This article first appeared in TESOL Journal, Volume 5, Number 4, pgs. 743–749. TESOL members can access all issues for free here. To become a member of TESOL, please click here, and to purchase articles, please visit Wiley-Blackwell. © TESOL International Association.

A digital story is usually provided by a first person and the focus is on the process of making it rather than on the product or the film itself. It can be thought of as an emerging documentary form, because it provides facts and perhaps even wants to make people think differently about a topic, whereas, in a documentary, multiple viewpoints bring together a topic, and the product is as important as the process of making it (Sanchez-Laws, 2010). Documentaries are also more structured than digital stories. Renov (1993) stated that there are four aspects to a documentary: to uncover, influence, examine, and explain. Digital stories may include some or all of these areas, but tend to be more personal in nature and are not bound to including these.

Fehn and Schul (2011) researched what aspects of documentaries students submitting to the National History Day contest had, and they found that students found images and made video recordings, edited their films, narrated them, included a soundtrack such as music and sound effects, interviewed experts, and provided citations. They concluded that “new technologies can work powerfully to engage the cognitive and affective skills of teachers and students” (p. 40). They can also be used to develop the language domains of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Another study conducted in an eighth grade history class of students making documentaries showed that students were interested in the process, were motivated, and demonstrated creativity in making the films (Swan & Hofer, 2013). It appears that making documentaries can be a useful method to get students actively learning, and future research will hopefully provide more insight into its uses in the classroom (Fehn & Schul, 2011).

Step One: The Topic

The story is the number one thing to keep in mind when making a documentary. What is the story going to be about? Is it compelling? It has to be something that would be of interest to a certain audience (West, 2010), and that the student making it is passionate about in order for it to unfold into an interesting film. Brainstorming potential topics in class to get students thinking about different ideas would help to get the process started.

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This article first appeared in TESOL Journal, 5, 743–749. For permission to use text from this article, please go to Wiley-Blackwell and click on "Permissions" under "About This Journal."
doi: 10.1002/tesj.169