Using Digital Storytelling as a Literacy Tool for the Inner City Middle School Youth

In the summer of 2004, I had the opportunity to serve as a participant/ observer in an after school program designed for inner city youth in Oakland, California. I was also able to collect interview data from students, teachers, and community participants about their perceptions of this exemplary program, Digital Underground Storytelling for Youth, (DUSTY). DUSTY is an award winning program using digital storytelling to motivate middle school, inner city youth to tell their stories through literacy, language arts, and technology. Professor Hull, co-founder, states that the word underground in DUSTY is used because the program is housed in the basement of an old Victorian house. Before sharing with you the process the DUSTY students used to create their digital stories, let me provide a brief explanation and rationale for using digital storytelling in the classroom.