Iberica 13 Ibérica 27 (2014): 185-204 ISSN: 1139-7241 / e-ISSN: 2340-2784 Abstract The main purpose of this article is to describe the experience achieved when implementing practical classes of English for Tourism so as to bridge the gap between the professional world of the tourism industry and what students learn at university. In this article we will first introduce the concept of “digital storytelling” (Lambert, 2006; Gregori-Signes, 2008a, 2008b & 2010; Alcantud- Díaz, 2008 & 2011) and briefly describe some of the projects that have already been developed at the University of Valencia as well as the use of digital stories in the promotion of touristy products. We will then argue that digital storytelling can be considered a productive type of activity which fits the demand of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) with regard to implementing the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) within the curriculum. Additionally, it helps to improve traditional skills development, mainly speaking and writing along with researching, collaborative tasks and working with computers. Thirdly, we will depict and discuss authentic examples of digital stories produced by undergraduate students registered in the course “Communication in English Language in Tourism I”. Key words: ICTs, digital storytelling, English for Tourism, competences, CEFR. Resumen “ C om pa rt e tu e xpe r ie n c ia ” . Re l a to d ig ita l e n I ng l é s p a ra T ur is m o El objetivo principal de este artículo es describir la experiencia obtenida al poner en marcha ciertas actividades prácticas en Inglés para Turismo con el fin de acortar la distancia existente entre lo que se aprende en la Universidad y el mundo profesional de la industria del turismo. En este artículo, presentaremos ‘Share your experience’. Digital storytelling in English for tourism1 María Alcantud-Díaz, Alicia Ricart Vayá and Carmen Gregori-Signes Universitat de València (Spain) maria.alcantud@uv.es, alicia.ricart@uv.es & carmen.gregori@uv.es 185 Ibérica 27 (2014): 185-204 M. ALCAnTUD-DíAz, A. RICART VAyá & CARMEn GREGoRI-SIGnES en primer lugar el concepto de “relato digital” (Lambert, 2006; Gregori-Signes, 2008a, 2008b y 2010); Alcantud-Díaz, 2008 y 2011) y describiremos brevemente algunos de los proyectos que han sido realizados en la Universidad de Valencia, así como diversas experiencias que incluyen el uso de relatos digitales para la promoción de productos turísticos. A continuación, explicaremos cómo el relato digital se puede considerar un tipo de actividad productiva que se adapta a las exigencias de Marco Común Europeo de Lenguas con respecto a la inclusión de tecnologías de la información y la comunicación en el programa curricular. Además, ayuda a mejorar y desarrollar las competencias tradicionales, principalmente la expresión oral y escrita además de la investigación, el trabajo colaborativo y el trabajo con diferentes aplicaciones informáticas. En tercer lugar, describiremos y comentaremos ejemplos auténticos de relatos digitales creados por los estudiantes universitarios matriculados en la asignatura “Communication in English Language in Tourism I”. Palabras clave: TICs, relato digital, inglés para turismo, competencias, Marco Común Europeo de Lenguas. 1. Introduction This research work describes a project which started in 2010 at the University of Valencia (Spain). This project consisted in introducing a new kind of activity, namely digital storytelling, in the curriculum of those students who atended the course “Communication in English Language in Tourism I” in their first year of the new degree of Tourism. Digital storytelling with educational purposes was introduced in 2006 at the University of Valencia. As explained in Gregori-Signes (2008a, 2008b & 2010), it was first introduced with second year students who were asked to develop a personal narrative of their choice. This article portrays the hands on experience carried out in the course of English for Tourism connecting the learning process of the language in higher education to the real working world by developing more professional competences. To be precise, the aim was that students would feel the professional world of the tourism industry. Therefore, the aim of this article is threefold: our first step will be to introduce the concept of “digital storytelling” (Lambert, 2006; Robin, 2006, 2008a & 2008b; Gregori-Signes, 2008a, 2008b & 2010; Alcantud-Díaz, 2008 & 2011). With this purpose, we will illustrate some of the projects that have already been developed at the University of Valencia including some digital stories in the promotion of 186 touristic products. Secondly, we will proceed to elucidate that digital storytelling can be considered a tool which fits the demand of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) concerning the use of the new information and communication technologies (ICTs) within the syllabus of this subject. Additionally, we will show how digital storytelling helps to improve conventional competences regarding speaking, writing, listening and reading apart from researching, collaborative tasks and the use of new software. Thirdly, we will depict some examples of digital stories produced by undergraduate students attending the course “Communication in English Language in Tourism I”. The students were asked to develop an original product related to the industry of tourism and to promote it in two ways: by means of a digital story and a brochure. The students mostly produced personal narratives having to do with travelling experiences and some other activities which could be used by a travel agency or any other business related to the world of tourism as an advertising tool. In other words, a different kind of touristy promotion, not just by means of denotative images but from a connotative point of view, from personal experiences. 2. What is digital storytelling? The classical model of digital storytelling was developed by The Center for Digital Storytelling in the 1990s. Lambert (2006) states that the beginning of digital storytelling dates from around 1993 with authors such as Dana Atchey from the mid 1990s, John Lambert, nina Mullen and patrick Milligan. Digital storytelling is a form of self-presentation through multimedia (hull & nelson, 2009). Digital storytelling is a new form of narrative that shares characteristics with more traditional means of storytelling and with novel types of self- expression narratives. Some well-known authors in the field of digital storytelling, like Robin (2006, 2008a & 2008b) and Barrett (2006a & 2006b) state that digital storytelling is a good way to engage students in both traditional and innovative ways of telling a story. Students learn how to combine some basic multimedia tools (for example, graphics, animations, etc.) through activities as diverse as doing research, writing, delivering presentations, using technology, interviewing, improving interpersonal skills, learning problem-solving techniques, and assessment expertise. ShARE yoUR ExpERIEnCE Ibérica 27 (2014): 185-204 187 hence, what is so new about digital storytelling? We go through life transmitting our experiences and those of others. Rephrasing ochs (1998: 185), it is unimaginable not recounting what you read in a book or saw in a film, not being able to hear or see or read dramas crafted by others; not having access to conversations, printed texts, pictures or films that are about events framed as actual or fictional. Imagine not even composing interior narratives to and for yourself. In Lambert’s (2010: v) own words: “as we are made of water, bone, and biochemistry, we are made of stories.” Digital storytelling provides students with the possibility of sharing their stories, their experiences with their identities involved and making them available for different targets, for instance, as it is the present case, for the tourism industry, getting in touch at the same time with ICTs. According to Robin (2006) the traditional genres that have enabled the transmission of the above mentioned interior narratives up to the arrival of digital storytelling can be divided into three groups: firstly, those related to narrative among which we can distinguish: personal expression (characters, places, situations, memories, etc.); myths and legends; and short stories. The second group is labelled as “information/expository” and is made up of summaries and reports; reviews; directions and instructions; and biographies. Finally, there is the so called “persuasive” group which consists of: advertisements; descriptions/conclusions; analysis and conclusions; analysis/persuasive; comparison and contrast; and cause and effect. nowadays, globalization and one of its most powerful tools, the Internet, has expanded the space of digital storytelling offering new options to share stories on the World Wide Web. Some Web 2.0 digital narrative forms are: blogs, myspace, wikis, social net-working sites, to mention but a few. hence, one of the characteristics of digital storytelling is that they are narratives with ordinary people’s stories digitalized and displayed on publicly available websites and made through cultural institutions in society. In line with this, Couldry (2008: 374) defines digital storytelling as the “whole range of personal stories now being told in potentially public form using digital media resources”. So, what is different from other storytelling forms? Digital storytelling is story-oriented, disciplined (it controls the form, the quality and the efficiency of the process) and authentic (because it includes the teller’s voice, personal raw material and archives that already exist) tool. According to Qiongli (2009), digital storytelling uses multimedia tools but a simple technology; it M. ALCAnTUD-DíAz, A. RICART VAyá & CARMEn GREGoRI-SIGnES Ibérica 27 (2014): 185-204188 uses found materials (by exploiting pre-existing archives) and fosters collaborative creativity (by means of more or less intensive workshops). As a media form, digital stories are small-scale compared to television and other big media, since they last between two and five minutes. They are made with off-the-shelf equipment and techniques and free software, thus, productions are not expensive. Small-scale digital storytelling products are centred on the narrators’ personal experience and usually told with their own voice (Lundby, 2008). Following Lambert (2010), this kind of stories should include seven essential elements which are: a personal point of view, a dramatic question to be answered, the gift of the narrator’s clarity of voice, a certain pacing in the narration, an economy of text and images, a powerful soundtrack and an emotional content, together with the elements added by Robin and pierson (2006): the purpose of the story, quality of the images, video and other multimedia elements and good grammar and language usage. What are then the differences between digital stories and other types of web 2.0 narratives? What makes digital storytelling different from other types of Web 2.0 narratives is that it is a workshop based genre whose starting point is a group process named by Lambert (2010) “story circle”. Digital storytelling involves teaching programs that bring big organizations and professional experts into skin-to-skin contact with “ordinary citizens”. Digital stories are created through both an interactive and individual or group work process. This process is based on the premise which states that: (…) stories move in circles. They don’t move in straight lines. So it helps if you listen in circles. There are stories inside stories and stories between stories, and finding your way through them is as easy and as hard as finding your way home. And part of the finding is getting lost. And when you’re lost, you start to look around and listen. (Lambert, 2010: v) While elaborating the story, students are supervised in order to develop the plot and text of their digital stories (Lambert, 2006). no workshop is required to put up a self-representational short video on youtube or your personal profile on Facebook and MySpace (Lundby, 2008). In order to create a digital story there are several things one may need: a digital camera, a microphone with a good quality preferably, internet access, video-editing software, which is free, image editing software (also free), a computer, music files (mp3 or CD) or sourced from copyright free music sites and a scanner. The expectation is that all sides get something valuable from the experience ShARE yoUR ExpERIEnCE Ibérica 27 (2014): 185-204 189 and perhaps a more added value to take away and keep. Diversity, experimentation, flexibility, and openness to change are more likely to produce valuable outcomes than fixed rules. 3. Impact of digital storytelling As Robin (2008b: 221) argues, “what makes these tools so compelling is the nature of what has come to be known as user contributed content, social media and Web 2.0”. In turn, Roush (2006: 1) states that these technologies “are part of a transformation from “one-to-many communication on the Web” to “many-to-many communication, and that traffic and conversation naturally cluster around content, such as videos, photos, blog posts, and bookmarks”. As a result, digital storytelling has got two major areas of impact, education and advertising. 3.1. Educational digital storytelling Digital storytelling is considered an effective instructional tool because it provides the user with different types of literacy: digital, global, technological, visual and information literacy. Additionally, they give rise to different kinds of competences such as those related to research, writing, organization, technology, presentation, interview, interpersonal skills, problem-solving and assessment. Besides, Sadik (2008: 489) states that “the interaction between students, the flow of ideas and thinking aloud encourage students to foster active learning, in which users discover and address gaps in their understanding when explaining concepts to others”. In turn, Barrett (2006a) found that digital storytelling facilitates the convergence of four student-centred learning strategies: student engagement, reflection for deep learning, project-based learning, and the effective integration of technology into instruction. Furthermore, Castelló et al (2011) together with Robin (2006) and Barret (2006a) state that digital storytelling is considered a strategic teaching method since it is appealing to students, who are involved in an active rather than a passive process. Digital storytelling creates an atmosphere of exciting learning because it gives students a new writing purpose. Digital storytelling is also considered a strategic teaching method because it weaves in all subject disciplines. Aside from the innovative point of view (since it brings together new M. ALCAnTUD-DíAz, A. RICART VAyá & CARMEn GREGoRI-SIGnES Ibérica 27 (2014): 185-204190 technologies with more traditional means of teaching and learning), another characteristic of educational digital storytelling is its motivational aspect. This is so because once students carry out their digital storytelling presentations and share their experience with their peers, it becomes a quite rewarding activity. Furthermore, as stated by Gregori-Signes (2008b), it promotes creativity due to the multiple tools, both traditional and multimedia that the students will necessarily have to combine and master in order to produce the story (graphics, animated graphics, video, animation, text, photos, synchronous/asynchronous audio transmission (paul & Fiebrich, 2005). Moreover, as an educational tool herrera-Gutierrez et al. (2009) explains that it offers personal as opposed to merely instructional ways of presenting teaching/learning material, since the final product will always have the personal mark of the author. 3.2. Commercial practice: Tourism one of the commercial applications of digital storytelling was found by Qiongli (2009). Qiongli depicts the “converse gallery”, a promotional program for the sports brand “Converse” which asked their consumers to create a 24-second film embodying the values and spirit of the brand from their personal stories (). The organizers of the promotional program wanted “non-professional commercials but the customer’s authenticity, originality, and creativity” (Qiongli, 2009: 232). The reason for this is the style in which advertising presents that: (…) actually affects our sense of ourselves as storytellers. If I can get more attention for the kind of shoes I wear or the style of my hair at one-tenth the conscious effort of explaining what the heck is wrong or right about my life in a way that moves you, why not take the simpler route instead? Status and recognition, in our consumer culture, is an off-the-rack item. (Lambert, 2010: 3) Moreover, digital storytelling has been demonstrated to be convenient in commerce because of its low cost of content product development. Thus, it originates a market-guaranteed product. This fact has been reflected in the addition of constant and rich suppliers, apart from a large contribution by what humphreys and Grayson (2008: 11) call “prosumers” (a blend for the terms “consumer” and “producer”). In turn, as Qiongli (2009) explains, travel and adventure stories are often the subject of digital stories, but the form is yet to be used in any noteworthy way in the field of cultural tourism due to the fact that personal perspectives can help find the sense of ShARE yoUR ExpERIEnCE Ibérica 27 (2014): 185-204 191 authenticity they pursue. A multimedia form enables better cross-cultural understanding; personal archives of travel pictures and videos are a great resource for digital storytelling. Stories can be about a personal experience in a city, a restaurant, cultural events, places and many others and, in this way they can give outsiders a connection with the local community (see Lambert, 2006). In this sense, two examples of the use of digital storytelling are firstly, the DST program at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI 2005)2 which is a “contemporary arts site in most Australian tourism manuals and maps”; and secondly, the experiment carried out by hp labs3 which have created a multimedia storytelling service (StoryCast) that fosters the capture, creation and sharing of stories by means of their mobile phones or digital cameras (Qiongli, 2009). This service can be used to create a wide gallery of useful personal information on a determined place which can work on the sake of tourism promotion. one last example of the use of digital storytelling is the advertisement created for the fizzy drink Coca-Cola by the advertising agency Santo Buenos Aires and adapted for the Spanish market by McCann Erickson Madrid4. This advertisement, current winner of the Spanish Golden Tp to the best advertisement, is named “Reasons to believe” (see figure 1) and alternates bits and pieces of full of positivism narratives starred by anonymous people who showed with their true stories that a better world is possible, with images of a class full of children singing the song Whatever by the group oasis. M. ALCAnTUD-DíAz, A. RICART VAyá & CARMEn GREGoRI-SIGnES Ibérica 27 (2014): 185-204192 SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE Ibérica 27 (2014): …-… wide gallery of useful personal information on a determined place which can work on the sake of tourism promotion. One last example of the use of digital storytelling is the advertisement created for the fizzy drink Coca-Cola by the advertising agency Santo Buenos Aires and adapted for the Spanish market by McCann Erickson Madrid4. This advertisement, current winner of the Spanish Golden TP to the best advertisement, is named “Reasons to believe” (see figure 1) and alternates bits and pieces of full of positivism narratives starred by anonymous people who showed with their true stories that a better world is possible, with images of a class full of children singing the song Whatever by the group Oasis. Figure 1. Digital storytelling in a Coca Cola advertisement. Moreover, it is noteworthy to mention that new coined terms are growing around the digital world within the World Wide Web. We can firstly find the so called the “generation C” (which captures the huge amount of user-created content on the web: weblogs, reviews, comments to pictures and so on). From these outputs, the meaning of “C” has extended to creativity, since most of these participations and contributions are the outcome of Generation C’s creativity. A second term is that of “Netizens”, those who actively engage in communities through participation, contribution or creation (see Hauben, 1992)5. Additionally, we find “prosumers”, that is, consumers who are also producers (Toffler, 1981)6. The global Generation C phenomenon has been quickly taken up by the commercial world. For instance, where customers’ homemade short films are used in commercial advertising or personal photographs appear on the label of soft drinks. Moreover, it is noteworthy to mention that new coined terms are growing around the digital world within the World Wide Web. We can firstly find the so called “generation C” (which captures the huge amount of user-created content on the web: weblogs, reviews, comments to pictures and so on). From these outputs, the meaning of “C” has extended to creativity, since most of these participations and contributions are the outcome of Generation C’s creativity. A second term is that of “netizens”, those who actively engage in communities through participation, contribution or creation (see hauben, 1992)5. Additionally, we find “prosumers”, that is, consumers who are also producers (Toffler, 1981)6. The global Generation C phenomenon has been quickly taken up by the commercial world. For instance, where customers’ homemade short films are used in commercial advertising or personal photographs appear on the label of soft drinks. In China the “prosumer” transformation can be largely seen in the “Do it yourself ” phenomenon. This generation is characterised by: virtual community building, flash animation, online literature creation, multimedia blogging, online game designs, digital video creation and writing and performing original music. If we take Generation C as the main target of digital storytelling, the market demand is quite clear, and is based on their desire to develop self-talent, and to have fun. Another issue regarding digital storytelling and advertising and tourism is what has been named “cultural tourism”. It can be defined as “the movement of persons to cultural attractions away from their normal place of residence with the intention to gather new information and experience to satisfy their cultural Digital Storytelling” (Bonet, 1998: 187). Tourism no longer simply focuses on the transportation, accommodation and destinations, but places increased emphasis on the understanding of local cultures and the experiences of authentic local lifestyles (Qiongli, 2009). Thus, how can we transmit an intangible lifestyle and culture effectively and efficiently? This can be done by paying attention to reminiscing. how can digital storytelling offer an effective reminiscing service? Digital storytelling enhances the connections between places and people, it bridges the past and the present and transmits cultural experiences through local memories and daily life stories. Additionally, it offers a multimedia expression for the post-travel experience. It can evoke communication among multiple cultures by encouraging tourists to share their experiences. ShARE yoUR ExpERIEnCE Ibérica 27 (2014): 185-204 193 Some of the benefits which digital storytelling brings to the tourism industry are that it enriches tourist destinations and attractions, it preserves and explores local culture and it shows the authentic experience of cultural tourism. Furthermore, digital storytelling develops cross-cultural understanding. Cultural export is another challenge for digital storytelling. In this sense, digital storytelling provides multilingual versions of stories, which can include subtitles, translations, voice-overs etc. When creating a digital story it must be remembered that the final digital story should be a product of one’s own creation, therefore the work of others should always be respected – that is, copyright material cannot be used without permission and/or recognition. It is crucial to keep the right balance in a copyright system between total control and total freedom to sustain creativity. 4. Introducing students to digital storytelling “Communication in English Language for Tourism I” is a first-year course whose syllabus is based on English for Specific purposes, namely, for the field of tourism. This subject aims to give students the opportunity to enhance their English and to develop their competences in listening, reading, speaking and writing in English. In addition, students are asked to expand their tourism specific vocabulary and to increase their fluency and confidence in using English in professional contexts related to the tourism industry. Since one of the main aims in jobs related to tourism is to connect people (which means to connect cultures), one of the main aims this degree seeks is to enhance students’ communication skills in multicultural contexts. Thus, by asking our students to create a digital story related to the tourism industry, we were therefore asking them to apply the theoretical principles acquired in the course using a new form of expression (see Alcantud-Díaz, 2011). 4.1. Instructional workshop The purpose of asking the students to create a digital story related to tourism was twofold: firstly, to promote creativity, that is, the students were asked to create original stories; secondly, to allow them to put into practice the vocabulary and grammatical devices and generic conventions learnt throughout the year. M. ALCAnTUD-DíAz, A. RICART VAyá & CARMEn GREGoRI-SIGnES Ibérica 27 (2014): 185-204194 The first step to be taken in order to introduce digital storytelling to inexperienced students was to organize a compulsory one-hour-and-a-half introductory workshop. In this workshop students were shown examples of digital stories, informed about the generic conventions of the genre and were introduced to the software (for example, photoshop 3, Audacity, Windows Movie Maker, etc). 4.1.1. Formal instruction previous to the elaboration of the digital story Educational digital storytelling was introduced to the classroom following these steps: firstly we introduced the conventions of the genre advertising and promoting by means of the units in Walker and harding (2009) and using power point presentation. Then, a workshop on digital storytelling was carried out for our students in which they learned the different steps needed in order to create their digital stories and how to use the free software recommended (Microsoft photo Story 3 or Windows Movie Maker, and many others). Furthermore, they were provided with many web pages in which they could find more information7 related, for instance, to the searching of sound and images. Afterwards they had to get into groups and start with the creative process: (i) write the script of an advertisement in which most of the knowledge achieved this term was patent and upload it onto the Aula Virtual (AV, henceforth. This is the University of Valencia virtual learning platform) before the predetermined deadline; (ii) look for images and match them to the text so as to fill in a storyboard, for which a sample was provided on the AV to the resource section. This storyboard had also to be uploaded onto the AV before its predetermined deadline also. (iii) Finish the stories and record the voice over. Upload it onto the AV. During the formal introduction to the genre of digital storytelling, the students were presented with a list of requisites and limitations having to do with the organization and creation of the digital short story. These are summarized as follows: • Group-work: 3- 4 students maximum • All the students had to participate and appear in the story (either adding their voice, acting or both). • Length: stories had to be between 3 and 5 minutes long. ShARE yoUR ExpERIEnCE Ibérica 27 (2014): 185-204 195 • Subtitles were not to be used unless they were necessary. • The final version had to be an original product of their creativity. In sum, they had to create an original and creative digital story by choosing the topic, writing the script, building up the characters and the plot, recording the voice over and seeking images and sounds. In other words, the students had to become the director of a film in which they had to demonstrate their skills in order to communicate their ideas visually, and, of course, to advertise a product. To achieve this aim, they had to become literate in free software such as Microsoft photo Story 3, Windows Movie Maker, Apple iMovie and Adobe photoshop element. The script, as well as the storyboard and the digital story had to be uploaded onto the AV (to the activities section). 4.1.2. Presentations in class All the digital stories were eventually presented in class so that all of them could be watched by the students. A peer evaluation (see Appendix 1) was the tool used in this presentation so that the whole class could get some feedback of this activity. Additionally, a survey on digital storytelling was also provided to the students as a means of determining the utility of this tool (see Appendix 2). This questionnaire was filled in by a total of 55 students who were asked questions such as: do you think digital storytelling as free software is a useful learning tool? or, do you think digital storytelling has helped you, as a learner, through the topics selected by the teacher? and some others. our results showed that more than a half of the students had not attended a digital storytelling workshop before, as they were in their first year, in fact, almost half of them argued that the workshop had not been long enough to understand the tool. however, despite their poor knowledge of the tool, the vast majority agreed that digital storytelling is a useful learning tool that helped them to learn a variety of things along with the English language: develop their creativity, make good presentations, to work in a team, to work under pressure, to use some programs, to learn vocabulary, to learn how to work in a team and to communicate in English, and so on. Additionally, most of the students regarded digital storytelling as a useful tool “bridging” different subjects, among which they mention: Economics, Management and promotion, Marketing and nature, publicity, history, new Technologies and many others. M. ALCAnTUD-DíAz, A. RICART VAyá & CARMEn GREGoRI-SIGnES Ibérica 27 (2014): 185-204196 With the questionnaire, we can also depict students’ topic preferences. our results show that the top topic for a digital story is “destination” followed by “travel agency” and “culture and heritage”. on the other hand, they do not seem to like topics such as “escape and enlightment” or “specialist holidays”. As far as team work is concerned, in most groups workload seemed to have been distributed evenly among members, and they did not lack motivation arguing that the project was fun and that they were excited about the idea of creating a digital story. 4.1.3. Evaluation The students got the average mark of this task by means of a double evaluation: a peer evaluation and a teacher one. The former took place in the presentations session. The students were provided with a questionnaire sheet (see Appendix 1 again) in which they had to score diverse aspects of their class mates’ digital stories. The teacher evaluation was based on the evaluation grid provided by Bernard Robin (see Appendix 3). Each student’s project achieved a mark between 1 and 4 according to this table. 4.1.4. First workshop of English for tourism In order to motivate our students, we made the decision of organizing a workshop-contest so as to give an award to the three best digital stories from all the groups in the first year of English for Tourism (a total of 6 groups, about 150 students). The procedure was as follows: the peer evaluation in each class was also used to decide which digital stories were the top two in every group. Therefore, thirteen digital stories were finally selected to be presented in the First workshop of English for Tourism. Some scholars that belonged to different fields – Economics, Tourism and English Studies – were invited to become part of the jury that was to decide on the winners (some travel agencies and publishing companies provided us with dictionaries and suitcases which worked as awards). our intention was to provide the workshop with some useful conferences for the students, the presentation of the digital stories and of the winners of the awards. We organized this workshop as an end-of-the-term party to share the work of the rest of the students, to meet students from other courses and to attend real conferences in English. Thus, we worked all the competences related to the application of knowledge to the real world and those related to group work. ShARE yoUR ExpERIEnCE Ibérica 27 (2014): 185-204 197 5. Conclusions In the first part of the article we have briefly described digital storytelling, its differences with other types of narratives and how it is implemented in the classroom in an attempt to adapt to the principles included in the CEFR. We have then proceeded to describe digital storytelling as a practical commercial tool for the tourism industry and the impact of digital storytelling in such different fields as education and commerce. Then, we have depicted a practical example of the conception and development of an activity based on digital storytelling for English for tourism. Finally, we have described the process used to introduce our students to the world of digital storytelling starting with the instructional workshop and finishing with the public presentations in class of their digital stories and their evaluation. With regard to the competences embedded in this activity, we have dealt with all those competences regarding researching, synthesizing, time management and getting organized because they had to meet deadlines, to search for information related to the new genres proposed and to synthesize in order to create a project. Additionally, we agree with Sadik (2008: 502) in that: (…) students were encouraged to think more deeply about the meaning of the topic or story and personalize their experience and also clarify what they knew about the topic before and during the process of developing and communicating their stories. In addition, digital storytelling provided a real way to help students learn how to use new technology effectively in their learning. however, there was sometimes an excessive and occasionally unnecessary use of distracting digital effects on some of the stories and quite bad quality of voice and images that appeared in some others. Despite these lacks, we can confirm that our students enjoyed our proposal of putting together their thoughts and their creativity in the service of the professional field of their choice, tourism. In turn, they worked competences related to TICs since they had to use some tools from AV which they had not previously used. Besides, they increased their use of different computer programs like MS Word, photo story 3, Movie Maker, to mention but a few. Furthermore, digital storytelling necessarily involved competences related to speaking, listening, writing and reading and the digital portfolio competences related to writing and reading. Moreover, the competences related to working in groups have been covered too. M. ALCAnTUD-DíAz, A. RICART VAyá & CARMEn GREGoRI-SIGnES Ibérica 27 (2014): 185-204198 The results achieved with this tool are very satisfactory considering that the groups needed over ten hours both to do the script of the digital story and to produce it. Internet was the main source to collect images and music for digital stories, however many of the students were even more creative resorting to their own pictures and music CDs. In conclusion, we can state that the experience of creating a digital story was well accepted by the majority of the students who rated the experience “very good” or even “excellent”. Conversely, some students affirmed they would have needed more time for their digital stories since it is a very time-consuming activity. Also, as it was to be expected, dealing with new software was a challenge but also a problem for some of them. nevertheless, we can affirm that they regard the creation of digital storytelling as a new and original kind of homework and in general it has helped them not only to learn the language but improve their computer knowledge or make friends among other things. 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(2008). “Digital storytelling: A meaningful integrated approach for engaged student learning”. Educational Technology Research 56: 487-506. Toffler (1981). The Third Wave. New York : Bantam Books. Walker, R. & K. Harding (2009). English for Tourism I. Oxford: Oxford University Press Valencia for eight years. She carried out her European phD in 2008. her main research fields are ESp, Contrastive Rhetoric, Corpus Analysis, Discourse Analysis and translation in English and Spanish. Dr. Carmen Gregori-Signes is a full-time lecturer at the University of Valencia. her publications and presentations include papers on multimodal and media discourse analysis, applied linguistics and language education. her most recent research focuses on the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) in schools and community centers through the use of digital storytelling; and on the role of ICT in second language learning and teaching. NoTES 1 This article is framed within the research project Diversidad y (des)igualdad en la literatura infantil y juvenil contemporánea (1990-2012) (UV-InV-pRECoMp13-115502) funded by University of Valencia. 2 URL: http://www.acmi.net.au/ 3 Reporters from Red herring magazine are set to try out a new hp (hewlett packard) Labs multimedia storytelling service called StoryCast. For further information see URL: http://www.hpl.hp.com/about/ 4 URL: http://www.puromarketing.com/9/12176/razones-para-creer-coca-cola-premio-mejor.html 5 See URL: http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/609/530 6 URL: http://trendwatching.com 7 The most recommended pages were URL: http://www.uv.es/gregoric and URL: http://fp.coe.uh.edu/ brobin/homepage ShARE yoUR ExpERIEnCE Ibérica 27 (2014): 185-204 201 Appendix 1: Peer evaluation sheet. M. ALCAnTUD-DíAz, A. RICART VAyá & CARMEn GREGoRI-SIGnES Ibérica 27 (2014): 185-204202 M. ALCANTUD-DÍAZ, ALICIA RICART VAYÁ & CARMEN GREGORI-SIGNES Ibérica 27 (2014): …-… Appendix 1: Peer evaluation sheet. G ro up Nu m be r Did you like the product? Quality of images Quality of sound and music Script (did you like it?) Length (too long, too short?) TL-TS Original and creative Does it suit the marketing and promotion conventions studied in class? Total (figures) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Appendix 2: Feedback questionnaire on digital storytelling. ShARE yoUR ExpERIEnCE Ibérica 27 (2014): 185-204 203 SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE Ibérica 27 (2014): …-… Appendix 2: Feedback questionnaire on digital storytelling. 1 Have you ever attended a digital storytelling workshop? YES - NO 2 Was the length of the workshop you attended enough to understand this tool? YES - NO 3 Do you think DS as free software is a useful learning tool? YES - NO 4 Have you used any other ICT tools? If so, which ones? 5 Compared to other ICT tools, how would you rate the usefulness of DS? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6 Do you think DS has helped you, as a learner, through the topics selected by the teacher? YES - NO 7 What for? /What was it useful for? 8 Do you think DS is useful for “bridging” different subjects? YES - NO 9 In what way? / If so, could you name a few subjects that can come together using DS? 10 How many people were there in your group? 1 2 3 4 5 11 Did all the members of the group work approximately the same amount of time? YES – NO 12 Did all the members of the group have more or less the same motivation and interest in the project? YES – NO 13 Could you explain your previous answer? 14 What topic(s) have you chosen for your DS? You may tick more than one - Destination - Accommodation - Itinerary - Transport - Package holiday - Holidays with a difference - Travel agency - Others (specify) _______________________ 15 How long have you been working in your DS script? o LESS THAN 5 HOURS o BETWEEN 5 -10 HOURS o MORE THAN 10 HOURS 16 How long have you been working in producing the DS? o LESS THAN 5 HOURS o BETWEEN 5 -10 HOURS o MORE THAN 10 HOURS 17 How did you obtain the images for your DS? o INTERNET o YOUR PICTURES o SCANNER o POWER POINT 18 And the music? o INTERNET o YOUR OWN CDS 19 If you had to rate your experience using DS (form the idea, to the script, storyboard and recording), how would you describe it? Please, explain your answer. o EXCELLENT o VERY GOOD o GOOD o NOT SO GOOD o POOR 20 Is there any other comment you would like to do related to DS? Appendix 3: Teacher evaluation sheet (as provided by B. Robin at URL: http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh. edu/archive/pdfs/samplerubric.pdf) M. ALCAnTUD-DíAz, A. RICART VAyá & CARMEn GREGoRI-SIGnES Ibérica 27 (2014): 185-204204 M. ALCANTUD-DÍAZ, ALICIA RICART VAYÁ & CARMEN GREGORI-SIGNES Ibérica 27 (2014): …-… Appendix 3: Teacher evaluation sheet (as provided by B. Robin at URL: http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/archive/pdfs/samplerubric.pdf) CATEGORY 4 Points 3 Points 2 Points 1 Point 1. Purpose of story Establishes a purpose early on and maintains a clear focus throughout. Establishes a purpose early on and maintains focus for most of the presentation. There are a few lapses in focus, but the purpose is fairly clear. It is difficult to figure out the purpose of the presentation. 2. Point of view The point of view is well developed and contributes to the overall meaning of the story. The point of view is stated but does not connect with each part of the story, although an attempt is made to connect it to the overall meaning of the story. The point of view is stated but no attempt is made to connect it to the overall meaning of the story. The point of view is only hinted at, or is difficult to discern. 3. Dramatic question A meaningful dramatic question is asked and answered within the context of the story. A dramatic question is asked but not clearly answered within the context of the story. A dramatic question is hinted at but not clearly established within the context of the story. Little or no attempt is made to pose a dramatic question or answer it. 4. Choice of content Contents create a distinct atmosphere or tone that matches different parts of the story. The images may communicate symbolism and/or metaphors. Contents create an atmosphere or tone that matches some parts of the story. The images may communicate symbolism and/or metaphors. An attempt was made to use contents to create an atmosphere/tone but it needed more work. Image choice is logical. Little or no attempt to use contents to create an appropriate atmosphere/tone. 5. Clarity of voice Voice quality is clear and consistently audible throughout the presentation. Voice quality is clear and consistently audible throughout the majority (85-95%) of the presentation. Voice quality is clear and consistently audible through some (70-84%)of the presentation. Voice quality needs more attention. 6. Pacing of narrative The pace (rhythm and voice punctuation) fits the story line and helps the audience really "get into" the story. Occasionally speaks too fast or too slowly for the story line. The pacing (rhythm and voice punctuation) is relatively engaging for the audience. Tries to use pacing (rhythm and voice punctuation), but it is often noticeable that the pacing does not fit the story line. Audience is not consistently engaged. No attempt to match the pace of the storytelling to the story line or the audience. 7. Meaningful audio soundtrack Music stirs a rich emotional response that matches the story line well. Images coordinated with the music. Music stirs a rich emotional response that somewhat matches the story line. Images mostly coordinated with the music. Music is ok, and not distracting, but it does not add much to the story. Not coordinated with images. Music is distracting, inappropriate, OR was not used. 8. Quality of images Images create a distinct atmosphere or tone that matches different parts of the story. The images may communicate symbolism and/or metaphors. Images create an atmosphere or tone that matches some parts of the story. The images may communicate symbolism and/or metaphors. An attempt was made to use images to create an atmosphere/tone but it needed more work. Image choice is logical. Little or no attempt to use images to create an appropriate atmosphere/tone. 9. Economy of story detail The story is told with exactly the right amount of detail throughout. It does not seem too short nor does it seem too long The story composition is typically good, though it seems to drag somewhat OR need slightly more detail in one or two sections. The story seems to need more editing. It is noticeably too long or too short in more than one section. The story needs extensive editing. It is too long or too short to be interesting. 10. Grammar and language usage Grammar and usage were correct (for the dialect chosen) and contributed to clarity, style and character development. Grammar and usage were typically correct (for the dialect chosen) and errors did not detract from the story. Grammar and usage were typically correct but errors detracted from story. Repeated errors in grammar and usage distracted greatly from the story.