Digital storytelling: a teaching tool to develop critical thinking, empathy and communication in undergraduate students

Abstract

Changes involved in the incorporation of digital technologies into higher education demands educational innovations addressed towards the schooling of future professionals, who will perform in a competitive working environment that demands competences such as critical thinking, empathy and communication. This article exhibits the results of the research about the use of an educational tool focused on digital storytelling where university students assessed the competences that they were able to develop with it. Results from this  first phase of a Design Based Research, derive from a categorization process carried out with the information generated from various instruments (questionnaire applied to 48 students from three different groups, field log and observations conducted in the classroom), during two academic terms (June – July and August to December, 2018). Results ratify the didactic potential of digital storytelling reported by different authors. In the conclusions the lines of actions are pointed out to consolidate this tool to develop critical thinking, empathy, and communication. Areas of opportunity were identified in the educational intervention, among them: provide structure to the story, request a detailed script, and propose other uses for digital storytelling