Digital Storytelling

Digital Storytelling 

“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes an orchestra to play it.” (Luccock, n.d). 

Teaming up with my classmate for this story book creation was an easy task. We have mirrored personalities and ideas and this was my assurance that being co-authors on this project would be a breeze. Also, we have worked on several assignments together. Therefore, we became a two-person orchestra to harmonize the art of this storybook. 

There was never a point in time where we divided the work. We worked on every part, every line, every illustration together. On days when we could not physically meet, we worked vis-à-vis each other on-screen while on WhatsApp calls. From this experience, my thoughts on collaborative work were reinforced, granting me a greater understand of how each person on your team eventually becomes an extension of yourself as your ideas intertwine to give birth to greatness. Our greatest challenge working as a pair was making the time to meet as we both have conflicting work schedules, so most of the work was done very late at nights, culminating in the wee hours of the morning. There was one night we stopped working at 2:30am! In no way, shape or form did we ever feel burdened or uttered any complaints because it was such a joy working on this book. We overcame any challenge posed through effective communication and compromise. 

With limitless possibilities of the world of technology, we used ChatGPT for brainstorming ideas like the type of book and contents. With very specific prompts, ChapGPT was able to create child-friendly, colourful captivating illustrations to correspond to the contents of each story as well as the story board concept map. YouTube was used to add an inspirational song “Try Everything” from the kids’ movie “Zootopia” which aligns quite nicely with the theme of our story “It’s okay to make mistakes” and “we learn by trying.” For additional sound effects, MixKit was utilized.

     I am most proud of the voiceovers inserted by Jordi and myself, adding an extra layer of inclusivity to the story, in that even if children are unable to read at the level required, they can still enjoy the story to its fullest extent. Additionally, the extra materials towards the end of the book such as the lesson plan adds purpose to our story. Recording the voiceovers proved to be one our greatest technical difficulties as the microphone’s sensitivity picked up every sound everywhere and it took hours to get them right. We changed locations for peace and quiet to overcome this challenge. Coupled with this, was narrating the story and voices using captivating tones to keep readers and listeners entertained. After several deletes and re-records, satisfaction was the result. Further still, there were several inconsistencies with the AI generated images and it took several prompt edits with more specifics to correct them. 

      The most meaningful part of working on this book is knowing that it can actually be used outside of “an assignment.” I got to share it with my friends and classmates and their feedback was very much appreciated. The ideas they gave were carefully considered and integrated into the storyline. Furthermore, being a writer for several years and never having a “published book,” it seemed to be something set in the distant future for me but having completed this book breathed some wind beneath my now motivated wings, reassuring me that I CAN and I WILL! 

     As a future language teacher, I am excited to use this book to inform my instruction, not just for teaching language but also life lessons, for the purpose of motivating my students, specific to my rural school context. I can already see how excited they will be while reading the story and participating in the additional activities. This project also taught me that technology and creativity are married, working together and should not be each other’s substitutes. 

      Conclusively, this symphony that my two-person orchestra has performed, granted me a new level of comprehension and definitely equipped me with the inspiration and skills I needed to effectively and efficiently infuse technology with language learning for the success of my future language learners. 

Reference

Luccock, H. E. (n.d) as cited by Indeed Editorial Team. (n.d.). 35 team-building 

quotes to engage your team. Indeed Career Guide. Retrieved April 27, 2025, from https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/quote-on-team-work​