Who doesn't like a good show and tell? Now, this favorite grade school assignment is finding its way into more UMBC classrooms as digital stories: short (3-5 minute) digital movies based on personal photos, artifacts and a vivid memory of the students who produce them. In addition to assigning digital stories to develop or harness student media skills, many faculty are finding visual assignments deepen textual literacy, too. Starting with a 300-word focused narrative that students share in a story circle, Nicole King, Assistant Professor of American Studies, and a digital storytelling peer faculty trainer, shares how and why she offers visual assignments, how she evaluates them, and what she and her students are learning from the process.