In 2009, Anne Rudnicki completed a doctoral dissertation (Rudnicki, 2009) focused on the
dialogical aspects of the digital story development process used by graduate students in a digital
storytelling course and a popular culture course that were taught as a linked pair at the University
of Houston. In her research, Rudnicki explored whether discussions about storytelling evoked
students' higher consciousness of the stories they tell and in turn helped them tell more meaningful
digital stories. Some of the topics that emerged from the research included personal narrative
versus academic writing, story circles as knowledge communities, aesthetic knowing, digital stories
as narratives of inquiry, and teachers as curriculum makers. One of the most practical outcomes of
this study was the development of a “Story Circle Guide,” which is still being used in our digital
storytelling courses and workshops.