to provide structure to the voice students will select in their writing. Basic Writing Structure Students should always plan their writing to follow the basic structure shown here. Introduce topic Include two or three main ideas Develop content with two or three paragraphs for each idea Include appropriate transitions between sentences and paragraphs Conclude the topic Of course, digital storytelling takes these ideas even further by asking students to include appropriate images, video clips, and audio segments as appropriate. Once you review the basic writing structure with them, have them compare the steps with the steps to creating their own digital story as displayed on the right. Writing Conventions Equally important to structure is following conventions of the English language. While this was once considered the domain of the English teacher, all teachers are aware of and able to correct basic student errors in the following areas. These areas are defined according to the Virginia Standards of Learning for English. Composition Written Expression Usage / Mechanics The composing domain includes the focusing, structuring, and elaborating that a writer does to construct an effective message for a reader. It is the creation of a product, the building of writing intended to be read. The writer crafts his/her message for the reader by focusing on a central idea, providing elaboration of the central idea, and delivering the central idea and its elaboration in an organized text. The written expression domain comprises those features that show the writer purposefully shaping and controlling language to affect readers. This domain focuses on the vividness, specificity, and rhythm of the piece and the writer's attitude and presence. The usage / mechanics domain comprises the writer's ability to form competent, appropriately mature sentences and the use of word level features that cause written language to be acceptable and effective for standard discourse. This domain includes the system of symbols and cueing devices a writer uses to help readers make meaning. Digital Storytelling Ideas You can easily integrate digital storytelling into any area of the curriculum. Meg Ormiston has provided a start-up list of ideas for you to consider. Let these be starting points, but allow yourself to think of other ideas that will align with your instructional objectives. Visit Meg's Digital Storytelling website to see several examples of digital storytelling projects that have been produced by students.