Storytelling Influenced by Technology

Storytelling has evolved overtime, from the cave drawings, drum beats and narratives of primary cultures to the sophisticated multimedia presentations of today. People may be drawn to storytelling because of the experience that is created by the teller through the “magical potency” of the words when spoken aloud, for as Ong (1982) describes: “sound cannot be sounding without the use of power” (p.32). Others may prefer a form of storytelling that allows them to become a part of the story where they can interact with how the story is being told and the actual outcome of the story. Regardless of the format, storytelling has always been about transferring meaning from one person to another and modern technology has provided new ways in which people can create and recreate this storytelling experience in a digital form.

There are now entire books on CD and short stories on podcasts that can be downloaded from the Internet “via iTunes or an RSS feed” (Wallen, 2009, p.12), which allows one to listen to a story whenever and wherever they would like. One website that features such short stories is the Missouri Review (www.missourireview.com) which hosts a competition annually for the most literally stories told in less than six-minutes. Another popular website for such stories is DimeStories (www.dimestories.org) which is “a reading series with various open mikes and showcases” (Warren, 2009, p.12). There is also narrative nonfiction that can be found at The Moth (www.themoth.org), featuring true stories of five-minutes or less that are told in front of a live audience. And finally, there is Yarn Audio Works (www.yarnaudioworks.com) which has an array of audio stories and documentaries. These are just some of the websites that provide a unique channel for orators to tell their stories and for listeners to retrieve stories they otherwise would not have had access to.

Beyond just being able to listen to stories electronically there are now multimedia children’s books that allow the reader to participate in the story beyond the written book. Scholastic launched the first series of such books in 2008 called, 39 Clues (www.the39clues.com), with “the sales pitch on the back of the book: Read the Books. Collect the Cards. Play the Game. Win the Prizes” (Deahl, 2009, p.18). This series offers an interactive website and a gaming element to the books that has attracted young readers and has kept them coming back for more. The sixth book of the ten book series is now available in stores and this series has become so popular that the film rights have already been purchased by Steven Spielberg (Deahl, 2009). Similarly, HarperCollins introduced The Amanda Project (www.amandaproject.com) this year with the first book, Invisible I, of a six book series. This series offers an interactive website that allows readers to develop a character, search for clues, create artwork and submit writings for future books. Then there are authors like Patrick Carman who are including their own multimedia concept with a book like the online video he created in conjunction with his book, Skeleton Creek, which allows the reader to interact with the story by finding clues and passwords online. These multimedia projects “are steering a bold new direction for children’s publishing (Deahl, 2009, p.18) and are influencing the way children read and participate in storytelling.

Similarly, many educators from elementary schools to colleges are now introducing digital stories into their classrooms as a tool for presenting information and as a creative outlet for their students.

Digital storytelling is a simple method of using widely available image editing software (iMovie, Premiere, MA Photo Story, PowerPoint) to blend together digitized still photographs and narrative to created short, evocative, and informative multimedia pieces (Fletcher and Cambre, 2009, p.110).

Digital storytelling allows students to participate in a hands-on-process that allows them to personalize what they are learning. The students are able to construct their own meaning and knowledge not only from the stories they tell, but also from what forms of media they use to tell them in. This type of multimedia learning goes beyond traditional storytelling by developing decision making and technological skills and encouraging students to work together across different curriculum areas (Simkins, Cole, Fern & Means, 2002).

Even though the forms of storytelling have changed over time, the purpose to communicate ideas from one person to another to create meaning has remained the same. “Stories are important, providing us with a voice in time and place about our heritage” (Joseph, 2006, p.13). As technology advances, storytelling will continue to become a hybrid of art and science in which the learning is mutual for the author and the audience.

References

Deahl, R. (2009). The New Storytelling. Publishers Weekly. 256(13). 18-20.

Fletcher, C. and Cambre, C. (2009). Digital Storytelling and Implicated Scholarship in the Classroom. Journal of Canadian Studies. 43(1). 109-130.

Joseph, L. (2006). Digital Storytelling. MultiMedia & Internet@Schools. 13(4). 13-16.

Ong, W.J. (1982). Orality and Literacy. London: Methuen.

Simkins, M., Cole, K., Tavalin, F., & Means, B. (2002). Increasing Student Learning Through
Multimedia Projects. Alexandria: ASCD.

Wallen, A. (2009). Audio Outlets Give the Storytelling Tradition a Modern Twist. Writer.
122(10). 12.