Wikipedia defines Digital Storytelling as “using digital tools so that ordinary people can tell their own real-life stories.” It then goes on to elaborate as follows:
Digital Storytelling is an emerging term, one that arises from a grassroots movement that uses new digital tools to help ordinary people tell their own “true stories” in a compelling and emotionally engaging form. These stories usually take the form of a relatively short story (less than 8 minutes) and can involve interactivity.
The term can also be a broader journalistic reference to the variety of emergent new forms of digital narratives (web-based stories, interactive stories, hypertexts, fan art/fiction, and narrative computer games).
As an emerging area of creative work, the definition of digital storytelling is still the subject of much debate.
There are a number of ideas and assumptions worth interrogating in the Wikipedia definition, namely the idea of “ordinary people,” “true stories,” and the debate around the meaning of the term.
Wikipedia is rather vague about the details surrounding this emerging genre of narrative, so we’ll interrogate the term digital storytelling within the cultural context of our moment. This means each of you will be experimenting with digital storytelling and placing yourself within a larger narrative of networked conversation on the internet at large.
Reading
Storytelling for the Twenty-First Century
The Next Wave of Digital Storytelling Platforms
Twine, the Video-Game Technology for All
Media
Bryan Alexander – Digital Storytelling
The power of digital storytelling | Emily Bailin
Exercises
Use the Twine application to create a short, branching story. Once you have created your story, share it at post it at your site and offer your reflections on the Twine application. There are many ways to do this, but the Embed Twine plugin for WordPress may be the easiest for you.
Planning
I would like you to have your Project Proposal (as detailed in the course outline) posted at your website by Sunday, February 18
Please connect with Annelise or I in Mattermost if you have any questions about your Project Proposal or would like to clarify your idea(s).
Below is a student created video outlining a digital humanities project to get you thinking about ideas and options for your own proposal.