{"id":52,"date":"2025-09-15T01:43:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T01:43:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/villamizarcaleb.com\/?p=52"},"modified":"2025-09-15T03:42:26","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T03:42:26","slug":"what-digital-storytelling-is-and-why-it-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/villamizarcaleb.com\/?p=52","title":{"rendered":"What Digital Storytelling Is"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Digital storytelling is the combination of narrative with a variety of digital media, such as video, images, audio, text, and interactive elements, all working together to communicate a message. It\u2019s increasingly important because it can deliver ideas effectively while keeping audiences engaged in ways that plain text alone often can\u2019t. In education especially, digital storytelling helps teachers present concepts that stick, using visuals and sound to reinforce the core message. Younger learners in particular benefit from seeing and hearing ideas presented with purpose. Digital storytelling uses modern tools to do what stories have always done: capture attention, build understanding, and make people care. Digital story telling is the combination of narrative with a variety of different digital media, ranging from video, to images, to stories. Digital story telling is a growing importance in today&#8217;s field, as it can effectively deliver messages to audiences and keep said audiences engaged. For example, digital storytelling is very prominent in education, especially that of younger children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&#8220;What is Digital Storytelling?&#8221;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What is Digital Storytelling? - Research and Review\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/T3nPgcY3Sfo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this video, the narrator explains why digital storytelling matters and how it can be applied in a classroom setting. She outlines seven core elements: Point of View, Dramatic Question, Emotional Content, Gift of Voice, Power of the Soundtrack, Economy, and Pacing. Together, these are the backbone of a strong digital narrative. Point of View makes a story personal and grounded. A Dramatic Question keeps the audience curious about what happens next. Emotional Content gives the piece weight so it isn\u2019t forgettable. Gift of Voice ensures authenticity instead of sounding generic. A Soundtrack that fits and supports tone and mood can provide a better environment. Economy is important as it keeps things simple. It\u2019s just the essentials to keep audiences from getting bored. And Pacing controls rhythm so the audience doesn\u2019t get bored or lost, similar to economy. The main idea is that digital storytelling isn\u2019t one ingredient; it\u2019s a lot of parts working in sync to move an audience.<br><strong>Personal Reflection:<\/strong> After watching the video, I realized that digital storytelling has a lot in common with traditional story telling; for example both require strategic methods in order to captivate audiences. Looking back on the video, it makes a lot of sense how certain sites are created. Its all in attempt to hook interest using different methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Power of Digital Storytelling<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The power of digital storytelling | Emily Bailin | TEDxSoleburySchool\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jA2cTZK9hzw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bailin argues that digital story telling is powerful because it gives people a voice in order to kind of guide people across media. She describes how the &#8220;power&#8221; isn&#8217;t just engagement but rather reflection. To learn where they&#8217;re from. By doing this, she argues that this builds connection between audiences, such as students, and helps to strengthen communication skills.<br>Personal Reflection: I really liked the way she spoke. Her poem in the beginning really showcased what she communicated throughout the Ted-Talk; the importance of engagement. I also agree with what she&#8217;s saying; digital story telling is so much more than just a story. Its something to connect people together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Digital storytelling\u2014changing people, perceptions, and lives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Digital storytelling -- changing people, perceptions, and lives: Jim Jorstad at TEDxUWLaCrosse\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QhJDUIQ9EzY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jorstad is fairly straightforward; digital storytelling can shift perceptions because personal stories invite engagement. He tells about the importance of telling the stories that we all experience day-to-day. Everyone has a story, but its up to all of to share them and to engage with them.<br>Personal Reflection: I feel like this Ted-Talk was a really good reminder of how everyone has their own story. These stories mostly go untold too; it takes another person to ask about that person&#8217;s day. Its a really nice reminder that, not only should you share your own stories, but you should also try to learn about other&#8217;s stories.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Digital Storytelling Process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Digital Storytelling process\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_LO0hH4oafQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This video was a workflow of how to effectively utilize and create a digital story. He tells us to first generate an idea and how we want to tell it. Next, he tells us to research and plan our story out. Then, he tells us to actually begin producing the story, and to keep it engaging. After that is post-production in order to finalize it. Lastly is to publish it.<br>Personal Reflection: As I mentioned before, the process is very similar to more traditional means of story telling. I found it really interesting how much thought really has to go behind digital stories in order to produce something that makes audiences want to read them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the end, digital storytelling brings together multiple parts: voice, structure, visuals, sound, editing. All these together move to create a single, coherent message. Everyone has something to say, and this approach gives more people a fair chance at being heard. Like traditional storytelling, it takes effort to keep audiences engaged and to build a sense of community, but the benefit to the ability to reach the entire globe: a well-made digital story can travel far and speak to people who would never sit in the same room. That reach is important. Digital storytelling isn\u2019t just a trend; it\u2019s a practical way to make sure real voices and real experiences actually connect in a way that traditional methods struggled in doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction Digital storytelling is the combination of narrative with a variety of digital media, such as video, images, audio, text, and interactive elements, all working together to communicate a message. It\u2019s increasingly important because it can deliver ideas effectively while keeping audiences engaged in ways that plain text alone often can\u2019t. In education especially, digital [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reflections-assignments"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/villamizarcaleb.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/villamizarcaleb.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/villamizarcaleb.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villamizarcaleb.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villamizarcaleb.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=52"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/villamizarcaleb.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61,"href":"https:\/\/villamizarcaleb.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52\/revisions\/61"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/villamizarcaleb.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villamizarcaleb.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villamizarcaleb.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}