According to the author, as our abilities to combine image and text become more sophisticated and ubiquitous, digital storytelling is a powerful means for sharing those stories. Digital storytelling is a perfect way to remix stories. To present American literature as relevant to students' lives, the author rewrote their curriculum using backwards design and created essential questions centered around three main themes: defining what an American is; exploring the concept of the American Dream and its accessibly (or lack thereof) to all; and considering how American literature reflects Americans and differs from the literature of other countries. Many of the author's students are international students studying abroad and living on campus. The students often have little experience with American culture, history, or literature before they arrive at the school. Though immigrants come to America from all over the world, early American literature often does not reflect the diversity in our society today. The author wanted students to see themselves in the literature read. The author also wanted students to see the ways in which they continue and extend the stories of the writers students' studied: they had their own stories of America and Americans. Along with the literature studied as part of the American literature curriculum, students also honed their narrative writing skills. To help students get a feel for narrative, the author introduced them to the NPR radio show "This American Life." Each episode centers on a theme, but at its heart, the show examines what it means to be American in these times. Students selected one episode per month and wrote reflections on either the story or the technical elements. Students connected the episode to events happening in the historical context of the episode's presentation, discussed the effectiveness of the episode's production values (for example, music and editing), or connected the episode to class readings or discussions. In the author's experience, digital storytelling provides a link from American literature to the stories of diverse students living in America and allows students to see their own stories as part of a larger body of American literature.