Digital storytelling to develop reflective learning with next generation technologies & practice

Start date: 1 January 2008

End date: 31 March 2009

Funding programme: Users & Innovation: Personalising Technologies

JISC theme(s): e-Administration

Committees: JISC Organisational Support committee

Aims and objectives

Digital storytelling is an innovative approach to reflective learning in which pictures and sound are collected and assembled to form a multimedia story. Next generation technologies, such as mobile phones with cameras, blogs, social networking sites and media sharing sites, provide familiar and easy approaches for multimedia collection by students. We are interested to see if the combination of a new educational approach to reflective learning with a range of next generation technologies will increase the engagement of students in reflective learning.

Project methodology

The project will consist of four pilot studies. These studies will allow us to gain experience of using a range of different approaches to digital storytelling and also a variety of new technologies for digital storytelling. Two studies, in medicine and dietetics, will use mobile devices and blogs provided by the institution and two studies, in education and performance and cultural industries, will use student’s own devices and their own choice of next generation technologies.

Anticipated outputs and outcomes

1. Pilot next generation technologies for social networking, collaborative writing and, collecting user generated content to develop digital stories. Using both static technologies and mobile devices to collect and deliver content.
2. Evaluate the experiences of students and teachers in using the tools within the projects to develop user requirements and case studies of user experiences in using emergent technologies
3. Help demonstrate solutions that integrate the use of next generation technologies with institutional virtual learning environments and with students’ own devices. This will demonstrate the effectiveness of next generation technologies by

• making it easier for students to collect rich multi-media evidence of learning
• using digital storytelling to add value to the use of these tools
• demonstrating the impact on students’ own reflective learning abilities