McEown.net

There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories. ~Ursula K. LeGuin

Introduction

Narrative is the form by which human experience is made meaningful (Madej, 2003; Pink, 2004). If you stop to think about it, you are likely to realize that everything you communicate is a story; a narrative (Collins, 1997). The prominence of story in human culture is clearly visible in the elevated status storytellers have had in history; Navajo shaman, troubadours of Europe, ollahms of Ireland and griots in Africa all held and/or continue to hold, positions of honor within their communities. Storytellers continue to be an appreciated resource, yet with the changes new technologies are manifesting in our lives, the faces of our storytellers are changing. The more interactive and collaborative, user-generated content that is placed in the public domain, the more individuals become storytellers. It is no longer a select few who generate and maintain a society’s stories, it is everyone.

As society continues to expand and greater numbers enter the workforce, our stories – and how we tell them – become our distinguishing feature (Pink, 2004), the skill that makes us unique. With the shift from hard skill to knowledge and information sharing that is taking place in today’s workforce, it is imperative that prospective contributors have the tools necessary to share their story and their knowledge with the community. The new tools enabling this transition include everything from simple email messages to direct author publishing, video creation and much more. Many of today’s technologies – Facebook, YouTube, Blogs and even Twitter – allow individuals to publish their own ’story’ or narrative. And, while the users of these technologies are gaining the skills they will need to engage in productive activity, they are also gaining a new, digital literacy. These “new literacies are not just add-ons, nice to have but dispensable; they are at the very center of those forms and practices of communication and representation that are crucial in our new times.” (Hull, 2003, p. 233) Accompanying competency in the use of these technologies is the growing expectation that these new literacies be acquired earlier and earlier in life.

But how do young students gain competency in these skills? One speculation leads back to the importance of narrative. By engaging young users through narrative content, early learners can be provided with helpful direction in gaining digital literacy skills. The goal of the following review is to look at three aspects of narrative content with regard to early learning. First, a brief review of children’s literature, where it started and what it is being molded into. Second, a look at how story and storytelling are used in teaching and engaging students. And, finally, a review of three current Web environments for young learners and how these spaces utilize narrative to attract participation. Read More »