Using Digital Storytelling In Early Childhood Education To Promote Child Centredness

Abstract

Digital storytelling refers to the technique of using various digital tools (a device, a web application, images, sounds, videos, etc.) in order to create digital stories. In our opinion, digital storytelling is an emerging teaching strategy because it is characterized by novelty elements; compared to classic storytelling, there is a relatively rapid increase in interest in it and has a strong impact in the context of online or/and onsite learning. Teachers can choose and create digital stories according to students’ interests. At the same time through digital storytelling, students can make sense of their own life experiences, their own knowledge and teachers get to know them better. The first part of our study presents a theoretical review regarding the usefulness of digital storytelling in Early Childhood Education. The second part shows the results of the research we have made in order to sustain the theoretical information. The purpose of our study is to identify the extent to which kindergarten educators use digital storytelling in the teaching and learning process and, at the same time, if they are aware of the importance that this strategy has for doing child centredness. In order to accomplish this, we created a questionnaire with different types of items and applied it to a number of 160 subjects, who teach in urban and rural kindergartens. By using this research tool we aimed to find answers to the question research Does Digital Storytelling promote child centredness?