We are living in a world of chaotic change where we are literally drowning in a sea of data. The world is constantly changing and evolving exponentially. There now exist a global economy where citizens are being challenged to think creatively, become cooperative problem solvers and effective communicators.  People need to know how to interact, engage and collaborate with others from multiple cultures using various types of technology. They need to match left-brain analytical skills with right-brain creative, innovative skills to be competitive and successful in today’s global market (Pink, 2006).
 

In the United States, we measure educational success based upon test where student are asked to recall facts taught to them in class based upon an industrial age model, instead of an information age one.  Today’s students are mainly being assessed in ways that tap into the left-brain analytical skills, while devaluing the right-brain creative skills.   Why is there a need for this type of assessment?  The main answer to this question is accountability.  Students are being given something, in this case a grade or a degree, so there is a need to make sure they have met certain standards before the award can be granted.  It is usually easy to administer a high stakes objective assessment to the masses on left-brain analytic skills.  However, it is more difficult to assess students on right-brain creative skills, as these are more subjective to evaluate. Could narratives through the practice of digital storytelling be a mechanism used to effectively assess not only right-brain creative skills, but also the left-brain analytical ones?  For as we focus on narratives we expose learning processes often ignored when we are encouraged to research a narrow range of cognitive skills (McEwan, 1995). 
 

There is a need to go back to our ancestral roots and explore ways we first began to learn, retain and pass on wisdom.  Collaborative narratives have been an entertaining and engaging way for people from cultures all over the world to express their experiences and give meaning to those experiences.  From the beginning of time narratives were designed to teach, inspire, bring people together or to pass along wisdom from one generation to another.  Storytelling is a human trait that is universal, present and recognizable across cultures and epochs (Alexander & Levine, 2008).  There is power in using narratives or personal storytelling to convey or demonstrate knowledge. Through the process of storytelling, meaning is constructed, knowledge is retained and the ability to pass along wisdom is enabled.  
 

Daniel Pink (2005) points out that there is a major shift happening in the world today as we move from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age.  Essentially in this new age it will be vital for students to tell the story, enable meaning making, be a big picture thinker, and recognize patterns.  All of these traits align well with digital storytelling principles and practices and will be framed within this literature review.
 

In this review of the literature the attention is focused upon several areas of interest.  The broad-brush stroke will explore the literature in regards to the use of digital storytelling as an assessment practice.  However, there will be finer lines addressing themes around: 1) narratives or traditional storytelling techniques for assessment or wisdom retention, 2) digital storytelling for both academic and personal growth and 3) the use of technology for both digital storytelling and assessment practices.