8.2 Digital Story

When and Where Did I Find It: I found this term in an article I recently reread for research project I am working on.  "A digital story is a multimedia text consisting of still images complemented by a narrated soundtrack to tell a story or present a documentary; sometimes video clips are embedded between images" (Sylvester & Greenidge, 2009, p. 284).     
Full citation:

Sylvester, R. & Greenidge, W. (2009). Digital storytelling:  Extending the potential for struggling writers.  The Reading Teacher, 63(4), 284-295. doi: 10.1598/RT.63.4.3.

What It Means: The term digital story is used to describe a specific type of digital or multimedia text which includes the following or a "combination of these seven elements:
1.  Point of View
2.  Dramatic question
3.  Emotional content
4.  Economy
5.  Pacing
6. The gift of voice
7. Sountrack.   (Sylvester & Greenidge, p. 287)

I found a very interesting web-based presentation on the concept of Digital Storytelling online:  http://pwoessner.wikispaces.com/Digital+Storytelling

Level of Familiarity: I had heard this term prior to reading the article, but honestly, it wasn't until I read this piece for the first time that if finally "clicked" for me how this particular type of story was very different from traditional stories or narrative texts.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why? I think this is such an important term to fully understand.   At first glance, one would assume this term implies we are talking about digital narratives (like a film); however, these digital narratives or digital stories that are most frequently created and published are NOT full narratives.  Instead, they are a mix of elements of biography and narrative.   It is important to be able to distinguish between this particular type of "story" and what a reader would expect to find given most people's traditional understanding of story/narrative.

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?  I think all teachers of writing should understand what is meant by this particular term.   Too often the term "story" is used when creating writing assignments, without much thought to what is expected.   If teachers were more careful and purposeful in how they talked about the genre of narrative, then perhaps students (K-12 and beyond) would develop a deeper and more principled understanding of the various types of works that can be produced under the very large umbrella term of "story."