Digital Storytelling

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

With the rapid development of digital technologies as well as the increasing importance of the ability to process and produce digital information in the modern world, digital storytelling (DS) has been investigated and implemented as an effective tool for developing visual literacies. Research on DS reports benefits for fostering learner engagement, identity construction, and deep reflection. But how exactly does DS function within the L2 learning and teaching context? What evidence is there to demonstrate the effectiveness of DS for developing capabilities crucial specifically for the goals of L2 instruction, such as oral and written literacies and cultural and intercultural learning? How can DS be defined for the purposes of L2 classroom? What analytical tools can be employed for the analysis of DS genres? How can DS be implemented in the L2 classroom? Participants of this undergraduate/graduate course will examine how DS genres have been used in the context of L2 teaching and learning. Students will learn how to define and analyze DS genres using particular frameworks for linguistic and multimodal analysis. The course offers students an opportunity to become creative digital storytellers themselves, as they learn about various technological platforms for DS and produce a story across a variety of relevant DS genres (e.g., digital narratives, digital life stories, and digital literary texts) and languages (English, German, Russian, Spanish, Italian, and French). Finally, students use the tools for DS analysis, principles of DS task design, as well as their experience of creating a digital story to develop an instructional unit that demonstrates how their DS can be applied to a particular L2 learning context.