Creating, viewing, and assessing: Fluid roles of the student self in digital storytelling

Abstract

This paper presents findings of a mixed-methods study of students as creators and viewers of digital storytelling projects in the intermediate technology classroom (students ages 9-11) and two middle school libraries (students ages 11-13). The study was designed to investigate how the interactive, participatory roles of listeners in traditional library storytelling might be extended to the digital storytelling space. During the construction of digital storytelling projects, students fluidly and independently shifted roles from creator to "listener-viewer" and back again. These dual roles students assumed as creators and viewers in the formative, or work-in-progress, stage of digital storytelling afford opportunities for self-assessment, a key skill for school librarians to support and teach.