As
ancient as civilisation itself, the art of storytelling has evolved over the
years, but its essence remains the same. “Storytelling is a very life-giving
practice whether yesterday or today,” observes writer and co-founder, Mustard
Seed Art Company, Isabel S R Vas.
What has
changed however is the method of storytelling. “While traditional storytelling
relied on voice and bodily expression, and academic work uses text alone,
digital storytelling is far more democratic,” explains Alito Siqueira,
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Goa University. (GU).
Introducing
the concept of digital storytelling to GU, Siqueira terms it as an interactive
one. “It’s a process wherein students’ intellectual, aesthetic, emotional,
visual and auditory skills emerge to complete a small film called a digital
story. In addition to sharpening storytelling skills, it helps students to
learn and use multi-modal technologies,” he explains.
Digitally
wired, the whole process nevertheless uses a very basic amount of technology.
“The stories are typically made as a three to four minute short film, made
mostly with still photos, a voice narration (usually the storyteller’s) and
some background music and sound effects. From the technical viewpoint, students
learn about the effective use of transitions and movement such as pan and zoom
in visuals, basic photographic special effects, basic sound recording and sound
mixing, and other skills. The software is free to use. Similarly, it does not
involve expensive hi-tech equipment. Even for voice recording, in-built
microphones on laptops or on mobile phones can be used. Photography is usually
done using mobile cameras,” explain Salil and Gayatri Konkar who conducted DST
workshops in Goa as early as 2006. Employing the techniques of the DST Cookbook
which focuses on story writing, scripting, visualisation, storyboarding and
film using basic software Movie Maker, the process is an easy one.
To the
teaching faculty, it’s proving to be a viable tool. “In educational technology,
we use digital stories as a powerful tool for teaching and learning. Students
learn to choose a topic and present it in multimedia format to a particular
audience within the given time frame. It gives them tremendous creative
latitude,” avers Computer Science Teacher Shailaja Sardessai, Dr T B Cunha
Government Higher Secondary School, Panjim.
For most
students, DST has a cathartic effect. “Personal stories that transformed them
predominates the student’s choice. While this is also possible with writing
stories, DST provides a level playing field for students with divergent
skills,” explains Siqueira, or as Salil describes it, DST is not so much for perfectly
executed skills, but rather the internal process the student goes through while
creating such personal stories.
Have a
story? Then tell it the digital way!
