What is the impact of digital storytelling for the storyteller and the spectator?

So this sort of...

...impact on the storyteller - I guess it gives you an opportunity to create a story that is a lot more personal than you might be happy to, and it creates a place that you can be vulnerable. I think a lot more easily, doesn't it?

I'm thinking the audience is being used in two contexts. One is the audience that helps you participate in the formulation of it. And then there's the...

...post project audience that is only going to witness the end product.

Yeah, I think both are kind of equally important because they'll still kind of give you some sort of feedback.

Whether it's the finalised version or not, because I think part of the storytelling process isn't necessarily the final product that you are able to produce, but more so...

The journey it takes and the messages you learn and the social implications too.

And I guess to me it's been...

...a lot of the time of just....

...reassurance that I'm getting on the right track, that I know what I'm doing and other people being like I never thought of doing it this way. It gives you a lot more ideas...

...working collaboratively together. And at the end of the whole piece the final...

...audience, gets to see it, because you create it for...

...a certain type of...

...audience that you had in mind.

You've created something that creates a sort of a community...

...aspect to it, and you've got something that links you all together. If you were doing your topic on mental health, it's at least something to say you're not alone...

Someone's been through this as well, or if it's like environmental issues, it's as if to say like I see you. I see what's happening now with the environment and...

...I'm there to...

...show you that I know what I'm doing.

And with that, that story becomes a part of their story in their future and their development.

I can easily say that this this project is massively collective and it brings in this whole creative argument that's happening right now. How important is the role of the audience or the spectator?

I think here it's very, very clear that they're pivotal to not only the reception of things, but also...

...I guess they have a proactive role in this sense too. You're actively aware of who needs to be there.

And also you don't want to have triggering material. You've got to be really careful with what you put out there because you don't want to make anybody upset.

But at the same time you...

...do want some sort of emotional response.

I completely agree with you.

When we went through our process, at the beginning I had a not as good of an ending, and then I heard one of our classmates say I really like a happy endings. I thought, actually...

...maybe I could do a happy ending on this, and I thought, I'm going to add this in and then my piece did end up taking on a more of a comedic effect. But it's taking on that feedback and realising it can make your piece a whole lot better than it was.

Yeah, I agree.

And you have...

...to be open to this and that's the biggest part....

...being open to that input and...

...structuring it to your best efforts.

Absolutely.

What is the purpose and importance of digital storytelling within education?

Well, for me, digital storytelling creates connections, and it creates empathy between people. You gain an understanding because you get a different perspective to something that you might recognise, but is so inherently personal to that person that it's still shows you a very different...

...perspective of it.

I'd agree with that and I think it also creates an almost relatable atmosphere. You're putting something out there that is very vulnerable, but in that you're allowing an audience to connect to you and maybe even relate to you. So it's almost a comforting experience and can be cathartic at the same time.

Because you're expressing something about yourself that might not have been put out there before, which is a vulnerable experience, but also letting other people in on that experience with you.

Yeah, I think also it allows the audience to...

...sort of empathise with the...

...concept that you're trying....

...to say through your story.

It will allow them to kind of see what's...

...happening through your eyes and understand.

OK, yeah, if I was in that same position, these would be my emotions, I now know why they're responding the way they are.

And I think for educational purposes as well, like...

...for me, I switch off when I read a lot, so having a visual aid there...

I think...

It does allow you to educate a little bit better, because it lets you see their story as well as hearing it at the same time.

And added to that, the personal aspect helps in that as well. So you get numbers of how many times something has happened in history.

But actually getting a family story and how it was to live through something...

...like that..

...has a way bigger...

...impact and emotional tone to that.

It's more of a lasting effect.

And it also gives you like a more interactive sort of thing. So instead of just having to either just read or just listen to facts and numbers and statistics like you said, it would allow me to kind of see and...

...associate both of them together and...

...see the intersection.

And do you think it almost goes beyond words because you're using images and videos? It almost doesn't need the audio there.

You can see what the story is just through the pictures that are used. It goes a lot further than the words, so it almost creates that universal language, so it doesn't really matter...

...what community and country you come from.

You should be...

...able to look at the digital story and know what story is being expressed.

I think we should encourage breaking the rules...

...breaking the formulas that we've set up because there are so many people out there and everybody tells their story in a slightly different way so you can tell a story without words and use only images. Or you can use a story using only words.

I think we are still looking for ways to implement digital storytelling in a way to include as many people as possible.

Yeah, it takes away that...

...sort of...

...edge of like having to sit or stand in front a big crowd and then just read out a speech or something.

It gives you...

...an extra chance to kind of express...

...yourself through your your own way.

And giving them a better understanding rather than just your words and which might not work out that well, especially if you have...

...anxiety or something.

It's a very unique experience, but an experience that should be exposed more in my opinion to society as a way of education.