The Impact of Digital Storytelling on Junior High School Students’ Writing Skills
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24256/ideas.v13i2.8375Keywords:
Digital storytelling, Writing skills, Language education, Merdeka Curriculum, Junior high school students.Abstract
This study explored the effects of implementing collaborative Digital Storytelling (DST) on the writing proficiency of junior high school learners in Indonesia, this study focused on Tompkins et al.'s (1984) five stages of writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. The main issue identified was students’ challenges in writing, especially when dealing with English as a Foreign Language (EFL), requiring innovative pedagogy. Objectives included analyzing improvements in writing proficiency, group collaboration dynamics, and pedagogical implications under the Merdeka Curriculum. A qualitative case study design was employed. Findings revealed that DST significantly enhanced student engagement, creativity, and writing skills across stages, with 75% of students improving from "Low" to "High" levels. Tools like Canva and CapCut made the process student-centered. In conclusion, collaborative DST offers a valuable strategy for improving writing instruction, integrating into curricula to foster 21st-century skills and address cultural barriers in Indonesian EFL settings, contributing to Merdeka Belajar reforms.
References
Afriani Fitri, H. (2021). Implementing digital storytelling-based tasks for the teaching of narrative writing skills. 4(2), 168–190.
Alemi, M., Givi, S. S., & Rezanejad, A. (2022). The Role of Digital Storytelling in EFL Students’ Writing Skill and Motivation. Language Teaching Research Quarterly, 32, 16–35. https://doi.org/10.32038/ltrq.2022.32.02
Bani, M., & Masruddin, M. (2021). Development of Android-based harmonic oscillation pocket book for senior high school students. JOTSE: Journal of Technology and Science Education, 11(1), 93-103.
Barton, G., Khosronejad, M., Ryan, M., Kervin, L., & Myhill, D. (2024). Teaching creative writing in primary schools: a systematic review of the literature through the lens of reflexivity. Australian Educational Researcher, 51(4), 1311–1330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-023-00641-9
Castillo-Cuesta, L., Quinonez-Beltran, A., Cabrera-Solano, P., Ochoa-Cueva, C., & Gonzalez-Torres, P. (2021). Using Digital Storytelling as a Strategy for Enhancing EFL Writing Skills. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 16(13), 142–156. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v16i13.22187
Castillo, L., Cabrera, P., & Ochoa-cueva, C. (2021). Using Digital Storytelling as a Strategy for Enhancing EFL Writing Skills Using Digital Storytelling as a Strategy for Enhancing EFL Writing Skills. July. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v16i13.22187
Ginting, D. (n.d.). Digital Storytelling as an Innovative Tool for Improving Academic Writing Skills Among English Major Students : A Mixed-Methods Approach. 4(03), 530–545. https://doi.org/10.56741/IISTR.jpes.001103
Girmen, P., Özkanal, Ü., & Dayan, G. (2019). Digital storytelling in the language arts classroom. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 7(1), 55–65. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2019.070108
Haetami, Z. A. (2023). Implementing Digital Storytelling to Foster Students’ Writing Skill. Jurnal Ilmiah Wahana Pendidikan, 9(15), 694–705.
Hum, C., & Choi, T. H. (2020). The journal of asia tefl. Journal of Asia TEFL, 17(2), 463–478. https://doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2020.17.2.10.463
Kristanti, Y. D., Subiki, & Handayani, R. D. (2012). Model Pembelajaran Berbasis Proyek ( Project Based Learning ). Pembelajaran Fisika, 5(2), 122–128.
Lestari, E., & Rokhayati, T. (2025). Enhancing Students’ Writing Skills: The Impact, Engagement, and Optimization of Automated and Teacher Written Corrective Feedback. Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Undiksha, 13(2), 196–207. https://doi.org/10.23887/jpbi.v13i2.92886
Masruddin, M., & Nasriandi, N. (2022). Lexical and Syntactical Errors Performed by Junior High School Student in Writing Descriptive Text. IDEAS: Journal on English Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature, 10(1), 1094-1100.
Maulidah, L., & Jamaludin, S. (2024). Proceeding International Conference on Education 2024 THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL STORYTELLING ON STUDENTS ’ PROFICIENCY IN WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXT Proceeding International Conference on Education 2024. 69–75.
Moradi, H., & Chen, H. (2019). Behavioral Sciences Digital Storytelling in Language Education. Behavioral Sciences, 9(147), 1–9.
Moreau, K. A., Eady, K., Sikora, L., & Horsley, T. (2018). Digital storytelling in health professions education : a systematic review. 1–9.
Munajah, R., Sumantri, M. S., & Yufiarti, Y. (2022). The use of digital storytelling to improve students’ writing skills. Advances in Mobile Learning Educational Research, 3(1), 579–585. https://doi.org/10.25082/amler.2023.01.006
Munir, S., & Hendaryan. (2023). The Effectiveness of the Short Story Writing Program in Developing Students’ Creative Writing Skills. JPI (Jurnal Pendidikan Indonesia), 12(4), 782–791. https://doi.org/10.23887/jpiundiksha.v12i4.65325
Nair, V., & Yunus, M. M. (2021). A systematic review of digital storytelling in improving speaking skills. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(17). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179829
Nuroh, E. Z., & Frestiya Adiyawati, F. (2023). The influence of digital storytelling on story writing skills of class II elementary school students. Jurnal Pendidikan Dasar Nusantara, 8(2), 357–369. https://doi.org/10.29407/jpdn.v8i2.18582
Prof, A., Kazazoğlu, S., & Bilir, S. (2021). Digital Storytelling in L2 Writing : The Effectiveness of Storybird Web 2 . 0 Tool. 20(2), 44–50.
Purnama, S., Ulfah, M., Ramadani, L., Rahmatullah, B., & Ahmad, I. F. (2022). Digital Storytelling Trends in Early Childhood Education in Indonesia : A Systematic Literature Review. 16(1).
Puspitarini, A., Rafiqa, R., & Junaedi, A. (2024). Enhancing Narrative Writing Skills through Digital Storytelling: An Experimental Study on High School Students. GLENS: Global English Insights Journal, 1(2), 66–75.
Rahimi, M., & Yadollahi, S. (2017). Effects of offline vs. online digital storytelling on the development of EFL learners’ literacy skills. Cogent Education, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2017.1285531
Rong, L. P., & Noor, N. M. (2019). Digital storytelling as a creative teaching method in promoting secondary school students’ writing skills. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies, 13(7), 117–128. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v13i07.10798
Smith, S. (2020). Open Access From Process Writing to Genres : A Bridge to Meaningful , Real World Communication. 11, 89–95.
Sudarmaji, I., Mulyana, A., & Karsiyah, K. (2020). Applying Digital Storytelling To Improve Indonesian High School Students Visual Memory and Writing Skill. English Review: Journal of English Education, 8(2), 91. https://doi.org/10.25134/erjee.v8i2.2987
Sugiyono. (2018). METODE PENELITIAN EVALUASI (Y. Yuniarsih (ed.)). ALFABETA, CV.
Tompkins, Gail, E., Goss, & Claudate. (1984). Write Angles: Strategies for Teaching Compositions. 120. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED298529
Widyatna, E. (2023). Analisis Pembelajaran Berbasis Proyek dalam Praktik Baik Kurikulum Merdeka. National Conference for Ummah, 01(01), 359–364.
Yamaç, A., & Ulusoy, M. (2016). The effect of digital storytelling in improving the third graders’ writing skills. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 9(1), 59–86.
Yuniarti, Y., Yulian, R., & Yuniarti, Y. (2022). Digital Story Telling Based on Multimodal Elements on EFL Learners’ Speaking Performance. JPI (Jurnal Pendidikan Indonesia), 11(2), 308–316. https://doi.org/10.23887/jpiundiksha.v11i2.40217
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Citation Check
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Suci Riya Safitri, Dewi Sri Kuning
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement 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 acknowledgement 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 (See the Effect of Open Access)
