The Seven Elements

The 7 elements of a digital story are not that different from old school oral tradition story telling. The Elements: 1 - Point of View (POV); 2 - Dramatic Question; 3 - Emotional Content; 4 - Your Voice; 5 - Sound Track; 6 - Economy; 7 - Pacing. These elements of a digital story really only substitute a carefully chosen image or video clip rather than relying on the viewer / listeners imagination. I do not make this comparison to minimize the digital story media, but rather to add that the previous experiences the viewer has with the images or similar images evokes a greater response by the viewer. That is not say that oral tradition stories lack impact or emotional response by the consumer, but rather these stories (oral tradition) lack the ability to control what consumer is seeing.

In element #1 regardless of the specific content the producer of the story is trying to educate or at least offer a glimpse into the life or culture of the producer. I do not mean to minimize the content, but rather offer that the content seems to me to play a secondary role; in that the content itself had some sort or impact on the producer of the story that compelled them to share that experience. In this way the need to share or educate is the driving force behind the story.

Element #2 presented me with the idea of... how similar a dramatic question and essential question are in what they mean to the viewer. The dramatic questions seem to solicit an emotional response or connection to the story and producer, while teachers use the essential questions a guide for learner goals. I think both have the same goal in mind a connection to learning beyond mere content, which Piaget termed "concrete to abstract." In many ways the goals seem to ask the viewer (consumer) to insert himself/herself into the story by self reflected questions like "how does this apply to me?" or "how does this make me feel?"

Element #3 identifies that we all make some sort of emotional connection to stories whether we recognize it or not. At first glance a story about how to make salt or a sustainable greenhouse seem to not evoke a great deal of emotion on the surface, but when we dig deeper we can make connections to things like poverty, organic farming, "farm to table"... and many more, which challenge our views and stance on those issues. Believe me this issues can elicit strong emotional responses (keep in mind the idea that critical media literacy seeks to educate on the underlying motive for what your are being presented with and the best ways to provoke change are by appealing to the emotions, fear is an emotion).

In element #4 we hear the voice of the story (not always the producer), which changes the picture. Imaging yourself walking through the Metropolitan Art Museum looking at the great works or art... now imagine that every time you paused to study a piece a bit longer the creator of the piece appeared by your side to offer insight that led to the creation of that work. In many ways this is what the voice of the digital story offers and in that you can detect many different things about the author and if being narrated you may even detect emotional response of the narrator.

In element #5 we yet another appeal to our senses to help connect us to the story. The soundtrack releases previous experiences connected with that music and can either distract or enrich the digital story. Because music has such a deep connection to the range of emotions experienced by an individual the soundtrack, while usually playing in the background can have a profound impact on the consumer.

In element #6 we discover the new theme of our fast paced culture that seems to be getting faster. Meaning that the producer needs to provide the consumer with the necessary details that leave little ambiguity, but not overwrought with details that the message gets lost.

The last element #7 speaks to the flow of the story and whether the producer allows sufficient time for the consumer to "see & read" or "see the details" necessary to convey the learning goals.

Many of the videos I watched in this section and the "Reel Works" met their targeted goal, but I found some of them offered too much background noise (soundtrack) or made transitional changes (economy) that effected the delivery of the story. Yet all that being said, I in some believe the creation of the digital story has more value to the creator than the consumer, which means the elements of the story align more closely to producer's experiential learning and what it truly means to them.