The Power of Digital Storytelling to Support Teaching and Learning

Authors

  • Bernard R. Robin University of Houston, Texas

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1344/der.2016.30.17-29

Abstract

Although the term “digital storytelling” may not be familiar to all readers, over the last twenty years, an increasing number of educators and students around the world have incorporated this technology into classroom instruction and educational projects. For more than twelve years, faculty members and graduate students in the Learning, Design and Technology Program at the University of Houston College of Education have been exploring the use of digital storytelling to support both teaching and learning. In 2004, the author established the Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling website (http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu) to serve as a helpful resource for educators and students who were interested in learning how digital storytelling could be integrated into a variety of educational activities. This paper presents an overview of how digital storytelling has and continues to be used in education to support both teaching and learning. In addition, recommendations and guidelines are presented for educators who would like to teach students to use digital storytelling as an educational endeavor.

Author Biography

Bernard R. Robin, University of Houston, Texas

Bernard Robin is an Associate Professor of Learning, Design and Technology at the University of Houston's Department of Curriculum and Instruction. He teaches traditional and online courses on the integration of technology into the curriculum, educational uses of multimedia and the use of technology in academic healthcare environments. Dr. Robin's research focuses on the effectiveness of multimedia technologies to support teaching and learning, including, digital storytelling, digital video, and digital photography and in 2010, he won the University of Houston Teaching Excellence Award for Innovation in Instructional Technology. Dr. Robin is an internationally recognized leader in the educational uses of digital storytelling and has been teaching courses, conducting workshops, writing articles, and supervising graduate student research on digital storytelling for more than a decade. He created The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling website (http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/), which serves as a resource for educators and students interested in how digital storytelling can be integrated into educational activities.

 

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Published

2016-12-15