Digital storytelling to inspire and engage students in educational settings
Heinänen, Nina (2021)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2021060112980
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2021060112980
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of this thesis is to research how digital storytelling can be used in higher education to promote the 21st century skills. The researcher wanted to research what skills digital storytelling supports and how it can be used to engage and motivate students in higher education. This thesis will also research how students and educators perceive digital storytelling as a tool for learning and what are the challenges with using digital storytelling as a tool.
This research-based thesis analyses academic articles related to digital storytelling to understand the potential of digital storytelling as a tool for engaging and motivating students. The commissioner of this thesis is Haaga-Helia marketing and communication students’ and teachers’ Creative Agency Krea. This thesis is part of an Erasmus+ project called Learn to Change that aims to find ways for educators and learners to use open-access digital tools to create impactful digital content. The aim of this thesis is to find reliable information on digital storytelling that can be implemented in higher education. Findings of this thesis can be used to promote the 21st century skills needed in marketing and business.
The theoretical background is based on literature review to understand digital storytelling as a concept and to establish how it is used in this thesis. The theoretical background also covers how digital storytelling has been used in education. This is a qualitative research and the research method used in this thesis is thematic content analysis. The data for this research consists of ten academic articles that are peer reviewed, published after the year of 2010 and deal with digital storytelling in higher education or digital storytelling in civic engagement. The analysis was done with an inductive approach: the researcher did not have any pre-existing notion on digital storytelling and the main themes for this research were determined by the recurring themes in the data. Findings of this study indicate that digital storytelling supports students’ decision-making skills, problem solving skills, critical thinking skills as well as their social skills. Digital storytelling is an interactive way of learning, which provides the students with a more in-depth understanding of the topic at hand. Because of its interactive nature, digital storytelling also makes the students take more control of their learning, making them active participants instead of passive listeners.
Findings also indicate that digital storytelling as a tool is preferred by the students over traditional learning methods. Challenges with digital storytelling as an educational tool were related to poor teamwork, inefficient tools or skills as well as time. Digital storytelling projects are time-consuming and that raises questions whether the benefits are worth the time.
This research-based thesis analyses academic articles related to digital storytelling to understand the potential of digital storytelling as a tool for engaging and motivating students. The commissioner of this thesis is Haaga-Helia marketing and communication students’ and teachers’ Creative Agency Krea. This thesis is part of an Erasmus+ project called Learn to Change that aims to find ways for educators and learners to use open-access digital tools to create impactful digital content. The aim of this thesis is to find reliable information on digital storytelling that can be implemented in higher education. Findings of this thesis can be used to promote the 21st century skills needed in marketing and business.
The theoretical background is based on literature review to understand digital storytelling as a concept and to establish how it is used in this thesis. The theoretical background also covers how digital storytelling has been used in education. This is a qualitative research and the research method used in this thesis is thematic content analysis. The data for this research consists of ten academic articles that are peer reviewed, published after the year of 2010 and deal with digital storytelling in higher education or digital storytelling in civic engagement. The analysis was done with an inductive approach: the researcher did not have any pre-existing notion on digital storytelling and the main themes for this research were determined by the recurring themes in the data. Findings of this study indicate that digital storytelling supports students’ decision-making skills, problem solving skills, critical thinking skills as well as their social skills. Digital storytelling is an interactive way of learning, which provides the students with a more in-depth understanding of the topic at hand. Because of its interactive nature, digital storytelling also makes the students take more control of their learning, making them active participants instead of passive listeners.
Findings also indicate that digital storytelling as a tool is preferred by the students over traditional learning methods. Challenges with digital storytelling as an educational tool were related to poor teamwork, inefficient tools or skills as well as time. Digital storytelling projects are time-consuming and that raises questions whether the benefits are worth the time.