Instructional design/DS Plan

Creating a Digital Storytelling Plan
Now that you’ve learned the concepts and practiced using them, it’s time to create your own plan for using digital storytelling in a class. Follow these steps to create a lesson that builds from simple to complex examples and concepts, or use the rapid-deployment model below.

Draw students’ attention

 * Use a simple example of digital storytelling.
 * Remember The Ballad of Jed Clampett: short, entertaining, engaging, told with digital tools.
 * Alternate approach: Invite students to bring their own examples or links to examples of simple digital stories. (Impose a time limit on examples to ensure reduced complexity: 2 minutes or less.)



Introduce the definition of story

 * Use the example you provided, or a student example of your choice.
 * Remember: character, challenge, resolution.


 * Present at least one example that lacks one or more of the three story elements, and vary the media used.


 * Invite reflection: How does a story differ from a report? Provide feedback.

Introduce the narrative arc

 * Use the previous simple example.
 * Provide the narrative arc for the example: character, challenge, resolution.
 * Introduce a more complex example, and vary the media used.
 * Invite students to define the more complex example’s narrative arc.
 * Invite students to reflect on a narrative they have seen in everyday life, or in popular media. Provide feedback.
 * Quiz on the narrative arc definition to embed learning.

Introduce story mapping

 * Use the previous more complex example.
 * Provide a story map of the example, explaining each numbered plot point.
 * Call for extensive practice:
 * 1) Provide a model story map with numbered plot points.
 * 2) Provide at least 3 digital stories of varied complexity, or assign students to find three of their own examples.
 * 3) Have students create story maps of the three examples.
 * 4) Provide feedback as students work on their maps.
 * Ask students to share their finished maps.
 * Invite reflection by fellow students.
 * Provide feedback as needed.

Introduce and explain digital tools

 * Provide a list of approved tools for the class.
 * Drawing from the previous examples, invite students to reflect on how any tools on the approved list are employed in the examples.
 * Invite students to discuss which tools they need practice with, and which they feel proficient using. Provide feedback as needed.
 * Establish practice benchmarks for approved digital tools.
 * Have students practice with digital tools, aligning practice with the benchmarks.
 * Assess students' practice and provide feedback at each benchmark.

Introduce an assignment

 * Students must create a digital story using tools on the approved list.
 * Impose a time limit on the finished digital story to ensure low to moderate complexity (between 1 and 3 minutes).

Invite feedback and reflection

 * Have students share their work with one another.
 * Invite students to reflect on others’ work, and on their own.
 * Provide both public and private feedback and grade

Is your plan complete?
Compare your finished plan with this digital storytelling checklist.

Rapid deployment/guided discovery/rapid assessment option
This option can be deployed in a single class session, or in a semester-long class schedule, regardless of class subject matter.


 * Provide the class with a Twitter discussion hashtag.
 * Provide discussion prompts at a minimum of three stages: beginning, middle and end of class (this mirrors beginning, middle and end of story shapes).
 * Have students curate their responses with a digital tool such as Storify, and create your own curation.
 * Have students share their curation with others; share your own curation.
 * Invite reflection.

Assessment-only option: If you simply want to assess learning without teaching digital storytelling skills, eliminate the student curation component. Use comments to gauge changes in students’ learning and/or attitudes as the class progresses.