I would preface this by admitting that I have taken digital storytelling before, but considering that when I took it the first time, we read out of a textbook and the only online component involved quizzes posted to blackboard, I think I can safely say that it didn’t count.

So coming at this from a mostly blank slate in the digital storytelling field, the phrase “digital storytelling” first invoked images of the stories I was read when I was younger.  While I doubt that’s what we’re talking about, I don’t think that those stories are totally out of line with this type of work because they did involve pictures.  In the way of definitions, “storytelling” seems fairly straightforward:  telling stories.  Telling a story can be done, however, in a countless number of ways and for a countless number of purposes.  The term “digital” makes it fairly obvious that some sorts of technology are involved though, so I imagine it could involve any combination of images, videos, sounds/songs/recordings, words, and patterns.  There are probably plenty more components, but I feel like maybe I’ve hit on several major ones.

Given that, I’m going to give you a definition, or rather a description, of digital storytelling.  Here’s my real disclaimer: I have not Google’d, Wikipedia’d, or in any other way researched the meaning of this. (Fun fact:  While typing the previous sentence, I discovered that spell-check considers Google and Wikipedia to be acceptable verbs as long as you add an ” ‘d ” to the end)

Ahem. Digital Storytelling:  (course, noun, verb)  Employing the use of multiple forms of visual, audio, and perhaps even tactile/the-scent-version-of-these-words media for the purposes of evoking emotions, describing events, planting ideas, or simply connecting people to one another.

How’d I do?   Close?