Traditional Oral Storytelling Meets Technology

Why am I studying traditional oral storytelling in an educational technology class?

On the surface, traditional oral storytelling and "technology" clash. When one reflects upon traditional oral storytelling, one's thoughts transport them to an earlier time, a time come and gone, a time that is past. One travels backward in time. When one reflects upon "technology," one's thoughts tend to be more future-oriented. One travels forward in time.

While I consider myself to be a progressive person, I hold many traditional beliefs. I believe that traditional oral storytelling is a beautiful institution that humanity should not permit to descend into extinction. Humans have been orally storytelling since the dawn of the spoken word and should continue so long as we are physically capable.

Instead of replacing, we should enhance traditional oral storytelling with something more technologically advanced. For a child, one of the best parts of the day is falling asleep to the smooth, gentle, even whispery voice of their mother or father telling a story in the traditional oral manner.