Transcript: Digital storytelling – Carole McCulloch

My mission today is to convince you that digital storytelling is an embedded innovative practice in the VET community. Digital stories have been woven into educational environments as new ways of managing and distributing knowledge, capturing learning journeys and demonstrating competence, as well as celebrating achievements and project outcomes. Digital storytelling now features regularly and frequently in the social networking practices of many Australian educators.

Digital storytelling is a powerful new medium and has caught on in primary, secondary, community and tertiary education. It has captured the interest and hearts of teachers and students as an easy and engaging method of learning. Australia is following in the footsteps of other nations who have embraced the DST phenomenon, such as USA, UK and Europe. Organisations in all states of Australia are now seeking opportunities to implement the DST process into their practices. The support for this innovation seems to be growing organically.

The number of champions of digital storytelling has grown rapidly in the last few years. Educational practitioners now have easy access to workshops, advice and resources from a wide variety of local sources and champions. These DST enthusiasts are making a difference to the way in which DST is accepted within the educational environment. They are the ones who are enabling further skill development among teachers and are leading the way in implementing DST process into teaching and learning.

Digital storytelling has overcome the usual barriers of cost, technical complexity and time allocation for the development of learning resources. Teachers are now doing it for themselves. The digital storytelling network has encouraged and supported the use of DST throughout Australian educational circles, overcoming the barriers of isolation and disadvantage. DST is popular among the indigenous, the youth, the elders and everyone who has a passion for storytelling.

Word has spread quickly, allowing for a rapid acceleration in the uptake of DST methodologies. The popularity of DST for personal narratives, family and local histories has captured the imagination of communities in metropolitan, rural and regional locations. People in all walks of life are embracing and promoting DST as the next best thing to digital cameras. Digital storytelling is a moving experience. Try it for yourself, you'll be surprised.