We were usually familiar with storytelling since we were kids, stories could help to capture our interest, create images in our minds, and connect with us on an emotional level. So it could be a useful tool in education. (Crozier N. 2021) The science behind storytelling is that it can activate different parts of our brain and save the content to long term memory.

I believe we are all good story listeners, but when we take on the role of that storyteller, there are 7 key suggestions:

1. Know your audience: Adjust the way you tell a story based on Audience’s identity.
2. Tell a personal story: It allows the learner to better connect with you as an instructor.
3. Show, don’t tell: Use pictures, audios, and videos to show the story.
4. Build up to a STAR moment:It makes them remember what you said in a long term.
5. End with a positive takeaway: Make sure the audience know what you want them to know.
6. Know stories: The more you read and listen to stories, especially different types of stories, the better a storyteller you will likely become.
7. Choose the right medium: Some stories might be best told via text, via audio, or via video. Choose the best way to present it.

The above suggestions will help you avoid many storytelling mistakes. Think about a story your parents told you, did they applied those techniques? Now, you can start creating a story and telling it to your friends or family. I bet this would become a good memory for everyone!

The other topic we learned is the video. As an important tool of multimedia, it could be a great tool for education, too. Here are some tips based on principles to make a good educational video:

Based on what I got from above, I would rate myself a bad educational video maker. I’ve made an ADHD related video once, but apparently I used too many complicated words and definitions to explain the content in order to make it more professional. My audience of this video was supposed to be the general public who lacked the knowledge of the ADHD, but I used too few visual elements to make my video more boring and unattractive to them. I think in similar assignments this semester, I will try to avoid these problems and become a good educational video creator by making educational video follow these tips. Personally speaking, using storytelling techniques in an educational video helps improve the creativity and attraction of a lesson, and it can make me concentrate to the content during learning period.

Here is a short animation video example I think a lot better than mine for telling people what is ADHD:

It keeps the words simple and the video is not too long, the pictures are cute and the tone is not too formal. Tell me what do you think about this video in the comment if you want!

Reference:

Crozier N.2021, edci 337 Week 7, Storytelling and Video, https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2021/10/18/week-7-storytelling-and-video/

YouTube Video by Psych Hub, 2020, https://youtu.be/5l2RIOhDXvU