Digital Story Learning

I think that Digital Stories are great but not quite the same kind of learning as an essay or research paper. I like digital stories and think children would love to have projects involving them, but I would not have it as a substitute for an essay. Students need to learn how to write a good paper. Just because their teacher this year believes digital stories are a better way to get your point across does not mean next year’s teacher will be. I can see some students figuring out shortcuts to get the information they need without having to research their topic. Granted students can do the same with an essay, but in an essay it would be stealing another person’s paper or plagiarizing. If teachers want to use digital stories instead of research papers they will need to create a system of steps for the students to show that they have researched their topic and understand what they are presenting. That seems like a lot of work that is not necessary. I think digital stories are great and should be taught, but not in place of writing papers.