Using Literature and Digital Storytelling to Create a Safe Place to Address Bullying

Determined to shift the balance by providing a venue for students’ voices, Cordi and Masturzo reclaimed and remade a Web space to address bullying using digital storytelling (Ohler, 2009). Using Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories, they guided their undergraduate students on a valuable journey of self-exploration, reflection, and investigation, and encouraged them to create digital stories that would document and empower those whose stories have not been told.— Students’ videos contained powerful messages, images, music, and literature recommendations to demonstrate that all stories count. Preparing preservice teachers to critically discuss acceptance and respect with their future students by developing digital storytelling and combining their stories with children's and young adult literature proved to be an authentic and memorable learning experience that changed them and the way they viewed their students.