Digital Storytelling for Reflective Practice in Communities of Learners
The article by Freidus and Hlubinka discusses the use of digital storytelling in “community development settings to promote reflective practice and foster connections in communities of learners.”
Digital Storytelling allows individuals to learn to tell a story whilst becoming more “effective actors in collaborative work environments” In particular digital storytelling supports participants to “communicate meaning on multiple levels” such as voice, point, emotional, content, tension and story arc. This allows the story be one with a multitude of levels, making it more interesting for the viewer and creator.
Both Freidus and Hlubinka used four guiding principles with their work with digital storytelling in order to support reflective practice. These four principles include; articulation, abstraction, audience, and affinity. Articulation discusses the necessary information which needs to be included in the narrative. Making the students identify the important features of their story. Abstraction refers to using the different elements of image, music, voice, etc and putting them into a sequence where the story still has its meaning. This can be a hard task for students, as when they are given all the different elements which they may include, it may often be used in a way where every element is used at once, therefore loosing the real meaning of the story. The next principle of audience discusses the idea that the students needs to work on their digital story with an intended audience. Affinity refers to all of the digital stories being put together to make a community, where themes emerge, and “stories begin to influence on another and develop connecting themes”
“Digital storytelling for reflective practice is a valuable, transformative tool for personal, professional, organizational, and community development”
Both Natasha Freidus and Michelle Hlubinka express their positive views on using and producing digital storytelling. I believe that digital storytelling needs to be used in the classroom, as it allows students to use their knowledge in story telling as well including their knowledge of technology. It will not only increase their knowledge in technology, but make them aware of the endless possibilities which they can achieve through digital storytelling.
Freidus, N.& Hlubinka, M. (2002). Digital storytelling for reflective practice in communities of learners. ACM SIGGROUP Bulletin archive. 23(2), 24 – 26
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