Digital Storybooks: Where Stories Come to Life!

Abstract

Western forms of literacy and formalized education have increased throughout the Pacific. Many Micronesian Islanders now reside in Guam, Hawaii, and the continental United States in search of better healthcare, employment and education, myself included. Our children attend U.S. public schools. Traditionally, we learned through our native languages from oral stories and hands-on learning. “Book learning” is relatively new for us. The University of Hawaii’s College of Education (COE) prepares novice teachers to serve in these diverse communities. This project considered that a storytelling approach using Digital Storybooks would provide opportunities for Pacific Island students to learn in culturally congruent and successful ways. The interactive audio and visual features of digital stories would be inviting to indigenous peoples of the Pacific, including my Kosraean community. This instructional design project exposed novice teachers to the values and techniques of digital storytelling to contribute to this lofty endeavor of promoting inclusion and access for Pacific Island children through the digital arts.