The World of Digital Storytelling

Abstract

Imagine you are watching the digital story that Kim, a 6th grader, has created for a language arts assignment. As the story opens, the computer screen slowly fills with photographs of Kim's parents, one from when they were young and another taken more recently. Instrumental music plays in the background as family pictures appear on the screen. We hear Kim's voice telling the story of how her parents came to the United States from rural China. They worked long hours, saved their money, and eventually created a good life for their family. Kim's narration explains that although she loved her parents, her relationship with them was often strained because they considered her unresourceful and unappreciative of her good fortune. Kim was tired of hearing about how hard life was for her parents as children.