Abstract
This chapter gives an overview of Digital storytelling (DST) as a pedagogical method that supports teachers’ practices and students’ learning to meet the needs and requirements of twenty-first-century skills by making student-centered knowledge creation possible at schools. Digital stories are student-generated videos that can consist of single or multiple events in curriculum-related topics or other themes for students’ learning. The chapter starts with description of megatrends in learning and teaching environments and changes in working life. DST is reflected on as a method that prepares students to new knowledge ecosystem and open learning spaces. The conceptual model of Global Sharing Pedagogy is used as a structure of these reflections. The chapter also illustrates DST in three case studies: digital stories across countries, a video inquiry project in STEM learning and teaching, and learning math with DST. Based on these case studies, in the final section we discuss evaluation strategies that should be considered when moving toward student-driven knowledge creation. We conclude by making recommendations for using DST in learning and teaching. The main conclusion is that DST is an efficient pedagogical method that can be used at schools to support students’ development of twenty-first-century skills. Additionally, this method also provides plenty of opportunities for student-centered active learning which leads to increased students’ agency, engagement, learning motivation, and joyful learning.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Autor, D. (2010). The polarization of job opportunities in the US labor market. In Center for American Progress and the Hamilton Project.
Bellanca, J., & Brandt, R. (2010). 21st century skills: Rethinking how students learn. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.
Binkley, M., Erstad, O., Herman, J., Raizen, S., Ripley, M., Miller-Ricci, M., et al. (2012). Defining twenty-first century skills. In P. Griffin, B. McGaw, & E. Care (Eds.), Assessment and teaching of 21st century skills (pp. 17–66). Dordrecht: Springer.
Blas, N. D. (2016). 21st century skills and digital storytelling in the classroom. In M. N. Yildiz & J. Keengwe (Eds.), Handbook of research on media literacy in the digital age (pp. 306–330). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Cole, M. (1991). Conclusion. In L. B. Resnick, J. M. Levine, & S. D. Teasley (Eds.), Perspectives on socially shared-cognition (pp. 398–417). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Cole, M., & Cigagas, X. E. (2010). Culture and Cognition. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of cultural developmental science (pp. 127–142). New York: Psychology Press.
Davies, A. Fidler, D., & Gorbis. D. (2011). Future Work Skills 2020. Palo Alto, CA: Institute for the Future for University of Phoenix Research Institute. Retrieved Feb 19, 2014, from source. http://www.iftf.org/uploads/media/SR-1382A_UPRI_future_work_skills_sm.pdf.
Euopean Union. (2006). Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning (2006/962/EC). Official Journal of the European Union, 30 Dec 2006, L 394/10.
Griffin, P. (2013). The assessment and teaching of 21st century skills (ATCS21STM). In Presentation at TERA & PROMS Conference, Taiwan.
Griffin, P., McGaw, B., & Care, E. (2012). The changing role of education and schools. In P. Griffin, B. McGaw, & E. Care (Eds.), Assessment and teaching of 21st century skills (pp. 1–16). Dordrecht: Springer Science+Business Media BV. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2324-5_2.
Griffin, P., McGaw, B., & Care, E. (Eds.). (2013). Assessment and teaching of 21st century skills, (pp. 17–66). Dordrecht, Germany: Springer Science+Business Media BV. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2324-5_2.
Hakkarainen, K., Paavola, S., Kangas, K., & Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, P. (2013). Sociocultural perspectives on collaborative learning: Towards collaborative knowledge creation. In C. E. Hmelo-Silver, A. M. O’Donnell, C. Chan, & C. A. Chinn (Eds.), The international handbook of collaborative learning (pp. 57–73). Routledge: New York.
Harju, V. & Niemi, H. (2017). Transversal competencies in Finnish basic education (in Chinese). In Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education.
Hull, G., & Katz, M. L. (2006). Crafting an agentive self: Case studies in digital storytelling. Research in the Teaching of English, 41, 43–81.
Hull, G., Kenney, N., Marple, & Forsman-Schneider, A. (2006). Many versions of masculine: An exploration of boys' identity formation through digital storytelling in an afterschool program. The Robert Bowne Foundation: Occasional Paper Series, 6, 1–42.
Hull, G., Zacher, J., & Hibbert, L. (2009). Youth, risk, and equity in a global world. Review of Research in Education, 33(1), 117–159.
Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Weigel, M., Clinton, K., & Robinson, A. J. (2009). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the twenty-first century. Chicago, IL: The MacArthur Foundation and London: The MIT Press.
Jones, B., Valdez, G., Nowakowski, J., & Rasmussen, C. (1994). Designing learning and technology for educational reform. Oak Brook: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.
Kearney, M. (2009). Towards a learning design for student-generated digital storytelling (DST). Article Presented in Conference: The Future of Learning Design Conference. University of Wollongong: New South Wales, Australia. http://ro.uow.edu.au/gi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=fld
Lambert, J. (2013). Digital storytelling (DST): Capturing lives, creating community. New York, NY: Routledge.
McGee, P. (2015). The instructional value of Digital Storytelling (DST): Higher education, professional, and adult learning settings. New York, NY: Routledge.
Nevgi, A., Virtanen, P., & Niemi, H. (2006). Supporting students to develop collaborative learning skills in technology-based environments. British Journal of Educational Technology, 37, 937–947.
Niemi, H. (2002). Active learning—A cultural change needed in teacher education and in schools. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18, 763–780.
Niemi, H. (2003). Competence building in life-wide learning: Innovation, competence building and social cohesion in Europe (pp. 219–239). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Niemi, H. (2009). Why from teaching to learning. European Educational Research Journal, 8(1), 1–17.
Niemi, H., Harju, V., Vivitsou, M., Viitanen, K., Multisilta, J., & Kuokkanen, A. (2014). Digital storytelling for 21st-century skills in virtual learning environments. Creative Education, 5(9), 657–671.
Niemi, H., & Multisilta, J. (2016). Digital storytelling promoting twenty-first century skills and student engagement. In Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 25(4), 451–408. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2015.1074610.
Niemi, H., Niu, S., Vivitsou, M., & Li, B. (2018). Digital storytelling for twenty-first-century competencies with math literacy and student engagement in China and Finland. Contemporary Educational Technology, 9(4), 331–353. https://doi.org/10.30935/cet.470999.
Nonaka, I., & Konno, N. (1998). The Concept of ‘Ba’: Building a foundation for knowledge creation. California Management Review, 40(3), 40–54.
Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge-creating company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. New York: Oxford University Press.
Nonaka, I., & Toyama, R. (2003). The knowledge-creating theory revisited: Knowledge creation as a synthesizing process. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 1, 2–10.
Pea, R. D. (2004). The social and technological dimensions of scaffolding and related theoretical concepts for learning, education, and human activity. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 13(3), 423–451.
Pea, R., & Lindgren, R. (2008). Collaboration design patterns in uses of a video platform for research and education. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, 1(4), 235–247.
Penttilä, J., Kallunki, V., Niemi, H. M., & Multisilta, J. (2016). A structured inquiry into a digital story: Primary school students report the making of a superball. International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning, 8(3), 19–34.
Pintrich, P. R., & McKeachie, W. J. (2000). A framework for conceptualizing student motivation and self-regulated learning in the college classroom. In P. R. Pintrich & P. Ruohotie (Eds.), Conative constructions and self-regulated learning (pp. 31–50). Hämeenlinna: RCVE.
Pintrich, P. R., & Ruohotie, P. (Eds.). (2000). Conative constructions and self-regulated learning. Hämeenlinna, Finland: RCVE.
Robin, B. R. (2008). Digital storytelling (DST): A powerful technology tool for the 21st century classroom. Theory Into Practice, 47(3), 220–228.
Rogoff, B. (1990). Apprenticeship in thinking: Cognitive development in social context. New York: Oxford University Press.
Sadik, A. (2008). Digital storytelling (DST): A meaningful technology-integrated approach for engaged student learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 56, 487–506.
Salomon, G. (1993). No distribution without individual’s cognition: A dynamic interactional view. In G. Salomon (Ed.), Distributed cognitions: Psychological and educational considerations (pp. 111–138). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Scardamalia, M. (2002). Collective cognitive responsibility for the advancement of knowledge. In B. Smith (Ed.), Liberal education in a knowledge society (pp. 67–98). Chicago, IL: Open Court.
Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2003). Knowledge building. In J. W. Guthrie (Ed.), Encyclopedia of education (2nd ed., pp. 1370–1373). New York: Macmillan Reference.
Schleicher, A. (2012). Preparing Teachers and School Leaders for the 21st Century—Ministers and Union Leaders Meet on How to Turn Visions into Reality. https://community.oecd.org/community/educationtoday/blog/2012/03/17/preparing-teachers-and-school-leaders-for-the-21st-century-ministers-and-union-leaders-meet-on-how-to-turn-visions-into-reality.
Shelby-Caffey, C., Úbéda, E., & Jenkins, B. (2014). Digital storytelling revisited. The Reading Teacher, 68(3), 191–199.
Starke-Meyerring, D., & Wilson, M. (Eds.). (2008). Designing globally networked learning environments: Visionary partnerships, policies, and pedagogies. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Starke-Meyerring, D., Duin, A. H., & Palvetzian, T. (2007). Global partnerships: Positioning technical communication programs in the context of globalization. Technical Communication Quarterly, 16(2), 139–174.
Stewart, K., & Gachago, D. (2016). Being human today: A digital storytelling pedagogy for transcontinental border crossing. British Journal Educational Technology, 47, 528–542.
Sukovic, S. (2014). iTell: Transliteracy and digital storytelling. Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 45(3), 205–229.
Säljö, R. (2010). Digital tools and challenges to institutional traditions of learning: Technologies, social memory and the performative nature of learning. Journal of Computer Assisted learning, 26(1), 53–64.
Säljö, R. (2012). Schooling and spaces for learning: Cultural dynamics and student participation and agency. In E. Hjörne, G. van der Aalsvoort, & G. Abreu (Eds.), Learning, social interaction and diversity—Exploring school practices (pp 9–14) Rotterdam: Sense.
Taylor, L., & Parsons, J. (2011). Improving student engagement. Current Issues in Education, 14(1), 1–33.
Vivitsou, M., Kallunki, V., Niemi, H., Penttilä, J., & Harju, V. (2016). Student-driven knowledge creation through digital storytelling. In H. Niemi & J. Jia (Eds.), New ways to teach and learn in China and Finland: crossing boundaries with technology (pp. 35–54). Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Wells, G. (1999). Dialogic inquiry: Towards a sociocultural practice and theory of education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Woodhouse, J. (2008). Storytelling: A telling approach in healthcare education. In Paper presented at the Narrative Practitioner Conference, Wrexham, England.
Yang, Y. T. C., & Wu, W. C. I. (2012). Digital storytelling (DST) for enhancing student academic achievement, critical thinking, and learning motivation: A year-long experimental study. Computers & Education, 59, 339–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.12.012.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Niemi, H., Niu, S.J., Li, B., Vivitsou, M. (2019). Supporting Student Learning Toward Twenty-First-Century Skills Through Digital Storytelling. In: Yu, S., Niemi, H., Mason, J. (eds) Shaping Future Schools with Digital Technology. Perspectives on Rethinking and Reforming Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9439-3_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9439-3_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-9438-6
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-9439-3
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)