Abstract

In recent years the use of new technologies in educational systems has increased

worldwide as digital cameras, personal computers, scanners, and easy-to-use software

have become available to educators to harness the digital world. The impact of new

technologies in educational contexts has been mostly positive as new technologies have

given educators the opportunity to enhance their knowledge, skills, and therefore

enhance the standard of education. Researchers have found that student engagement,

achievement and motivation are enhanced through integration of such technologies.

However, education systems still face many challenges: one of these challenges is how to

enhance student engagement to provide better educational outcomes. It has become

increasingly important to use innovative pedagogical models to engage learners. Digital

storytelling is one of the innovative pedagogical approaches that can engage students in

deep and meaningful learning. This research project aimed to create a constructivist

learning environment with digital storytelling. The research investigated the

pedagogical aspects of digital storytelling and the impact of digital storytelling on

student learning when teachers and students use digital stories.

A multi-site case study was conducted in one Australian school at primary and

secondary levels. In selected classrooms, students and teachers had the opportunity to

engage in innovative learning experiences based on digital storytelling. In order to

enhance the reliability and validity of the research, multiple methods of data collection

and analysis were used. Data was collected with qualitative and quantitative methods.

An evaluation rubric was used to collect quantitative data, while interviews and

observation were used to collect qualitative data. Data collection was guided by a mixed
methods research design in order to evaluate if and how digital storytelling enhances

teaching and learning outcomes.

The findings from this study suggest that digital storytelling is a powerful tool to

integrate instructional messages with learning activities to create more engaging and

exciting learning environments. It is a meaningful approach for creating a constructivist

learning environment based on novel principles of teaching and learning. Thus, this

approach has the potential to enhance student engagement and provide better

educational outcomes for learners.

Introduction

From ancient times to the present, storytelling has served as a popular education tool,

utilised to pass knowledge from one generation to another. Over the past few years

drastic changes have been experienced in the processes used for creating stories, the

variety of media used to convey the message, and the target audience. Storytelling, in

general, is a powerful pedagogical approach that can be used to enhance learning

outcomes for general, scientific and technical education (Sharda [2007]). Stories have

been told as a way of passing on traditions, heritage and history to future generations.

Even today people continue to tell stories through new digital media tools. A digital

story can be viewed as a merger between traditional storytelling and the use of

multimedia technology (Normann [2011]). Technological advances, such as digital

cameras, editing software and authoring tools, have increased the use of technology in

the classroom to help students in constructing their own knowledge and ideas to present

and share them more effectively (Standley [2003]).

As confirmed by Armstrong , computers, digital cameras, editing software, and other

technologies are becoming more readily accessible in the classrooms, and provide
learners and teachers with the tools to create digital stories more easily than ever before

(Armstrong [2003]). Furthermore, digital storytelling helps students to develop their

creativity to solve important problems in innovative ways (Ohler [2008]). It is an

effective pedagogical tool that enhances learners’ motivation, and provides learners with

a learning environment conducive for story construction through collaboration,

reflection and interpersonal communication. Students can use multimedia software

tools as well as other technology skills to create digital stories based on given

educational issues.

Digital storytelling is used as an embodiment of multimedia production for education

purposes. Therefore, this is becoming a part of our lives, and is on the threshold of

becoming an important part of teaching and learning as well. All of this is being

facilitated by ready access to hardware, such as digital cameras and scanners, in

conjunction with easy to use software. Many educational institutions have already been

exploring the application of digital storytelling for the past few years (Robin [2008]).

The power of storytelling as a pedagogical tool has been recognised since the beginning

of humanity, and in more recent times, for e-Learning (Neal [2001]). Digital storytelling

has become a modern incarnation of the traditional art of oral storytelling; it allows

almost anyone to use off-the-shelf hardware and software to weave personal stories with

the help of still/moving images, music, and sound, combined with the author’s creativity

and innovation.

This research project aimed to explore the impact of digital storytelling on student

engagement and learning outcomes. It focuses on exploring the potential of digital

storytelling as an innovative teaching and learning approach, and investigates the

impact of digital storytelling on student learning. The research involved a case study of
an Australian P-12 school. It explored the use of digital storytelling within the primary

and secondary curriculum. In selected classrooms students and teachers had the

opportunity to engage in innovative learning experiences based on digital storytelling.

The outcomes of this research project aim to help teachers and learners tap into the

power of digital storytelling and partake in more engaged teaching and learning.

Background and literature review

In recent years, our lives have become more involved with technological tools.

Developing technology resulted in new generations being more technology savvy than

their parents and, even more so, their grandparents. Consequently, researchers have

argued that “the impact of the digital technologies and especially the Internet in the 21st

century post-secondary classroom is unquestionable and dramatic” (Tamim et al.

[2011]).

According to Prensky, today’s students are the first generation to grow up surrounded

by digital technology (Prensky [2001]). During their daily lives these students have been

routinely exposed to computers, electronic games, digital music players, video cameras

and mobile phones. They are immersed in instant messaging, emails, web browsing,

blogs, wiki tools, portable music, social networking and video sites (Prensky [2001]; Lea

& Jones [2011]; Sternberg et al. [2007]). These technologies allow them to communicate

instantly and access any information from virtually any place by pushing a few buttons

(Autry & Berge [2011]).

It is likely that the rise of some changes in educational practice, such as distance

education, online learning and blended learning, has been the response to the

integration of computers and the Internet to the new generation’s lives (Tamim et al.

[2011]). Today’s school environment includes technology, and teachers use it on a daily
basis; the basic school infrastructure includes computers, printers, scanners, digital

cameras and the Internet, and the majority of teachers have access to word processing,

calculations, multimedia and communication software (Hsu [2013]). According to

Pitler, “Applied effectively technology not only increases students’ learning,

understanding, and achievement, but also augments their motivation to learn,

encourages collaborative learning, and develops critical thinking and problem-solving

strategies” (Pitler [2006]). Therefore, attention should be given to the subject of

technology integration (Sadik [2008]).

Storytelling

Throughout the history of human and social development, storytelling has been used as

a tool for the transmission and sharing of knowledge and values, because it is a natural

and yet powerful technique to communicate and exchange knowledge and experiences.

Its application in the classroom is also not new; and in relation to the use of storytelling

in the classroom Behmer stated, “Storytelling is a process where students personalise

what they learn and construct their own meaning and knowledge from the stories they

hear and tell” (Behmer [2005]).

Over the last two decades, however, much has changed in how stories can be planned

and created; and, as a result, how multimedia can be used to facilitate the dissemination

of stories. With the increased use of computers to tell stories, by using a variety of

hardware and software systems, there has been a significant improvement in the way

stories can be created and presented (Van Gils [2005]). According to Normann, “People

have always told stories. It has been part of our tradition and heritage since the time we

gathered around the fire to share our stories. Today people still tell stories, but now we

have new media tools with which to share them. A digital story can hence be seen as a
merger between the old storytelling tradition and the use of new technology” (Normann

[2011]). To some extent, traditional storytelling and the application of computer

technology in education have followed different paths to date (Banaszewski [2005]).

Thus, there is a need to further increase the convergence of storytelling and the use of

computers in the classroom. It has been argued that technology is more useful when it is

used as part of a broader educational improvement agenda (Pitler [2006]).

Fortuitously, with the increase in computer power and associated cost reduction,

computers and related technologies can play a significant role in making storytelling a

more widely used pedagogical tool, given that “Digital storytelling provides students

with a strong foundation in what are being called ‘21st Century Skills’” (Miller [2009]).

While the essential technology is currently accessible in the classroom, storytelling has

not been fully recognised as a valuable tool for developing students’ learning skills and

achieving 21st century learning outcomes.

Digital storytelling

Digital storytelling emerged at the Center for Digital Storytelling in California in the late

1980s as a method employed by community theatre workers to enable the recording,

production, and dissemination of stories (Lambert [2009]). Normann defines digital

storytelling as “a short story, only 2–3 minutes long, where the storyteller uses his own

voice to tell his own story. The personal element is emphasised, and can be linked to

other people, a place, an interest or to anything that will give the story a personal touch”

(Normann [2011]). This has developed in a number of ways, shaped by advances in

personal computing and recording technology, and by its use in a range of academic and

non-academic contexts (Normann [2011]; Clarke & Adam [2012]).

Digital storytelling is defined by The Digital Storytelling Association, as a “modern

expression of the ancient art of storytelling” (The Digital Storytelling Association

[2011]). Although there is not a single digital storytelling definition, the majority

emphasise the use of multimedia tools including graphics, audio, video, and animation

to tell a story. Benmayor’s digital storytelling definition is: “a short multimedia story

that combines voice, image, and music” (Benmayor [2008]). According to Kajder, Bull &

Albaugh, a group of still images, combined with a narrated soundtrack, constitutes a

digital story as long as they relate a story. Focusing on its presentation on screen, Alan

Davis offers another definition of digital story as “a form of short narrative, usually a

personal narrative told in the first person, presented as a short movie for display on a

television or computer monitor or projected onto a screen” (Kajder et al. [2005]).

Meadows offers a more technology-focused definition, where digital storytelling makes

use of low-cost digital cameras, non-linear authoring tools and computers to create

short multimedia stories to accomplish social endeavours of storytelling. It is a

technology application which takes advantage of user-contributed content and assists

teachers in utilising technology in their classrooms (Meadows [2003]).

Digital storytelling: a constructivist approach to learning

In recent decades, various learning paradigms have been used to enhance teaching and

learning practice; each one of these learning theories, such as behaviourism, cognitivism

and constructivism, has its own perspective on learning methods. Before explaining the

main concepts underpinning each of these theories, first let us consider what a learning

theory is. According to Hill, a learning theory is the attempt to explain how people (and

animals) learn, and a paradigm to understand what is fundamentally involved in the

learning process (Hill [2002]).

The Behaviourism school founded by Thorndike, Pavlov and Skinner, was based on the

assumption that learning changes behaviour, and resultant responses outside the

environment (Thorndike [1913]; Pavlov [1927]; Skinner [1974]). Behaviour patterns

include the use of direction signs and learning practice. A change in behaviour is based

on corresponding changes in observable aspects of learning and the learning process.

The key elements of behavioural patterns are motivation, answers, and the connection

between them. One of the most important features is the incentive present for learning

within a learning environment (Jung [2008]).

Compared with behaviourism, which explores students’ behaviour, cognitive theories

inquire into the processes driving the behaviour. It places greater emphasis on the

environment to facilitate the learning process (Jung [2008]). Cognitivism focuses on the

construction, organization and arrangement of educational content to facilitate optimal

management of information, and how to remember, store, and retrieve information. In

addition, learning is seen as a dynamic process, which is created by the learners

themselves (Anderson [2008]).

Constructivism is one of the most influential educational approaches developed in

recent times. It overlaps the cognitive learning school in many ways; however, it is

characterised by its emphasis on learning through the use of authentic contexts, and a

focus on the importance of the social dimension of learning. Wilson defines it as “a place

where learners may work together and support each other as they use a variety of tools

and information resources in their guided pursuit of learning goals and problem-solving

activities” (Wilson [1996]).

In addition, according to Anderson the constructivist has more than a simple

perspective on learning, recognising that people explain the learnt information and the
world around them, based on their personal vision (Anderson [2008]). Jonassen argues

that learning environments should offer constructive, active, intentional, collaborative,

complex, conversational, contextualised and reflective learning (Jonassen et al. [1999]).

To sum up, the most important learning characteristics of constructivism are that

learners can build on their own interpretation of the world, depending on experience

and interaction, and that will generate a new understanding through the collection of

knowledge from various sources (Duffy et al. [2012]).

On the other hand, the education theories developed in the 20th century consider

teaching and learning as more than mere interaction or transmission of knowledge

(Daniels [2001]; Dewey [2007]; Vygotsky et al. [1978]; Wells [1999]). These theories

consider teaching as a specific paradigm of teacher–student interaction, where the

desired role of the adult is a collaborator and/or co-constructor.

Bouman defines learning as the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience,

practice, or study, or by being taught. He classifies learning under different headings:

the two main ones are student-led and teacher-led learning. Student-led learning is a

process of learning information where students ask questions of one another, while they

assist each other as peers in discussing the method used to acquire the answers to those

questions; students are also allowed to work with one another in a student-centred

environment. Teacher-led learning is currently the most popular form of teaching

students. This method involves the teacher holding all the information and sharing it

with the students over time. The most recent works in the literature favour student-led

over teacher-led learning since it leads to longer retention. This hinges on the fact that

when students take a more active role in their learning process, this results in a more

meaningful connection to the information (Bouman [2012]).

The learner’s active position is strongly emphasised as it is indispensable for the

development of lifelong learning skills (Verenikina [2008]). The zone of proximal

development (ZPD), developed by Vygotsky (Wells [1999]), is defined as the distance

between what a student can do with or without help (Vygotsky et al. [1978]). The main

focus in the ZPD is to ensure that students are actively engaged in learning that will

make them self-directed, lifelong learners in the long run. In this sense, teaching

becomes a co-construction of knowledge between learner and teacher. It also facilitates

further transformation of that knowledge into individual student knowledge (Verenikina

[2008]; Dakich [2014]).

Digital storytelling can thus facilitate a constructivist approach for teaching and

learning. It can be a helpful educational tool, as it provides a vehicle for combining

digital media with innovative teaching and learning practices. Apart from building on

learners’ technology skills, digital storytelling encourages additional educational

outcomes (Dakich [2008]). It enhances learners’ motivation, and helps teachers in

building constructivist learning environments that encourage creative problem solving

based on collaboration and peer-to-peer communication. In addition, digital storytelling

can be used to facilitate integrated approaches to curriculum development, and engage

learners in higher order thinking and deep learning (Dakich [2008]).

Consequently, as the literature review has revealed, digital storytelling is a powerful

model for creating constructivist e-Learning environments. Digital storytelling has the

potential to engage learners in integrated approaches to learning with digital media.

Furthermore, digital storytelling enhances learners’ motivation, and helps teachers in

building constructivist learning environments. To facilitate the harnessing of these

pedagogical benefits we need an overarching framework for creating digital stories. This
framework should be cognisant of the needs and capabilities of learners at their various

stages of learning (i.e. catering for learners from primary school to university level, and

even professional e-Learning content creators).

This research presented a new e-Learning Digital Storytelling (eLDiSt) framework to be

able to use digital storytelling as a pedagogical model for constructivist learning

(Additional file 1: Appendix A). This framework was developed for application of digital

storytelling at various stages of learning. The e-Learning Digital Storytelling (eLDiSt)

framework also articulates how storytelling can be used at different levels of education.

The eLDiSt framework is designed primarily as a tool to help story creators in producing

engaging digital stories, the framework is based on thirteen storytelling aspects and five

levels, and each aspect advances in complexity as the learner’s level advances from level

one to five. It considers the needs and abilities of learners at different stages of learning,

including learners from primary school to university, and even professional e-Learning

content creators. With the help of this eLDiSt framework, digital storytelling can be used

as an efficient and effective learning tool at various levels of education. Different aspects

identified in this framework enable teachers as well as students to fully grasp the

elements required for an engaging and educative digital story.

Therefore, the mission of this research is to create a methodology for building

constructivist learning environments based on digital storytelling, the outcomes of this

research project aim to help teachers and learners tap into the power of digital

storytelling and partake in more engaged teaching and learning.

Methods

This research project investigated impact of digital storytelling on student engagement

and outcomes. It focused on exploring the potential of digital storytelling as an

innovative teaching and learning approach and its potential to enhance student

engagement and student outcomes. This research involves a multi-site case study of an

Australian P-12 school, and explores the use of digital storytelling within the primary

and secondary curriculum. In the selected classrooms students and teachers had the

opportunity to engage in innovative learning experiences based on digital storytelling.

In order to enhance the reliability and validity of the research, both qualitative and

quantitative methods of data collection and analysis were used. A rubric was used to

collect quantitative data, while interviews and observation were used to collect

qualitative data. Data collection and analysis of the feedback provided by teachers was

based on mixed methods research to thoroughly evaluate the benefits of digital

storytelling vis-à-vis teaching and learning.

Research questions

The rationale for this project is to explore the pedagogical benefits of digital storytelling.

Therefore, the overall research question is: How can digital storytelling enhance the

student engagement and provide better educational outcomes for learners? This

question can be divided into the following sub-questions:

How can digital storytelling be used to enhance student engagement?

How can digital storytelling be used to improve educational outcomes?

What are teacher perceptions about student learning through digital storytelling?

Significance of the study

Since the main aim of this research is to investigate the impact of digital storytelling on

student learning, the outcomes of this research will enable both teachers and students to

tap into the power of digital storytelling, leading to more engaged teaching and learning.

This study contributes to new understandings of how to create authentic and

constructivist learning contexts that can be used in a range of educational settings. The

research focuses on how to implement digital storytelling in the classroom, describing

the digital story workshop, and explaining teacher roles and student tasks; i.e. this

research gives a clear picture of how to integrate digital storytelling into schools.

Therefore, it is expected that the new knowledge generated by this research will inform

educational policy and practice.

Methodology

A case study design that uses multiple case studies was chosen for this research (Mello

[2001]). Case study research is a qualitative approach in which the researcher explores a

case or multiple cases over time, involving multiple sources of information, for example,

observations, interviews, documents and reports (Yin [2009]; Creswell et al. [2007]).

The research methodology is designed to utilise both quantitative and qualitative

methods. As previously mentioned, this research aims to explore the pedagogical

benefits of digital storytelling; therefore, this research will focus on the level of the

student engagement and the associated educational outcomes using digital storytelling.

In order to achieve a complete understanding of these phenomena, both quantitative

and qualitative data were collected.

Classroom observations

To record both qualitative and quantitative observations an observation tool was created

(Additional file 1: Appendix B). This observation tool was adapted from WestEd

([2002]) to fit the purpose of this study. This tool contains three different forms:

Pre-observation form (qualitative)

Timed observation form (quantitative)

Field notes form (qualitative)

The pre-observation and field notes forms were used to collect qualitative data. The pre-

observation form was used to collect information about the class being observed,

objectives of the story, and materials used. Whereas the field notes form was used

immediately after the class, to write up research notes.

The timed observation form was used to collect quantitative data about the use of new

technologies. The timed interval observation sheet is divided into several components,

analysed for the percentage of time each variable observed in the classroom. To collect

data, the observer checks the presence of various attributes of technology integration

observed during three-minute intervals. The check marks for the noted intervals are

then tallied for an overall distribution of observed events (Sadik [2008]). This

observation was conducted to examine the quality of student engagement in authentic

learning tasks using digital storytelling, and specifically focuses on: class collaboration,

knowledge gain, student roles, teacher roles, student engagement, technology

integration and modes of learning.

Evaluation rubric

In addition to classroom observations, a scoring rubric was used by teachers to assess

the quality of the digital stories created by the students. This stage had two different

aims: to assess the level of student engagement, and document the educational

outcomes achieved through digital storytelling. The level of engagement is a quantity

that can be measured with the help of a scoring rubric. According to Sadik, it is

appropriate to use an assessment instrument, such as a scoring rubric, to evaluate ICT-

based learning projects (Sadik [2008]). Therefore, the role of digital storytelling was

assessed by means of an evaluation rubric. An evaluation rubric created by the

University of Houston ([2011]) was chosen as a guide to create the rubric for this
research (Additional file 1: Appendix C). The evaluation rubric included nine criteria;

these are: Purpose, Plot, Pacing of Narrative, Dramatic Question, Story Content,

Grammar and Language Usage, Technological Competence, Emotional Content and

Economy of Content. Four levels of descriptors were given for each category, with scores

of 4, 3, 2, or 1 possible, depending on the level of success in that area.

Teacher interviews

Once the level of engagement was measured, we needed to ascertain the educational

outcomes associated with digital storytelling. To perform this step qualitative data was

collected through teacher interviews. After conducting interviews, the interview data

were analysed to identify the benefits related to the use of digital storytelling as a

pedagogical approach, and the teacher’s opinion about integrating new technologies in

their curricula and classroom.

Therefore, three different methods were utilised for data collection: observation, teacher

evaluation rubric, and interview. Timed observation and field notes were used as the

observation method, while a scoring rubric instrument was used for teacher assessment.

Finally, an interview protocol was used for interviewing the participating teachers. The

overall conclusions will be extracted by integrating the findings of each method

(Creswell [2008]).

Participant groups

This study involved five teachers from prioritised curriculum areas (Science, Art,

English, Library and Social Studies) to integrate digital storytelling into the primary and

secondary school curriculum during third and fourth terms in 2012.

Table 1 lists the details of each setting including the subject area in which the digital

storytelling was implemented, the number of students, and days spent observing the

project development, including viewing the digital story.

Table 1 Case study groups

Full size table

Implementation of digital storytelling in classrooms

Since the main aim of this research was to investigate the impact of digital storytelling

on student learning when teachers and students use digital stories, and evaluate if and

how digital storytelling could enhance student engagement and improve educational

outcomes; the next section will focus on how digital storytelling is implemented in the

classroom, describing the digital story workshop, and explaining the teachers’ roles and

students’ tasks (Smeda et al. [2012]).

As mentioned by Sadik, the use of technology is only effective if the teachers have the

expertise to customise the use of technology for story creation. The benefits can only be

received if teachers have the ability to use it in the classroom effectively (Sadik [2008]).

Therefore, the researcher started by giving an orientation seminar, followed by

workshops to teachers during the first two weeks to support and engage them in the

project.

The following steps were used to help teachers easily integrate digital storytelling in

their classroom. It is not the only way to implement digital storytelling; however, it can

provide clear strategies on how to integrate digital storytelling when teachers and their

students do not have any previous training in digital storytelling (Ohler [2008]; Sadik

[2008]; Miller [2009]; Kajder et al. [2005]; [University of Houston 2011]; Smeda et al.

[2012]; Robin [2006]; Sharda [2005]; Lasica [2006]).

Teachers’ workshop

Two workshops were conducted for the teachers with the following main objectives:

1. 1.

Introduce Digital Storytelling (Workshop 1):

Objective: Describe the concept of digital storytelling

Facilitator: Researcher

Description: The workshop started with a conversation about teachers’ experiences with

digital sound, video, and storytelling. An overview of possible strategies for using digital

storytelling as a medium for engaging students and improving learning outcomes. The

potential power of digital storytelling as a teaching and learning tool was then explored

within the constructivist paradigm.

1. 2.

Introduce Moviemaker software (Workshop 2):

Objective: Describe how to create a digital story with the Moviemaker software

Facilitator: Researcher

Description: In this workshop Moviemaker software was introduced to the teacher with

an explanation of how to create a digital story using this software; various features and

options available in Moviemaker were demonstrated.

Students and teacher roles

Students at different levels have different skills and knowledge, so they need different

levels of help. For example, primary school students who have basic skills and

knowledge need more direction and guidance to create a digital story. Obviously,

students in different grades might need different levels of assistance and scaffolding.

Therefore, students worked under the supervision of their teachers, and depending on
each individual student, teachers provided help in constructing and creating the story. It

is expected that the level of teacher support and the extent of scaffolding may vary

across levels; teachers were prepared to provide this support through a series workshops

([Smeda et al. 2012]).

Using the following lessons, teacher and student worked together to create the digital

stories step-by-step:

Lesson 1: brainstorm

The objective of this lesson is to brainstorm the story. Typical expected duration is 1 to

3 days. In this lesson, teachers divide students into groups and allocate topics for them

to discuss between themselves, share their ideas with each other and brainstorm the

story in different ways. The students jot down ideas and write the initial narrative for

the story for a particular topic the teacher had given them.

Lesson 2: storyboard

The purpose of this lesson is to create the storyboard. The estimated duration is 2 to

4 days. In this lesson, teachers help their students in writing the storyboard to organise

the story sequences. They also help students clarify the main ideas of the story.

Students, on the other hand, create the storyboard and select the right element(s) for it.

They may also start by writing a draft of their storyboard. This assists in planning the

visual materials in the right order, and thinking about how to match images or videos

with the voiceover and music.

Lesson 3: search the material

This lesson is directed towards collecting the material required to create the digital story

over a period of 2 to 4 days. Teachers demonstrate to their students how to look for

images from different sources such as books, magazines, and the internet. They also
explain copyright and digital rights issues related to the materials used. Furthermore,

teachers show the students how to use the digital camera, if required. It is the students’

responsibility to choose elements which match their digital story such as photos, videos,

and music.

Lesson 4: creating the digital story

The objective is to use Moviemaker software for creating a digital story. Due to the

amount of work associated, the duration of this lesson is 5 to 10 days, the longest among

digital story creation steps. For teachers, this lesson is designed to help students create

the digital story and explain how to import pictures and videos into the Moviemaker

software. Moreover, teachers help the students who want to record their voices and use

them within the story. The students created the digital story based on the storyboard by

importing the elements to Moviemaker software and recording their voice to add to the

narrative and test if it works effectively with the digital story. They can also add special

effects and adjust the length of each visual element. This is achieved by choosing and

adding some special effects, such as music and transitions, to make the story more

attractive, adjusting the length of each visual element to make sure it matches the

narration, and this is done over the entire digital story.

Lesson 5: editing and feedback

This lesson is aimed at editing and finalising the digital story, after the student has

created its first version. The duration of this lesson is 1 to 3 days. In this lesson teachers

provide some feedback to incorporate further improvements before the final draft of the

digital story. Students revise and edit the drafts based on teachers’ comments and

feedback. Then they discuss the final drafts with the teacher and other students. The

final form of the story is prepared based on these comments and feedback.
Lesson 6: presentation and evaluation

The final step of digital story creation is about presenting and evaluating the finalised

digital stories over 1 or 2 days. Teachers attend the student presentation and evaluate

them based on story elements, story creation and presentation. The sole responsibility

of the students in this lesson is to present the digital story to teachers, classmates, and

parents.

Results and discussion

Individual case studies using mixed methods constitute the body of this research. Data

for this study was collected through observations, the evaluation rubric, and teacher

interviews. Five separate case reports were prepared. The case reports aim to answer the

research questions; and a cross-case matrix was developed for each research question.

The intent of the study was not comparative, due to the fact that it was conducted in a

single school and all five practice case studies were conducted at different educational

levels such as Years 3–4 in primary school, and Year 11 in secondary school. In addition,

the approach assumed in the implementation of this research was dependent on

teachers. Therefore, in one-class students worked autonomously, while in others they

worked in groups.

Considering all the above parameters, the main focus of the research was not to perform

a comparative analysis, but rather to evaluate the effects of digital storytelling on

education. The intent was to capture the benefits of using digital storytelling to explore

student engagement and outcomes, as well as teacher experience with digital

storytelling.
Therefore, in this section will focus on the main conclusion derived from the discussion

of main findings related to student’s engagements and learning outcomes, as well as the

teacher perceptions about digital storytelling as a pedagogical tool.

Enhancing engagement

The findings of this research indicate that levels of student engagement fluctuate

between moderate and high. In other words, students were always engaged in the

classroom. The use of software and conducting searches for digital media took these

levels to very high, and were the highest for student presentations. In all cases students

liked using technology, searching the internet, and watching other digital stories. There

were some differences in implementation. For instance, Year 7 students had very low

engagement levels when they had to complete their storyboards. Year 9 students had a

constant, high level of engagement as they occasionally presented their completed

works. Some Year 11 students’ lack of interest in school curriculum presented as an

engagement problem. However, the use of digital media managed to increase their

engagement level. This finding is supported by Dupain and Maguire who argued that

educators continuously need methods to engage students’ interest with teaching

material. With the aid of the latest developments in technology, classrooms welcome

digital storytelling as a means of teaching, and students are motivated to conceive an

academic concept and transmit their own (Dupain & Maguire [2005]).

The above findings are also in agreement with the current literature which encourages

this new teaching approach, that is, digital storytelling permits students to utilise

technology in an effective manner. Provision of appropriate resources and editing tools

paves the way for student motivation and maximises its positive effect (Sadik [2008];
Morris [2011]). This encourages students to put more effort into their stories and to

create quality products.

Yet another result confirming the above findings is reported by Gils, this research

showed that pupils are more engaged with the practical environment. Digital

storytelling makes practice and training more engaging, diverse, and customised to their

needs and challenges, which makes it more realistic. In this sense, it encourages

students to focus on using English to communicate with classmates. Digital storytelling

has the advantage of engaging three different senses: hands, eyes and ears. It also

increases students’ technical literacy (Van Gils [2005]).

On the other hand, the findings of this research indicate students had a hard time

getting engaged in the class when they had to finish their storyboard; some students

were not interested in any school activity including digital storytelling. Therefore, they

had a low engagement level. However, when these students started recording their own

videos, engagement levels increased significantly.

Consequently, it is possible to use digital storytelling to integrate instructional messages

with learning activities to create more engaging and exciting learning environments.

This teaching approach enhances emotional interest and cognitive attention, and

reflects consistent and reliable transfer of knowledge in line with modern learning

theories. Considering Barrett’s findings, it can be concluded that digital storytelling

combines student engagement and effective integration of technology into instruction,

which are student-centred learning strategies (Barrett [2006]).

Fostering collaboration

The findings of this research indicated that students work collaboratively and engage

with digital content. They did more work while directly using applications and digital
resources, such as the internet and/or libraries, instead of conventional printed media,

such as books. This research also observed collaboration between groups where

different groups helped each other with technical or grammar issues. This increased

their levels of communication.

The above findings are in agreement with Standley who found that the creation of digital

stories encourages collaboration between students, which in turn leads to the utilisation

of various cognitive capabilities. Moreover, when working in a group, individuals pay

more attention to content (Standley [2003]).

In addition, other researchers have found similar findings to those in this research.

According to them, the digital learning experience can promote collaborative studying

and encourages students to share resources online. Students’ skills are also enhanced by

using databases and internet sources. Furthermore, digital content ensures that

different groups are helping each other, as networked digital content connects the whole

class; students who participate in digital storytelling projects have better

communication, organisational skills, and more confidence in terms of asking questions

and expressing opinions (Robin [2006]; VanderArk and Schneider. [2012]; Hung et al.

[2012]).

The fact that students helped one another in problem solution and concept development

reinforces the idea that cooperation and collaboration levels are increased with digital

storytelling, in other words students have a higher engagement level when they are

working in groups to create a story.

In conclusion, this research demonstrates that digital storytelling can increase students’

collaboration and communication skills.

Transforming learning
This research affirms that digital storytelling is suitable for a constructive approach to

learning; because students work on their own story after receiving basic instructions

from the teacher. Students have their own individual approach based on their

interactions and experiences and generate novel outputs by using different sources in

their creation of the digital story. These findings are in line with those reported by other

researchers, such as Garrard who observed that digital storytelling supports

constructivist learning and concluded that digital storytelling is a good method of

teaching with positive impacts (Garrard [2011]).

In addition, the findings of research conducted by Normann concur with this research.

He concluded that digital storytelling is a perfect way of learning new things and to

implement constructive approaches to education, he reported that the method of

conducting lessons impacted the students’ approach to learning activities (Normann

[2011]).

The constructivist approach has several perspectives on learning since it recognises that

human beings use their own personal vision in explaining the acquired information

(Duffy et al. [2012]). This was supported by teachers in our study who concluded that

digital storytelling permits students to learn by doing, and providing a flexible learning

environment enables students to use their own ideas.

In addition, the findings of this research confirm that facilitating or scaffolding the

learning process is the teacher’s main role. At the beginning, tasks, software and digital

storytelling are explained by the teacher, which requires a teacher-led mode. Following

this step, students have the necessary knowledge from which to start working

autonomously, with some teacher supported learning.

Robin, who has a similar outlook on digital storytelling, found that a story created by the

teacher will help students to enhance their abilities. The teacher thus builds the

framework for discussing storytelling topics and makes conceptual and/or abstract

subjects more comprehensible. Building on experience and knowledge with teacher

support, students create their own story using iMovie and/or Moviemaker. Thus

students improve their skill set with teacher support in project development (Robin

[2008]).

This has significant congruence with Miller’s findings, i.e. students imitate interactions

with their teacher and use these interactions to help others, thus building their

interpersonal skills and confidence (Miller [2009]).

Building digital literacy

This research indicates that the utilisation of digital storytelling in education increases

skills. Teachers witnessed that digital storytelling via technology integration assisted

students, and helped them overcome their problems. As supported by Ohler, who

viewed digital storytelling as a concept supporting creativity, students could solve

crucial problems in unprecedented ways. Furthermore, teachers viewed digital

storytelling as a valuable tool to increase research skills. A myriad of skills, such as

spelling, writing, teamwork or collaborating with students and teachers, can be

improved. Needless to say, the uptake of technology improves technical skills (Ohler

[2008]). Sadik arrived at a different conclusion in his research, where classroom

observations and interviews showed that the use of technology is only effective if

teachers have the expertise to customise content for story creation (Sadik [2008]).

In addition, the findings of teacher interviews indicate that digital storytelling is an

effective tool to help students improve their technical skills and information literacy.
Students have the opportunity to choose the skill they want to work on and improve.

This may include individual skills, such as spelling and writing, as well as interpersonal

skills such as working in a team, or collaborating with students and teachers. Miller also

found that in every class engaged in digital storytelling, one student acted like a tutor.

This student not only worked on the project, but also provided technical support to

peers in terms of developing their stories. In this sense, students are empowered to use

their strongest skills, and improve them. Their research skills are also honed during

video searches, scanning images and selecting audio content for the story (Miller

[2009]).

Also, the findings indicated that teachers believe that the use of stories in education is

very beneficial for countries receiving immigrants, such as Australia, because a digital

story incorporates multiple aspects of the curriculum, and all teachers should use this

medium at some stage. One teacher commented that in their school, where they work

with many students from non-English-speaking countries, students welcome the

opportunity to express themselves through visual media, rather than more words; it

facilitates communication for new students and builds their confidence. Similar finding

were reported by Benmayor who stated that digital storytelling can help learners to

transfer their knowledge, skills and culture, thereby evolving their thinking process and

helping them gain confidence. Accordingly, digital storytelling can be classified as an

asset based pedagogy (Benmayor [2008]).

Additionally, the findings of teacher interviews indicated that, with digital storytelling,

not only students but the teachers also got the opportunity to improve their

technological skills. This included the use of electronic devices such as personal

computers, cameras and recorders. Miller reported similar findings. She stated that
digital storytelling is the best application for teachers to encourage students to increase

their use and knowledge of technology and technical skills. Furthermore, in order to

create these stories, not only the students but also the teachers are obliged to increase

their technical proficiency in using personal computers, digital cameras, recorders, etc.

This helped teachers keep up with the latest technology (Miller [2009]).

Personalising learning experience

The findings of this research show that digital storytelling can cater for greater diversity

by personalising student’s experience. It can help them improve their confidence, and

contribute to enhanced social and psychological skills. It can also be used to support

students with special needs such as ESLa and VCALb students.

These findings are in line with other research outcomes reported in literature. Van Gils

found that personalised education is one of the main advantages of digital storytelling.

He argued that learners can present their experiences, reflections and evaluate their

achievements while creating digital stories (Van Gils [2005]). According to Ohler, digital

storytelling helped students to become active participants rather than passive

consumers of information (Ohler [2008]).

Academic efforts that focus on the benefits of digital storytelling are supported by

government agencies. Several governing and regulatory authorities have been working

on improving the education system in terms of motivation, learning outcomes and

professional integration. For instance, the Australian Curriculum in Victoria (AusVELS)

was specifically designed to ensure that curriculum content and achievement standards

established high expectations of all students (AusVELS [2013]). According to AusVELS

students are expected to enrich their learning experience, not only in a single aspect of

the curriculum, but in all areas. It is known that students in Australian classrooms have
varying needs based on individual’s learning histories, abilities, cultural and educational

backgrounds. In recognition of this fact, the Australian Curriculum Assessment and

Reporting Authority (ACARA) is developing additional curriculum to promote learning

outcomes for students with disabilities, and/or to assist students from different

linguistic and learning backgrounds (ACARA [2013]).

This fact is also recognised by the UNESCO program for the United Nations Decade of

Education for Sustainable Development. It considers storytelling to be one of the

modules which can be used to equip students with professional learning and teaching

skills. This helps students achieve a wide range of knowledge, skills and values, which is

the objective of Education for Sustainable Development (UNESCO [2010]). The use of

storytelling in Australian schools is bound to have a lasting impact, since it is defined by

UNESCO as “a key teaching strategy for achieving the objectives of education for

sustainable futures” (p.1).

Consequently, suffice to say that digital storytelling has, inter alia, the benefit of

increasing student motivation, especially for those students who have difficulties with

reading and writing, allowing personalisation of the learning experience, acquiring

experience with in-depth and comprehensible reading and becoming more proficient at

technical aspects of language. Digital storytelling can be used to develop personalised

learning experiences for students, thereby responding to diverse individual needs.

Impact of digital storytelling on student outcomes

As the latest report for the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

indicated that the use of technology in education can increase various skills of learners,

the findings of this research also suggested that digital storytelling can enhance several
learning skills including writing, designs, library and research, technology and

communication.

In addition, digital storytelling can help students with tasks they previously found very

difficult including spelling, sentence formation and building, and forming the whole

body of a text; this integration of technology assisted students to overcome their writing

problems.

However, age and ability to learn technological subjects have some impact on the

outcomes. When compared with primary school students, secondary school students

have the ability to learn more and faster. They use the internet and computers more

than primary school students. This was apparent during the study, especially where

primary school students worked exclusively on their stories in the class, secondary

school students worked on their stories, both inside and outside the class.

Furthermore, teachers observed that students were learning without realising. Provided

that students are clearly informed about the task that is required of them, digital

storytelling is useful as an all-round skill development tool; the use of digital storytelling

can therefore reinforce various complementary skills.

The findings of the cross-case analysis based on the rubric data are presented in the

following sections.

Overall mean level of student scores

Figure 1 shows the mean of overall scores received by students for digital story quality

for all cases. The overall scores were very close, despite the differences in age, subject,

knowledge, technology use, etc. Nevertheless, the students in primary school (i.e. ESL

and Years 3/4), received the lowest scores while those in secondary school had much

better results. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, primary school students did not
have prior exposure to Moviemaker software while more secondary school students had

used it before.

Figure 1

Overall scores for digital story quality for the five case studies.

Full size image

Furthermore, age and ability to learn technological subjects have sme impact. When

compared with primary school students, secondary school students have the ability to

learn faster and learn more. They use the internet and computer more regularly than

primary school students. This was apparent during the study where the primary school

students worked on their stories only in the class. On the other hand, secondary school

students worked more regularly on their stories, both inside and outside the class.

It is observed that the subject does not impact student performance. However, the

approach taken by the teacher proved to have significant impact. This was observed in

two cases. In Years 3–4, the teacher observed that students were struggling with their

writing and opted to introduce software so that the students had a clear idea about what

was required of them. This additional step increased student performances.

In Year 7, the teacher asked the students to present their work when it was finished.

Consequently, almost every fortnight there was a story presentation in class and this

contributed to their engagement and better performance. Year 11, Victorian Certificate

of Applied Learning (VCAL) students were a special case. There were two groups, one of

which was working very well, while the other group was not interested in school work.

Although digital storytelling created some interest in the second group, especially
during video shoots and presentation, it was not easy to engage them with the overall

task. They did not work on the story creation, required constant help from the teacher

and received a very low mark.

Overall performance based on evaluation criteria

Figure 2 shows the mean score obtained for the selected criteria for the five case studies.

This shows that primary school students performed well in story aspects such as

purpose, plot, pacing of narrative, dramatic question, story characters, and emotional

content. This is because they planned their storyboard well. The key to their success was

that they spent more time in writing and editing their story with some help from the

teacher, before actually starting the creation process. However, they did not perform as

well in technological components, emotional content and economy of the story. Nor did

they perform as well in the “Dramatic Question” and “Grammar and Language Usage”

since their knowledge of English was limited.

Figure 2

Mean Score for criteria for the five case studies.

Full size image

On the other hand, secondary school students were a complete contrast. They

performed not so well in the story aspects since they did not want to spend much time

writing and storyboarding. This affected their scores in “Plot” and “Pacing of Narrative”.

Their competency in technology helped them receive high marks in technological

components such as “Technological Competence”, “Emotional Content” and “Economy

of content”. This can be traced back to their age group and knowledge in technology use.
Teacher perceptions about student learning through digital storytelling

Teachers had a positive attitude towards the use of digital storytelling as a teaching tool

in their classrooms, as both students and teachers had the opportunity to improve their

technological skills, which included the use of various electronic devices, as previously

mentioned.

Teachers indicated that digital storytelling increased and enhanced the use of

technology in the classroom, which helped students improve their technical skills and

information literacy; digital storytelling can also be applied to subjects such as English

and History, and in almost all the sciences including mathematics, social studies and

humanities.

Furthermore, teachers confirmed that the use of digital stories in education is beneficial

for countries receiving immigrants, such as Australia. The ability for expression through

visual media, rather than words, facilitates communication for new students and builds

their confidence. In addition, teachers fulfilled the role of facilitator, consultant, and

could scaffold the learning process more effectively when they used digital storytelling

in class.

Conclusion

Since the main aim of this research was to investigate the impact of digital storytelling

on student learning, the outcomes of this research will enable both teachers and

students to tap into the power of digital storytelling and more engaged teaching and

learning. This study contributes to new understandings of how to create authentic and

constructivist learning contexts that can be used in a range of educational settings. The

research focused on how to implement digital storytelling in the classroom, describing

the digital story workshop, and explaining teacher roles and student tasks; therefore,
this research gives a clear picture of how to integrate digital storytelling into schools.

Consequently, the new knowledge generated by this research can inform future

educational policy.

Furthermore, a number of story development models have been created in the past to

help educators achieve better learning outcomes with digital storytelling; however, none

of these models provide a holistic pedagogical framework for engaging students with

digital storytelling during various stages of learning. This research presented a new e-

Learning Digital Storytelling (eLDiSt) framework for using digital storytelling as a

pedagogical model for constructivist learning.

In addition, even though the findings of this research are important and have the

potential to inform policy, practice and theory, generalisations could not be derived due

to the following reasons. The research only included participants from one school (even

though there were two levels: primary and secondary) and limitations related to the

participant sample used, since unequal numbers of students from primary and

secondary schools took part in this research. In future research this limitation could be

overcome by using multiple sites instead of one school, and the same participant

sample, if possible. Another issue is related to the limited access to technology in the

school; the students faced some technical problems while creating their digital stories,

also there was some shortage of computers in the labs.

The results of this research indicate that digital storytelling can provide support to

students with special needs, such as ESL and VCAL students. In addition, digital

storytelling can help students to improve their confidence, and can contribute to better

social and psychological skills.

Endnotes
aEnglish as Second Language.

bVictorian Certificate of Applied Learning.

Additional files

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the support we received from East Preston Islamic School; we would

like to thank all the students and teachers who participate in this research. Also we

would like to acknowledge the support and help provided by Prof. Neil Diamond and Dr.

Ewa Sztendur for their statistical support in analysing the data.

Author information

Affiliations

1. College of Engineering and Science, Victoria University, Melbourne, Victoria,

8001, Australia

o Najat Smeda

o & Nalin Sharda

2. Faculty of Education, La Trobe University, Melbourne Campus, Bundoora,

Victoria, 3086, Australia

o Eva Dakich

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Najat Smeda.

Additional information

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Authors’ contributions

NS is a lecturer at Al-Jabel Al-Gharbi University, [Link] received her PhD from the

College of Engineering and Science at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia , her

research project titled “Creating a Constructivist Learning Environment with Digital

Storytelling”. She received her Master’s degree from University of Twente, Netherlands

in technology applications in education and training. She finished her Bachelor’s degree

from University of Al-Jabel Al-Gharbi, Libya and she worked as an academic teaching

member at University of Al-Jabel Al-Gharbi, Libya for more than 8 years. ED is a Senior

Lecturer and Program Leader of Secondary Teacher Education at the Faculty of

Education, La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. ED was a recipient of the

Australian Postgraduate Award and has published widely about the pedagogical and

social transformations occurring in the digital age. These included a co-edited book,

book chapters, journal articles, monographs and refereed conference papers focusing on

21st century learning and digital inclusion. Eva worked as a researcher and consultant on

large Australian research projects, such as the National Evaluation of The Smith

Family’s Tech Packs Project (2009-2010), as well as on the Evaluation of the Victorian

Technology Enriched Curriculum Project, TECP (2011-2013), a Closing the Gap

initiative. She is committed to transdisciplinary research and supervision of doctoral

candidates, and works internationally with colleagues from a variety of scholarly

disciplines. She is a member of several international associations promoting new

learning and eCitizenship. NSh gained [Link]. and Ph.D. degrees from the Indian

Institute of Technology, Delhi. Presently he teaches and leads research in innovative

applications of computer technologies at the College of Engineering and Science,

Victoria University, Australia. NSh publications include the Multimedia Information

Networking textbook, and around 120 papers and handbook chapters. Nalin has

invented Movement Oriented Design (MOD) paradigm for the creation of effective

multimedia content based experience, and applied it to e-Learning and other

applications. NSh has led e-Tourism projects for the Australian Sustainable Tourism
CRC, and is currently guiding research in the innovative applications of ICT systems to

sustainable living. NSh has been invited to present lectures and seminars in the

Distinguished Lecturer series of the European Union’s Prolearn program, and by the

IEEE Education Society. He has presented over fifty seminars, lectures, and Key Note

addresses in Austria, Australia, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia,

Pakistan, Japan, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, and USA. All authors read and

approved the final manuscript.

Electronic supplementary material

Additional file 1:Appendix A: The e-Learning Digital Storytelling (eLDiSt)

Framework. Appendix B: Classroom observation protocol. Appendix C: The scoring

rubric instrument. (DOCX 62 KB)

Authors’ original submitted files for images

Below are the links to the authors’ original submitted files for images.

Authors’ original file for figure 1

Authors’ original file for figure 2

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