Module 3. Methodology of Storytelling to support migrants’ integration

2. Creation of digital storytelling in the classroom:

Important elements of the storytelling according to The Center for Digital Storytelling (CDS) in Berkeley, California known for developing and disseminating the Seven Elements of Digital Storytelling

1. Point of View - what is the main point of the story and what is the perspective of the author?

2. A Dramatic Question - a key question that keeps the viewer's attention and will be answered by the end of the story.

3. Emotional Content - serious issues that come alive in a personal and powerful way and connects the audience to the story.

4. The Gift of Your Voice - a way to personalize the story to help the audience understand the context.

5. The Power of the Soundtrack - music or other sounds that support and embellish the story.

6. Economy - using just enough content to tell the story without overloading the viewer.

7. Pacing - the rhythm of the story and how slowly or quickly it progresses.

 

Different types of storytelling:

1) personal narrative - story that contains accounts of significant incidents in one’s life;

2) historical documentary – story that examines dramatic events that help us understand the past;

3) story designed to inform or instruct the viewer on a particular concept or practice.

 

The digital stories available on the VIC platform represent the personal narrative type of stories. The stories provide accounts of migrants deciding to leave own country and start a new life in a hosting country like Sweden, Germany, France, Italy or Greece in search of a better life. The stories outline the difficulties in coming to a new country, and show various aspects of integration into a new society. This type of stories has multiple benefits in an educational setting. First, other migrant learners who view the stories learn about people from diverse backgrounds or even similar ones and they can gain better awareness of the integration. The stories can be used to facilitate discussions about current issues such as access to the labour market, recognition of qualification, language acquisition, multiculturalism. In addition, learners who create such stories can benefit from sharing them with others and thereby use information as a way of eliminating some of the distance that foreign born students feel between themselves and their peers.