Digital Narratives are an excellent way for students to share stories with the class and community. Students create narrative scripts, choose images and music that will accompany the narration, and use a variety of software tools to put it all together. These narrative-driven projects require students to research and synthesize information, as well as engage in higher-level thinking skills such as analysis and evaluation. Digital storytelling also helps students develop visual, audio, oral language and creativity skills.
In addition to personal narratives, Digital Narratives can be used to share stories from the community, show examples of science concepts, or showcase poetry. For example, students could work in groups to research a social issue and then create a narrative using the most effective mix of visual and audio elements to convey their message.
Spotify’s 30-second video on Harry Styles is a great example of a Digital Narrative that uses humor and an appealing layout to deliver its message. Its visuals — including the celebrity’s face in the background – and audio make it hard for viewers to resist listening.
Digital storytelling is a powerful tool for marketers looking to capture the attention of their audiences. The medium allows brands to stand out from their competition by utilizing the latest technologies and engaging more tech-savvy consumers.
A successful Digital Narrative will have a clear purpose, be concise and compelling, and provide an emotional hook for viewers to keep them engaged. It will also have a strong call to action that encourages readers to take a specific action or learn more about the topic. For example, a story about how the rise of anti-Asian discrimination in the United States might include an action step such as contacting elected officials to demand change.
While it’s important to give your students room for creativity when working on a Digital Narrative, you also want them to remain focused on the narrative and its purpose. For this reason, it’s important to provide them with guidelines for the project. This includes a writing prompt that asks them to focus on the rhetorical purpose of their Digital Narrative, a narrative script, and an outline.
Once your students have completed their Digital Narratives, it’s important to celebrate their work. This will not only help them feel proud of their accomplishments, but it will also reinforce the idea that the creation of a Digital Narrative is a process that requires a lot of time and energy.
The creation of a Digital Narrative is often a complex process that involves researching the topic, creating a narrative script, and selecting images and audio to go with it. If your students are struggling with the research aspect of the assignment, consider providing them with a list of resources for finding reliable information and data. This can save them a lot of time and prevent them from jumping to conclusions or misinterpreting the meaning of their findings. Likewise, if your students are having difficulty with the creative aspect of the assignment, you may need to spend some extra time helping them develop their ideas.