The Power of Storytelling in Digital Learning

The Power of Storytelling in Digital Learning

Literacy is the way of gaining knowledge and chops by understanding the concept. Before understanding the conception of literacy, the preceptors should know how the learners engage or flashback to the environment in the academic institutions. Storytelling is introduced in educational surroundings to make a better literacy experience. Indeed, though storytelling is a traditional method, its impact in no way fades down in our minds. Storytelling is one of the tutoring methods that explores creativity, entertainment, and the power of understanding the theme snappily. In storytelling, communication and interaction play a vital role in helping the content to be better immersed. To find out what the need for storytelling in digital learning is, it also seeks the usage of storytelling and its flow among the learners.

Stories stimulate the learner’s interest, expectations, and eagerness to learn something. A story inspires everyone because of the connectivity among the people. Stories have an inevitable energy or power to connect their emotions and personal feelings. So that everyone drowns in each tale and recalls their nostalgic experiences. Storytelling is an art. The human community likes the stories. Stories not only teach moral values; additionally, they would be delightful and instructive. Globally, it could be seen through paintings in ancient times and also has advanced in every culture from caves to digital media.

In the rapidly evolving world of eLearning, storytelling has become a pleasant way to learn. It has emerged as a significant weapon of learning to communicate, engage, learn, and motivate among the learners. In ancient eras, storytelling was an essential segment of communication and learning. The same method has been traced in today’s generation also through digital media. It has explored a unique way of digital media. In this article, we are going to understand how storytelling is used in digital learning effectively and its benefits, which are provided to both learners and educators.

Storytelling also develops curiosity, engagement, and retention with the context during the learning process. Storytelling is common. But it differs around the surroundings. For example, digital learning depends upon the content of the subject matter, learning outcomes, and the way of teaching regarding the educational environment. With the help of digital media, the context of the subject transforms into a visual illustration and incorporates narrative experiences. Storytelling on digital platforms stimulates their interest in addition to proceeding further to learn the next lesson in the learning. Their curiosity does not stick at one point; in contrast, it leads to analysis and sharing the knowledge in various learning ways. The traditional classroom leads to a lack of interest among the learners and also a lack of interaction between the educators and learners. Whereas digital platforms, like applications, websites, presentations, videos, and live streams, using storytelling, create an inevitable impact on the learners. It helps to make the subject easier and more understandable in these methods.

In digital learning, storytelling is significant because it makes the content memorable with unique creativity. Not only that, the advantage of storytelling with digital media has enhanced the learner's interest level and retention with the subject and made them curious to learn something new. It makes the subject from complex to easy-peasy relevant. It has served as a means of sharing knowledge, human values, and their traditions or cultures. In storytelling, there are various ways to incorporate the stories into digital learning. It depends on the educators, who should know about the learning objectives clearly based on whether they figure out the learning outcomes as they expect. The types of stories are personal stories, case studies, scenario based learning, and fictional narratives.

• Personal Stories—In this approach, educators/tutors express their own or others' life experiences and situations. It connects easily with learners personally. It effectively helps to improve their personal development.

• Case Studies—This approach expresses the problems and situations that happen in real-life scenarios. In this case, whenever the learners have some problems in their learning, they are guided or instructed by the educators through the process of analyzing and rectifying their issues. It enhances the skills of problem-solving, critical thinking, analytical skills, and decision-making.

• Scenario-based Learning—In this approach, where the situation is real but the learners place it in a fictional area. Here, the choice of the decision depends on the learners based on the situations and experiences. Their decision may be positive or negative. It doesn't matter. It creates the learner's critical thinking and decision-making skills in their own life.

• Fictional Narratives—This approach means a story that is created by fictional narratives. Here, the challenges and problems are related to the content of the subject. The characters are designed, and their motive is to face these challenges and problems. The learner's responsibility is to process the next task and clear those tasks alongside helping to learn the subject. This format is applicable in gamification eLearning.

The educators should handle these potential digital platforms to utilize them. It makes the purpose of learning more accessible to every interested learner. They should know how to modify these narrative experiences in the digital storytelling regarding their needs in learning. The educators should be aware while preparing the syllabus of the subject, learning objectives, and outcomes. They need to first incorporate stories, collect the materials, assemble them step by step, and create the data by using digital technology regarding the learner’s interest.

Figure out the intended learning objectives.

While the educators are preparing the learning objectives, it is very crucial to remember such things as defining the subject crystal clear in digital storytelling. After they have explored the learning objectives, they need to create a story that supports and strengthens the objectives more.

Make Relevant Characters

Once the preparation of defining learning objectives with a story has finished, then create the relatable characters for it. Because the characters give life to the story. So, the importance of the characters is an inevitable thing. These characters would relate to the learners and sympathize with them. Either the characters are real people or fictional personalities; they should reflect what the challenges and intentions are for the learners. Because the learners might experience how to confront these tasks in real life.

Create an engaging story.

A well-written plot is the cornerstone of the story. The plot should be in the order of introducing the characters, figuring out the conflicts or problems, rapidly increasing the anxiety, and finally leading to finding the solution. This kind of planned plot would be well engaged with the learners and desire to know how the plot unravels.

Usage of digital technology and interactive elements

With the help of social media platforms and elements like colorful images, videos, animations, and audio, it can enhance the learners' keeping in touch with learning. Likewise, the interactive elements, such as quizzes and gamification in the stories, make even more interest and concentration alongside learning in depth. These kinds of stories never fade away in the minds of learners and also gain experience from the learning.

Present Real-Life Samples

When it comes to the examples in the storytelling, provide some real samples and case studies. With the help of these examples, the learners might get a chance to associate the theory with practical subjects. Because those kinds of examples explore the demonstration of the practical application of the subject. As a result, it might strengthen the learners' learning knowledge. Making an impressive digital storytelling experience expresses a mixture of unique plot and multimedia platform things.

Benefits of Digital Storytelling

The story instructs the moral values from ancient times to today. Stories inspire everyone in funny ways also, what kind of benefits do both the educators and the learners take away from it?

• Develop engagement

• Increase retention

• Improve critical thinking

• Encourage emotional connection

• Create real-life world skills

• Stimulate lifelong learning

The benefits of digital storytelling are astonishing. This kind of interactive storytelling presents a powerful impact on learning for both the learners and educators. Because it creates a more valuable, fruitful, and delightful learning experience.