Rebuilding Haiti (Online version) [Video game]. (2014). Rue89. http://apps.rue89.com/haiti/en/

Rebuilding Haiti (Rebuilding Haiti, 2014) is a multimedia interactive non-fiction narrative that explores the decisions and impacts different choices have on the rebuilding of Haiti following the 2010 earthquake (Bouchardon, 2019). This piece of digital literature is designed to engage the reading deeply in the real-life situation that is rebuilding Haiti. The use of interactive questioning brings the reader into the narrative deeply, encourage them to think about how they would act in different situations. Following each chapter of the story the reader is faced with a different dilemma to consider when rebuilding Haiti, the task to make decisions result in consequences for the future of the community. Each decision the reader makes leads to another decisions or plan B as it provides you with the consequences of your actions. Following through to the end of the experience, allows the reader to see the outcomes their decisions had on the rebuilding of Haiti. Each chapter of the experience places you, as the reader in a different position of power in the rebuilding of Haiti. Moving through political, financial, housing, health, education and agricultural issues the reader will gain insight to the troubles facing the Haitian community. Throughout the later experiences you are even positioned as a Haitian local faced with the tough decision of emigrating to better your future in another country and then to making the decision to bring your new found skills and experiences back to the Haitian community.

As the text brings in elements of transmedia where reader is required to gather information through multimedia platforms to fully engage with the narrative (Jenkins, 2010). The impact of the visuals throughout the text allow the reader to extend their understanding and compassion for the situation as they read and engage with the story. Simple multiple-choice interactive questions based on the information from the chapter allow the read to engage more deeply having to think carefully about their choices as consequences do follow. Although the text only offers one style of learning the visual images, short clips as well as written information to support the reader when developing an understanding of the situation in order to make appropriate decisions. Each question and decisions that needs to be made throughout the text is built on from the previous questions allowing the reading to get a real feel for how their decisions impact the wider community and different aspects of how culture impact the way a community will respond to a situation (Rebuilding Haiti, 2014). When considering the different forms of digital literature ‘Rebuilding Haiti’ would be classified within the enhanced/interactive eBook platform (Hicks, 2014). As this resource is predominantly text with the inclusion of some images and some video elements it has many similarities of that of a static eBook. What makes those text different and moves into the interactive eBook category is the inclusion of the real time questions (Hicks, 2014). The text also brings in elements of game style literature as each question that is asked throughout the texts provides a different context for the reader to consider the following information (Flores, 2019;  Kummerling-Meibauer, 2015). The benefits of representing this style of text through a digital platform enhances the readers ability to fully engage in real time with the narrative and place themselves at the heart of the situation (Bouchardon, 2019). The design of the questions doesn’t allow the reader to rewind and change their choices based on the consequence they receive. Each answer provided to a situation follows up with additional relevant questions that couldn’t be provided as effectively in paper forms of the past such as choose your own adventure (Hicks, 2014).

For my specific context the Haiti experience is not particularly appropriate but for older students this form of digital literature can provide students with the opportunity to not only explore the devastation that the people of Haiti have suffered but allows them to engage deeply and consider the impact different decisions have on the community as a whole. As a mostly linear reading experience ‘Rebuilding Haiti’ provides students with a sound introduction to digital literature they use their typical reading skills while engaging with real time questions and decisions. ‘Rebuilding Haiti’ particularly targets a number of areas of the Australian Curriculum such as literature and context, where students are required to identify and explore texts that represent different viewpoints from events from different cultural contexts (Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority, 2015). The use of ‘Rebuilding Haiti’ as a digital text supports this style of learning as it not only informs the students of the situation in Haiti following the earthquake but immerses them deeply in the situation. This also provides this resource with significant longevity despite its simple nature as the skills and understanding students will receive from engaging in this resource largely outweighs its print counterparts.

References

Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2015). English. Australian Curriculum. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/english/?year=11581&strand=Literature&capability=ignore&capability=Literacy&capability=Numeracy&capability=Information+and+Communication+Technology+%28ICT%29+Capability&capability=Critical+and+Creative+Thinking&capability=Personal+and+Social+Capability&capability=Ethical+Understanding&capability=Intercultural+Understanding&priority=ignore&priority=Aboriginal+and+Torres+Strait+Islander+Histories+and+Cultures&priority=Asia+and+Australia%E2%80%99s+Engagement+with+Asia&priority=Sustainability&elaborations=true&elaborations=false&scotterms=false&isFirstPageLoad=false

Bouchardon, S. (2019, May 5). Mind the gap! 10 gaps for digital literature? Electronic Book Review. https://doi.org/10.7273/j3w2-h969

Flores, L. (2019). Third generation electronic literature. Electronic Book Review. https://doi.org/10.7273/axyj-3574

Hicks, T. [Troy Hicks] (2014, January 21). Enhancing out eBook experiences. Digital Rhetoric Collaborative. https://www.digitalrhetoriccollaborative.org/2014/01/21/enhancing-our-ebook-experiences/

Jenkins, H. (2010, June 21). Transmedia Education: the 7 Principles Revisited. Confessions of an ACA-FAN. http://henryjenkins.org/2010/06/transmedia_education_the_7_pri.html

Kummerling-Meibauer, B. (2015). The impact of new digital media on children’s and young adult literature. In Manresa, M., & Real, N. (Eds.). Digital literature for children: Texts, readers and educational practices (pp. 58). ProQuest eBook Central. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csuau/detail.action?docID=4322710

Rebuilding Haiti (Online version) [Video game]. (2014). Rue89. http://apps.rue89.com/haiti/en/