Revisiting Digital Storytelling as a Pedagogical Strategy in Educational Technology: A Systematic Literature Review of Recent Evidence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33394/jp.v13i1.18995Keywords:
Digital Media, Digital Storytelling, 21st Century Skills, Educational Technology, Digital LiteracyAbstract
This study aims to systematically examine the utilization of digital storytelling (DST) in the context of educational technology, focusing on the digital media used, supporting platforms and their impact on student learning processes and outcomes. The study was conducted using the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method based on the PRISMA 2020 guidelines and involved 36 scientific articles f published in the 2020–2024 period. The results of the thematic analysis showed that the most dominant digital media used was narrative video, followed by digital comics, story-based games and interactive applications. Various platforms and technological tools are utilized, reflecting the flexibility of DST implementation across various educational levels and subject areas. DST implementation has been reported to improve students' learning motivation, emotional engagement, digital literacy, communication and collaboration skills. This study confirms that DST is a technology-based learning strategy that is relevant and adaptive to 21st-century needs. These findings are expected to serve as a reference for developing more effective and contextually grounded digital narrative-based instructional innovations. Future research is recommended to examine how specific types of DST media influence measurable learning outcomes and to develop practical, pedagogically grounded implementation models that can be effectively adopted by teachers across diverse educational contexts.
References
Abdel-aziz, S., Galal, Y. S., Hassan, S., Hanafy, A., Ghamrawy, M., Samy, D., & Shaheen, M. (2022). Digital Storytelling : A Video-based Approach for Engaging University Students in Health Education. 10, 33–39.
Aljaraideh, A. Y. (2020). The Impact of Digital Storytelling on Academic Achievement of Sixth Grade Students in English Language and Their Motivation Towards It in Jordan. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 21(January), 73–82.
Amelia, P. (2021). The Journal of Asia TEFL Investigating the Development of T eachers ’ TPACK and the Adoption of. 18(2), 701–710.
Andriopoulou, A., Giakoumi, S., Kouvarda, D., & Tsabaris, C. (2021). Digital storytelling as an educational tool for scientific , environmental and sustainable development literacy on marine litter in informal education environments ( Case study : Hell ... THE LEARNING OUTCOMES OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM " GE. February 2022. https://doi.org/10.12681/mms.26942
Aydin, A., Tatli, Z., & Gursoy, A. (2021). Understanding Nursing Students’ Experience Through Digital Storytelling. Balıkesır Health Sciences Journal, 11(1), 26–33. https://doi.org/10.53424/balikesirsbd.989705
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 0887(1), 77–101. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Conlon, M. M. M., Smart, F., & Mcintosh, G. (2020). Does technology flatten authenticity ? Exploring the use of digital storytelling as a learning tool in mental health nurse education. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 29(3), 269–278. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2020.1760127
Gillespie, B. (2022). Using Digital Storytelling and Game-Based Learning to Increase Student Engagement and Connect Theory with Practice. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 10(Ainley). https://doi.org/10.20343/TEACHLEARNINQU.10.14
Gurevitch, J., Koricheva, J., Nakagawa, S., & Stewart, G. (2018). Meta-analysis and the science of research synthesis. Nature, 555(7695), 175–182. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature25753
Hsieh, J. C., & Lee, J. S. (2023). Digital storytelling outcomes, emotions, grit, and perceptions among EFL middle school learners: robot-assisted versus PowerPoint-assisted presentations. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 36(5–6), 1088–1115. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2021.1969410
Khamcharoen, N., Kantathanawat, T., & Sukkamart, A. (2022). Developing Student Creative Problem-Solving Skills (CPSS) Using Online Digital Storytelling: A Training Course Development Method. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 17(11), 17–34. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v17i11.29931
Kim, D., Coenraad, M., & Park, H. R. (2021). Digital storytelling as a tool for reflection in virtual reality projects. June, 101–121.
Koehler, M. J., Mishra, P., Akcaoglu, M., & Rosenberg, J. M. (2013). The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework for Teachers and Teacher Educators. ICT integrated teacher mducation Models, 1–8. http://cemca.org.in/ckfinder/userfiles/files/ICT teacher education Module 1 Final_May 20.pdf
Kushnir, I. (2025). Thematic analysis in the area of education: a practical guide. Cogent Education, 12(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2471645
Lambert, J. (2013). Digital storytelling : capturing lives, creating community. In Handbook of Research on the Societal Impact of Digital Media (4th editio). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-8310-5.ch013
Lazareva, A., & Cruz-Martinez, G. (2021). Digital Storytelling Project as a Way to Engage Students in Twenty-First Century Skills Learning. International Studies Perspectives, 22(4), 383–406. https://doi.org/10.1093/isp/ekaa017
Liberati, A., Altman, D. G., Tetzlaff, J., Mulrow, C., Gøtzsche, P. C., Ioannidis, J. P. A., Clarke, M., Devereaux, P. J., Kleijnen, J., & Moher, D. (2009). The PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies that evaluate healthcare interventions: Explanation and elaboration. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 339, 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b2700
Lin, C. (2021). A Progressive Digital Narrative Teaching Method to Improve Learning Motivation as a Lifelong Learning Skill.
Linnenluecke, M. K., Marrone, M., & Singh, A. K. (2020). Conducting systematic literature reviews and bibliometric analyses. Australian Journal of Management, 45(2), 175–194. https://doi.org/10.1177/0312896219877678
Newman, M., & Gough, D. (2020). Systematic Reviews in Educational Research. In Methodology, perspectives and application. In O. Zawacki-Richter, M. Kerres, S. Bedenlier, M. Bond, & K Buntins (Eds.) (hal. 3–22). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-27602-7
Ng, D. T. K., Luo, W., Chan, H. M. Y., & Chu, S. K. W. (2022). Using digital story writing as a pedagogy to develop AI literacy among primary students. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 3(February), 100054. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2022.100054
Ohler, J. (2016). Digital Storytelling in the Classroom: New Media Pathways to Literacy, Learning, and Creativity. In Digital Storytelling in the Classroom: New Media Pathways to Literacy, Learning, and Creativity. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452277479
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., … Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. Bmj, 372. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71
Rahmadi, I. F., & Hayati, E. (2020). Literasi Digital, Massive Open Online Courses, dan Kecakapan Belajar Abad 21 Mahasiswa Generasi Milenial. Jurnal Studi Komunikasi dan Media, 24(1), 91. https://doi.org/10.31445/jskm.2020.2486
Ramalingam, K., Jiar, Y. K., & Mathiyazhagan, S. (2022). Speaking Skills Enhancement through Digital Storytelling among Primary School Students in. 21(3), 22–35.
Robin, B. R. (2016). The Power of Digital Storytelling to Support Teaching and Learning. Journal on English as a Foreign Language, 2(1), 491–492.
Rutta, C. B., Schiavo, G., Zancanaro, M., & Rubegni, E. (2021). Comic-based Digital Storytelling for Content and Language Integrated Learning. Educational Media International, 58(1), 21–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523987.2021.1908499
Ryan, A. W., & Aasetre, J. (2021). Digital storytelling, student engagement and deep learning in Geography. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 45(3), 380–396. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2020.1833319
Schrum, K., Majury, N., & Simonelli, A. L. (2021). Authentic learning across disciplines and borders with scholarly digital storytelling. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.20343/TEACHLEARNINQU.9.2.8
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104(July), 333–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
Sonday, A. (2021). Digital Storytelling as a Reflective Tool in Occupational Therapy Curriculum. Occupational Therapy International, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/2463916
Yuliani, S., & Hartanto, D. (2022). Digital Online Learning by Using Digital Storytelling for Pre-Service Teacher Students. International Journal of Language Education, 6(3), 221–232. https://doi.org/10.26858/ijole.v6i3.20408
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Citation Check
License
Copyright (c) 2026 The Author(s)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
License and Publishing Agreement
In submitting the manuscript to the journal, the authors certify that:
- They are authorized by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements.
- The work described has not been formally published before, except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, thesis, or overlay journal.
- That it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere,
- That its publication has been approved by all the author(s) and by the responsible authorities tacitly or explicitly of the institutes where the work has been carried out.
- They secure the right to reproduce any material that has already been published or copyrighted elsewhere.
- They agree to the following license and publishing agreement.
Copyright
Authors who publish with Jurnal Paedagogy agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
Licensing for Data Publication
-
Open Data Commons Attribution License, http://www.opendatacommons.org/licenses/by/1.0/ (default)








