In the 20th century, study abroad began to focus on the importance of ‘immersion.’ Immersion is a discursive shift that emphasizes the pedagogical value of the experience, as opposed to its social value. (Reilley and Senders, 243). In encouraging students to fully integrate themselves into a cultural society, study abroad is said to make students more self-reliant, flexible, and sensitive to the opportunities of the moment.
Digital storytelling allows students to become authors of their experiences. In using digital tools and the Internet, students are able to take full control over how their personal stories are told and constructed. Digital storytelling has transformed once private experiences of sharing stories into a public affair that anyone can experience. Through this process of remediation, digital storytelling is reflective of immersion as sharing stories is not just a social event, but in being authored by the student there is usually a message attached to each video. Digital storytelling allows individuals to document specific aspects of their time abroad. Although students made videos of their experiences in a variety of different countries, many of the stories have similar themes. Many of the videos are about interactions with local sites such as the university being studied at or a favorite study spot. These documentations although unique to each student, help weave individual images of parks or street corners into a larger picture of what the country looks like. While common associations with countries are historical monuments or top tourist spots, digital storytelling within the study abroad community takes viewers behind the doors into the non-special and ordinary aspects of living in a different country.