This resource will help you understand basic concepts and tools to create a digital story.
A digital story is a multimedia presentation combining a variety of digital elements within a narrative structure (a story). Media may include text, images, video, audio, social media elements and interactive elements (e.g. digital maps).
“…digital storytelling combines the best of two worlds: the "new world" of digitised video, photography and art, and the "old world" of telling stories.”
Dana Atchley, Digital Storytelling pioneer
Before you begin, check your Subject Outline or assessment description to find out how you’re required to submit your digital story and what format/s are accepted by your Subject Coordinator.
While there are many ways to create a digital story, here are some key questions to help guide you along the way:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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What is Digital Storytelling?
Digital Storytelling uses multimedia tools to bring narratives to life.
Digital Stories can be used to explain a concept, to reflect on a personal experience, to retell a historical event, or to make an argument.
Digital stories are typically videos that combine audio, images, and video clips to tell a story.
Even though we recommend that digital stories be two to three minutes long, a lot of work goes into making one!
Once you’ve determined the purpose of your digital story, you will need to create a script and a storyboard.
Digital stories are versatile and can cover a wide variety of topics.
When writing a script, students will need to decide what their digital story will accomplish.
The script or storyboard will reflect what type of digital story that the students will make.
They will then need to record their script and find media for their storyboard.
The Next Step is to create your video!
Depending on your script and storyboard, you may need to:
Finally, put all the elements together and enjoy the final product!
If you’re interested in learning more about these steps, check out the guides and videos that we have linked in the description.
So, why create a digital story?
Creating a digital story is an engaging way to share information that requires creativity, self-direction, and experimentation with new technologies.
You may want to collect images, music, media and statistics to help tell your story. There are many websites where you can access free content but remember to carefully read and follow any attribution and usage rules for each item and check the site’s licensing or ‘terms of use’ page.
Tip: Keep track of citation information as you collect material. That way you’ll have all the information you need to properly reference it later. One strategy is to set up a spreadsheet with column headings such as: creator, title, URL, licence.
You can only take and use photographs, sound recordings or videos of someone if they have provided you with their informed consent.
Before a participant can give their informed consent to appear in your photographs, recordings or videos, you must ensure they clearly understand:
For children, informed consent should be obtained from a parent or legal guardian.
Please use the UOW Talent and Performance Release Form linked below to obtain the consent of participants who will appear in your photographs, recordings or videos:
https://documents.uow.edu.au/content/groups/public/@web/@pmcd/@smc/documents/doc/uow250540.pdf
If you plan to explore aspects of Aboriginal knowledge and culture in your digital story, it is important to also familiarise yourself with the following resources:
Now you’ve collected a variety of media, begin creating and editing your digital story with the Learning Co-Op’s tools for creative production:
You can also use equipment and software in the UOW Student Makerspace to put together your digital story. All equipment is free to use for staff and students. The UOW Makerspace is open at Wollongong Campus room 6.113.
Just as you include referencing in any other assignment, you must reference all elements of your digital story that are not your own, including ideas, data, images, video and audio.
See the Referencing Guide for how to credit different types of material (this guide does not cover all forms of digital media, so if a type of media you’re using isn’t shown, check with your lecturer about how to reference it).
While some sites like Unsplash and Pixabay have licences that do not require you to give credit, free material under Creative Commons licences still requires you to give credit and indicate the type of licence:
It’s usually acceptable to have the list of credits at the end of your digital story.