An investigation into the opinions of pre-service teachers toward uses of digital storytelling in literacy education

Abstract

The goal of the current study was to examine the opinions of pre-service teachers about the use of digital storytelling in literacy education. This study was designed as a case study from qualitative research models. A total of 32 sophomore pre-service teachers studying at the Department of Literacy Education in the Faculty of Education in a state university during 2015-2016 academic year participated. The participants created digital stories based on the curriculum goals during the instructional technologies and material design course. The data was obtained from interviews with the students through the use of semi-structured interview forms, researcher’s field notes and students’ reflections. The obtained data were analyzed through content analysis. The results of this study indicate that digital storytelling is perceived as entertaining by pre-service teachers. Additionally, it was revealed that scenario and dubbing are of great importance in practicing digital storytelling. They also stated the importance of teaching with stories in their own profession. Another finding emerging from this study is that the participants had difficulty in using the software. Based on the findings, it can be noted that it would be beneficial to take the opinions of experts in selecting the software, optimize the technological infrastructure and refer to interdisciplinary studies. The study concludes with implications and recommendations for promoting digital storytelling. © 2020, Ozgen Korkmaz. All rights reserved.