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Digital Storyteller

What is digital storytelling?

One well known digital storyteller, Daniel Meadows describes combining media clips, oral narrative and imagination to develop a new way of telling a story. He has been quoted as saying that crafting stories in this way is akin to "multimedia sonnets from the people" in which "photographs discover the talkies, and the stories told assemble in the ether as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, a gaggle of invisible histories which, when viewed together, tell the bigger story of our time, the story that defines who we are."

For a view of the  digital storytelling process, the Center for Digital Storytelling provides a fine example of the nostalgia and mixed media that contribute to the success of this new media.

• A Digital Story: Momnotmom

Storytellers in New York

Digital storytelling opens new avenues for children and adults alike into the world of literature by combining the oral tradition with new multi-media technologies. In New York, Jay Stetzer, Gretchen Murray Sepik, and Marabeth Nally are all making themselves known in the new field of digital storytelling, each presenting his or her own unique creations to audiences in the Rochester, New York area.

Digital Storyteller Jay Stetzer, www.jaystetzer.com, provides samples of his digital stories. Based in Rochester, New York, Stetzer stresses the power of the oral tradition, stating "I paint words into worlds as I work with children and adults". He performs on local radio, at schools, with orchestra programs, blending storytelling and music.

Gretchen Murray Sepik celebrates characterizations of historical figures, but prefers performing for children She likes "small groups of children in an intimate setting because this allows me to interact with every single child there. My goal is to awaken children to the joy of learning, the joy of life and the joy of who they are." Part educator, part storyteller, Sepik has shared stories of New York - such as the legacy of the Erie Canal, to make history come alive to children.

Marabeth Nally, uses digital storytelling to inspire children's interest in literature. Known in Rochester, New York as the Storylady, she combines storytelling, songs, and puppetry to entertain and introduce children to the oral tradition. One of her joys and a goal of her performances is "one of life’s simple pleasures— the joy a smile can bring." She performs at many venues - wherever she can inspire a love of story.

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