Digital Storytelling

Research shared as a story engages broader audiences, including folks outside of university settings, in your research. It is a way of expressing information with narration - and the content is as important as the container. Digital stories can be basic - a narrated PowerPoint, for example, or detailed and professionally produced. Most fall somewhere in between, but they share a common process.

1. Come up with an idea: Define your topic or research question, state your purpose, and identify the audience for your work
2. Research, explore, and learn: Conduct your research and identify evidence
3. Write or script your story: Develop an outline for the research you are presenting, much like you would for a paper
4. Storyboard and plan for your digital story: Create a timeline and flow to visualize how your digital story will progress
5. Gather media: Locate the images, audio, and video you will use for your digital story
6. Put it all together: This is where you move into 'production' - build out your story in the platform or tool you selected
7. Share: Make your story accessible to your intended audience
8. Collect feedback and reflect

Digital storytelling projects require students and researchers to think about four core categories:

1. Purpose: What is the motivation behind creating a project? To teach? Inform? Persuade? 
2. Audience: Who is the project for? Who is the intended audience - and how will they access, interpret, and use the information?
3. Perspective: What is the point of view through which the story will be told? Does it reinforce or challenge stereotypes?
4. Design: How will the components of this project be organized and presented? 

(adapted from Tufts University Digital Storytelling Proposal Guide)

Narrow Your Topic & Define Your Audience

Thinking about your research in the form of a digital story helps you to better define your topic, research questions you will pose, and the kinds of information you will need to construct a narrative - including media that will connect with your audience. The resources below can help you think about your topic broadly, then narrow it to the focus of your story and collect information that supports your research and its readers.

TIP: Create a Digital Project Charter

A project charter is a simple document that can help get everyone on the same page from the beginning. Essentially, the project charter is an agreement reached by all contributors about what the project is, who is responsible for the different parts, and what a successful outcome might look like. It is a resource that the team can refer back to whenever there is uncertainty about the direction or progress of the project.

Digital stories require planning. Just like you start with an outline to write a paper, digital storytelling relies on a flow of information, ideas, and resources. Media projects like these often begin with a storyboard, which is an outline that also includes multimedia objects. 

A storyboard doesn't need to be fancy - many times, it may even be hand-drawn. Like an outline for a paper, the goal is to establish the flow of content and determine what elements you need to write, illustrate, or include media for. 

Example of a hand-drawn storyboard for a multi-media digital story

Storyboard Tools & Ideas