Story-Based Teaching and Learning: Practices and Technologies Cheryl Diermyer Senior Learning Technology Consultant DoIT, Academic Technology University of Wisconsin-Madison Chris Blakesley Ph.D. Student University of Wisconsin-Madison Stories and Learning Stories are an ancient method of teaching and learning that can be used in new ways through evolving media. At their core, stories are a representation of a series of events. They have been considered a mode of thought (Bruner, 1991), a communication strategy, and a form of expression. There is also strong evidence that suggests stories are an important tool for learning (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989; McLellan, 1996). As psychologist and interactive designer Donald Norman states (1993), stories have the uncanny ability to “encapsulate, into one compact package, information, knowledge, context, and emotion” (p. 129). With the rapid evolution of digital technologies, we are able to share and learn from stories in new ways. For instance, current computing applications make the production of a video possible for anyone with a common computer and some guidance. Through the use of existing technologies many of the storytelling conventions previously standardized by professional filmmakers can now be added to or adapted by students and faculty. Students can now learn by listening to and telling 21 st century stories. This paper will highlight three emerging story-based teaching and learning practices in higher education that utilize various technologies. Representative examples are offered that have been observed on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Digital Storytelling and Learning According to Hilary McLellan (2006), digital storytelling operates on a basic premise: “it is designed to help people tell stories from their own lives that are meaningful to them, and to their audience, using media to add power and resonance, and to create a permanent record” (p. 27). Digital storytelling is the art of crafting a personal story using a variety of digital tools and software applications. These digital stories are typically short, running at about 3-5 minutes in length or around 300 words. Authors usually create stories that are personal, yet about themes that are universally relevant. When used for educational purposes, digital stories can impact many learning goals. One common method in higher education is to have students produce their own digital stories as a class project. When assigned in relation to specific subject areas (e.g. history, physics, psychology), digital stories become a lens through which to examine elements of the course concepts. Digital stories can also promote skills including visual literacy, multimodal literacy, technology literacy, group collaboration, creative thinking, information management, and problem solving. Digital stories also encourage self-reflection, creativity, individual initiative and building collaborative structures. Students can improve many of these skills with interest because of what may be the key ingredient of digital storytelling – the challenge of creating a story that has personal meaning. 25th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning For more resources: http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference Copyright 2009 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System 1