Narrative is the primary element of a digital story, and is usually used in conjunction with images, music, and other digital techniques. Digital stories are catching on in the education world as instructional tools that teachers can use - multimedia teaching has been shown to promote student engagement. They are also popular as learning tools for students. EDUCAUSE gives the example of David, a computer science major who is inspired by the project to create a digital story about his love for blues guitar, surprising his classmates and professor with an unknown side of himself. You can see some examples of both types at the University of Houston's home site for the educational uses of digital storytelling.
This is how I would use digital storytelling in my classroom. While I recognize the potential of the medium as a tool for instruction, I also must admit that in a Spanish classroom, where much of the focus is on exploration of foreign cultures, my students would in most cases be better served by a higher degree of authenticity than I could provide on my own. I would consider using "found" stories created by others for certain purposes, but digital stories will likely see more use in my class as a format for student projects. My hope is that the freedom allowed by the digital story will encourage creativity and motivation, even from students who might not respond to other strategies.
I think that digital storytelling could be very motivational for your students. The important thing is to choose a good tool for the task based on learning standards and to provide them with a detailed rubric.
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