INF533 Assignment 2 Part A – My Place

The My Place student website is an interactive part of the transmedia storytelling experience that is the My Place story. The story is told across multiple platforms, including print, film and online sites beginning with Nadia Wheatley and Donna Rawlins’ printed story (Wheatley & Rawlins, 2012), continuing with Matchbox Pictures television series (“My Place”, 2009) and the connected student and teacher websites found on the ABC’s education portal (“My Place Website”, 2018). It depicts the history of one particular piece of land in Sydney from before 1788 to 2008 through the stories of the various children who have lived there (“My Place Website”, 2018).

 

As an explicit criteria describing ‘what digital literature is’ is still evolving for the purpose of this review the website and connected media will be examined through the lense of transmedia storytelling (Jenkins, 2018) using the following areas as focuses; literary content, navigation, look and feel, functionality and interactivity, as well as the overall effectiveness of all of these elements within a digital context.

The My Place student website utilises all the aspects of the digital environment within which it is situated to create an immersive viewing experience.

Henry Jenkins (2018) defines transmedia storytelling as;

“…a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes it own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story.”

The unique aspect that the website brings to the transmedia storytelling is a student’s ability to discover and explore the text in a non-linear fashion (Edwards, 2013). On entering the site the viewer watches a short clip introducing all of the main characters. The visual and auditory nature of the introduction orientates the viewer and allows them to begin to create meaning and connection to the print and film platforms (Edwards, 2013).

The navigation of the site is both intuitive and functional. The use of explicit affordances (Borowska, 2015) like the timeline feature on the right hand side of the screen allow viewers to easily access the content and explore at their own pace and within their own capability (Borowska, 2015).

The patterned affordances of the pulldown handle, curtain cord and gumtree leaf picture create a continuity that allows viewers to easily navigate to, from and around the home page (Borowska, 2015).

This participation with and choosing of content creates motivation and engagement (Kitson, 2011). On choosing a time period the viewer is invited to examine the connected material by clicking on the repeated areas of study including the main character, where they lived, and their family tree among others.

The web designers have in this case used hidden affordances to encourage exploration (Borowska, 2015). The appearance and position of these hidden affordances remain the same throughout the time periods, creating familiarity and consistency.

The fully functioning website requires a Flash Player (1996) to operate all of the elements. However the web designers have established a narrowband width and non-flash website that allows viewers to view all the content, all be it in a less fluid and visually appealing way (“My Place Website”, 2018). The fact that the film and website platforms were created and maintained by the Australian Broadcasting Channel (ABC, 2018) creates hope that this excellent resource will remain available at least in the near future.

My Place is an excellent example of a multiplatform transmedia storytelling experience. The website creates a high level of participation and motivation (Kitson, 2011) through the use of games, and different types of affordances, both explicit and hidden to encourage students to navigate the site (Borowska, 2015). Although it could be argued that it was not originally created as a transmedia experience, the addition of the film and web platforms has added depth to the print platform’s knowledge base and altogether new knowledge as well, which in keeping with Jenkin’s definition of a transmedia storytelling’s prime objective.

References

ABC. (2009). My Place [TV program]. 2.

Borowska, P. (2015). 6 types of digital affordance that impact your UX. UX Design. Retrieved from http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2015/04/6-types-of-digital-affordance-that-impact-your-ux/

Edwards, J. T. (2013). Reading beyond the borders: observations on digital ebook readers and adolescent reading practices (ch. 9). In J. Whittingham, & IGI Global (Eds.), Technological tools for the literacy classroom (pp. 135-158). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Flash Player [Computer Software]. (1996). Retrieved from https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

Jenkins, H. (2018). Transmedia Storytelling 101. Retrieved from http://henryjenkins.org/blog/2007/03/transmedia_storytelling_101.html

Kitson, L. (2011). Reconceptualising understandings of texts, readers and contexts: One english teacher’s response to using multimodal texts and interactive whiteboards. English in Australia, 46(3).

My Place Website. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/abc3/myplace/

Wheatley, N., & Rawlins, D. (2012). My place. Newtown, N.S.W.: Walker Books Australia.