Click on the image below to see how Flip can be used for sharing personal journeys and reflections in the makerspace. This is another way for students to submit their work, ideas, and become connected as a community. The example shared in Flip relates to Emily Bailin and how she spoke in her TedTalk about Digital Storytelling and stated, “Where are you from?.” This project called “Who Am I?” is a similar idea. It’s a Flip video project where students record videos to authentically delve into their everyday lives of what makes them who they are. For a project that seems so simple, it’s not. It leads to conversations about stereotypes, gender, racism, equity and the need for social change. This digital storytelling lesson provides a way for students to build community and empower students to connect to one another through their stories.

Our stories are the foundations of who we are today. We have inherited the knowledge and wisdom from our past generations through the stories we hear (National Geographic, 2020). Culture around the world and Indigenous Elders continue to use traditional oral storytelling as a way to express and share their knowledge with others. So how can we capture the narratives of our students so we know their stories too?

Digital storytelling can provide all students with the ability to amplify their voices. This multimodal communication constructs learning experiences in a purposeful way. Veletsianos (2011) shared, “veer away from using technology to replace traditional teaching and learning processes, and to move towards technology use to provide the opportunities for personally relevant and meaningful transformation.” Digital storytelling can be the starting point to enhancing the curriculum for students to think critically and beyond pen-paper work.

When designing digital stories, students have the opportunity to select, represent, and highlight what matters to them and to build personal connections in the story (Kim & Li, 2020:2021). This can also be advantageous for when considering language loss or preservation; allowing learners to collaborate using technology to create stories while learning or using their Indigenous language ensures authentic knowledge acquisition. Continuing to design digital stories allows learners to improve their oral and written language. Digital stories can also foster an inclusive learning environment, as there are many platforms for discovery. Podcasts, animation, video, and photos, are all ways students can express their personal learning experiences. Here are examples of some learning tools that can be integrated into a makerpaces to allow students to showcase their voices.