User-Friendly Digital Tools: Boosting Student Engagement and Creativity in Higher Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31637/epsir-2025-963Keywords:
digital storytelling, EFL education, writing skills, higher education, student engagement, educational technology, creativity enhancement, user-friendlinessAbstract
Introduction: This research explores the impact of digital storytelling tools on enhancing student writing in the classroom. By examining these tools’ effectiveness, the study aims to provide insights into their benefits and areas for improvement. Methodology: The study was conducted through a survey administered to higher education students. It focused on their satisfaction levels, the difficulties they encountered, and their preferences for specific digital storytelling tools. Results: The findings reveal a strong preference for digital storytelling over traditional writing techniques. Students praised these tools for their ability to enhance creativity, their user-friendliness, and their capacity to make learning more engaging. Discussion: Despite the positive feedback, the study identifies several areas for improvement. Key issues include the need for higher-quality images, improved usability, and reduced dependency on paid features. Conclusions: These insights underscore the effectiveness of digital storytelling in promoting creativity and engagement among students. However, they also highlight opportunities for further development to maximize the educational impact of these tools. By addressing the identified challenges, educators and developers can enhance the overall learning experience and better support student success.
Downloads
References
Davis, M., & Waggett, D. (2006). Enhancing Pre-service Teachers’ Reflective Practice via Technology Competencies and ePortfolio Development. In C. Crawford, R. Carlsen, K. McFerrin, J. Price, R. Weber & D. Willis (Eds.), Proceedings of SITE 2006--Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 3106-3107). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/22567
Dogan, B., & Robin, B. (2008). Implementation of Digital Storytelling in the Classroom by Teachers Trained in a Digital Storytelling Workshop. In K. McFerrin, R. Weber, R. Carlsen & D. Willis (Eds.), Proceedings of SITE 2008--Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 902-907). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/27287
Foelske, M. (2014). Digital storytelling: the impact on student engagement, motivation and academic learning [Tesis de maestría]. University of Northern Iowa. https://scholarworks.uni.edu/grp/167
Hung, C., Hwang, G., & Huang, I. (2012). A Project-based Digital Storytelling Approach for Improving Students’ Learning Motivation, Problem-Solving Competence and Learning Achievement. Educational Technology & Society, 15, 368-379. https://bit.ly/3AbEHpR
Kajder, S., & Swenson, J. A. (2004). Digital images in the language arts classroom. Learning & Leading with Technology, 31(8), 18-19, 21, 46. https://bit.ly/4dkRkxb
Kearney, M., & Schuck, S. (2005). Students in the Director’s Seat: Teaching and Learning with Student-generated Video. In P. Kommers & G. Richards (Eds.), Proceedings of ED-MEDIA 2005--World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications (pp. 2864-2871). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/20518
Kulla-Abbott, T. M. (2006). Developing literacy practices through digital storytelling [Tesis de doctorado, University of Missouri]. https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation/570
Lambert, J. (2006). Digital Storytelling: Capturing Lives, Creating Community. Digital Diner Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351266369 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351266369
Lee, L. (2014). Digital news stories: Building language learners’ content knowledge and speaking skills. Foreign Language Annals, 47(2), 338-356. https://bit.ly/46sIifA DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12084
McLellan, H. J. (2006). Digital storytelling in higher education. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 19(1), 65-79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF03033420 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03033420
Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., & Jones, K. (2010). Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies. US Department of Education. https://bit.ly/3YnI1sb
Niemi, H., Harju, V., Vivitsou, M., Viitanen, K., Multisilta, J., & Kuokkanen, A. (2014). Digital Storytelling for 21st-Century Skills in Virtual Learning Environments. Creative Education, 5, 657-671. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2014.59078 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2014.59078
Novak, E. (2015). A critical review of digital storyline-enhanced learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 63, 431-453. https://bit.ly/3YjxcXZ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-015-9372-y
Ohler, J. B. (2010). Digital Community, Digital Citizen. Corwin. https://bit.ly/3ygByEK DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452219448
Pan, C. C., Sivo, S., Gunter, G., & Cornell, R. (2005). Students’ perceived ease of use of an eLearning management system: An exogenous or endogenous variable?. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 33(3), 285-307. https://bit.ly/3yjDHzv DOI: https://doi.org/10.2190/7M4G-R742-W9FT-JX1J
Rafiq, S., Iqbal, S., & Afzal, A. (2024). The Impact of Digital Tools and Online Learning. Al-Mahdi Research Journal, 5(4), 359-369. https://bit.ly/3WJHXSw
Robin, B. R. (2006). The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling. In C. Crawford, R. Carlsen, K. McFerrin, J. Price, R. Weber, & D. Willis (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference 2006 (pp. 709-716). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). http://faculty.coe.uh.edu/brobin/homepage/Educational-Uses-DS.pdf
Robin, B. R. (2008). Digital Storytelling: A Powerful Technology Tool for the 21st Century Classroom. Theory into Practice, 47(3), 220-228. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00405840802153916 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00405840802153916
Sadik, A. (2008). Digital storytelling: A meaningful technology-integrated approach for engaged student learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 56, 487-506. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-008-9091-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-008-9091-8
Skinner, E., & Hagood, M. C. (2008). Developing literate identities with English language learners through digital storytelling. Reading Matrix: An International Online Journal, 8(2), 12-38. https://bit.ly/3Stkrq9
Smeda, N., Dakich, E., & Sharda, N. (2014). The effectiveness of digital storytelling in the classrooms: a comprehensive study. Smart Learning Environments, 1(6). http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40561-014-0006-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-014-0006-3
Stojke, A. E. (2009). Digital storytelling as a tool for revision [Tesis de Doctorado, Oakland University]. ProQuest. https://www.proquest.com/docview/305072143
Tenh, H. K., Shiratuddin, N., & Harun, H. (2012). Core elements of digital storytelling from experts’ perspective. In F. Baharom, M. Mahmuddin, Y. Yusof, N. L. Hashim, S. Bin Hassan, N. I. Yusop, W. H. W. Ishak, & M. A. Saip (Eds.), Proceedings of the Knowledge Management International Conference (pp. 397-402). Universiti Utara Malaysia. https://repo.uum.edu.my/id/eprint/9398
Vasudevan, L., Schultz, K., & Bateman, J. (2010). Rethinking Composing in a Digital Age: Authoring Literate Identities through Multimodal Storytelling. Written Communication, 27(4), 442-468. https://www.learntechlib.org/p/107351/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088310378217
Xin, J. (2013, August). Using digital stories in writing instruction for secondary students with disabilities. In Proceedings of the 2013 International Conference on Educational Research and Sports Education (ERSE 2013). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/erse.2013.54 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2991/erse.2013.54
Yuksel, P., Robin, B., & McNeil, S. (2011). Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling all around the World. In M. Koehler & P. Mishra (Eds.), Proceedings of SITE 2011--Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 1264-1271). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/36461
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Cristina Navas
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Non Commercial, No Derivatives Attribution 4.0. International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.), that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
