The Digital Storytelling Methodology In Media Education For Learning Digital Citizenship Skills As Part Of A University Course

This study investigates how a group of university students perceived their actual achievement of a series of media, digital and critical reflection skills together with critical reflection (information, media and digital literacy) developed during a Media Education Workshop conducted through the use of Digital Storytelling techniques. The study carried out at the University saw the participation of 176 students of the average age of 21 who live within an "Infosphere", i.e. an eco-system dominated by media frameworks and a continuous flow of information (a mediatization context). In this workshop, the students were organised into workgroups and they designed 76 videos that were published on the Network. Four thematic areas were addressed: digital life, the environment, volunteering, the association movement and active citizenship. At the end of the activities, the students were presented with a questionnaire that analysed their perception of the effectiveness of Digital Storytelling in the development of digital and media skills from various perspectives; in particular, critical thinking on concrete and experiential issues. The quantitative and correlational assessment was conducted on the basis of an initial hypothesis that the Digital Storytelling approach enables participants to learn both technical skills in the use of digital tools (video in particular) and also reflective practice and meta-cognition skills, thus stimulating awareness and recognition of the students' ethical, social and value-related dimensions as well as their contextual meaning.