Digital Storytelling Project: Starting School Digital Social Story
Overview and Intended Purpose
Quality literature is widely accepted as a valuable tool for learning however the evolving nature of narrative challenges teachers, and teacher librarians, to redefine reading and the processing involved in composing and responding to texts. In a project aiming to introduce digital storytelling (DS), via the Canva (Canva, 2024) platform, year 5 and 6 students will develop an interactive website that allows forthcoming Kindergarten students, and their families, to follow a character around a map of their prospective primary school (GGPS). The website will introduce preschool students to places, spaces and routines and serve as a social story to enhance student wellbeing and support the social-emotional challenges of transitioning to primary school (Raising Children Network Australia Limited, 2024).
Subject Area
This DS project supports learning in English and Geography for Stage 3. The English outcome of Creating Written Texts, EN3-CWT-01, will be addressed as students ‘…choose multimodal features suited to a target audience and purpose… [and create] hybrid texts for target audiences, using print or digital tools…’ (NSW Education Standards Authority [NESA], 2024). Further, students will use Geographical tools such as maps, photography, satellite images, multimedia and web tools to work towards the Stage 3 Geography Outcomes of GE3-1 and GE3-2 (NESA, 2024). Preschoolers who engage with this text as reader and viewer, will familiarise themselves with the concepts ‘Place’ and ‘Space’ which feature in the Early Stage 1 Geography syllabus. They will also interact with spatial technologies and visual representations of information, preparing them for formalised learning (NESA, 2024).
Audience
Given the audience will be children aged 4-6, as well as adult carers, the website will be created with Canva (Canva, 2024) to encompass multimodal text types. Canva’s (Canva, 2024) website building function is free for NSW Department of Education teachers and students and can be published for public viewing with a URL or QR code, making it a practical and accessible platform for DS. Using a visual map, overlayed with hyperlinked icons, young viewers are able to choose how to navigate the website and the areas they wish to explore. In response to peer feedback (Weibye, 2024) the website accompanies written text with recorded audio narration allowing young readers, and those with other specific learning needs, to make meaning from each page (Kingsley, 2007).
Needs of the community
The GGPS Strategic Improvement Plan (Gol Gol Public School, 2024) identifies students’ sense of belonging and engagement as an important focus and this DS project attends to both of these values. The DS site will be available online, as well as face-to-face in a library open day event where Year 5 buddies and preschool students will navigate the web page together, fostering a special peer connection. Additionally, the Canva (Canva, 2024) platform is configurable to both handheld devices and computer screens, maximising accessibility for families who are joining the school community and enhancing a culture of inclusion. As a learning tool, this will be the first time that Stage 3 students have engaged in a small-group, collaborative project to co-create a multimodal text, offering a valuable educative experience in DS and scope for the development of vital digital citizenship skills, including fair use and copyright issues (Kingsley, 2007).
Fit with the Current Collection and Value for Program Implementation
GGPS is undergoing a transition towards a balanced, hybrid collection. The school has recently supplemented the physical collection with an eLibrary of eBooks and audiobooks. Additionally, the teacher librarian has introduced a shared physical space for iPad viewing and listening stations. This DS project reflects the adaptive nature of the school library, challenging students to engage with literature in a way that responds to a rapidly changing information landscape (Combes, 2019). The DS project will enable the community to recognise the GGPS library as an innovative space that promotes both information literacy and student wellbeing (Australian Library and Information Association [ALIA] and Australian School Library Association [ASLA], 2016; Child, 2018). As a multimodal text, the DS website will offer a level of interactivity and engagement for families not previously utilised during school orientation materials, adding value to current programs.
Influences and Factors for Consideration
A recent influence that has impacted storytelling in digital environments is the idea of a non-linear narrative. By navigating with the visual map through the eyes of the main character, the young reader is able to explore the school, according to their interests. Lamb (2011) notes that interactivity is likely to increase enhance reader engagement by assisting the reader to be immersed in the virtual narrative setting. Additionally, multimodal texts may enhance the meaning making occurring. For students, the combination of visual, auditory and textual elements simultaneously engaged in the transmedia reading process may enable a deeper understanding of what is being read (Allan, 2017; McDonald, 2023; Tan & Chik, 2022). The potential educational impact that transmedia storytelling offers is an area that teacher librarians must continue to explore with their students and further expound with teacher colleagues.
References:
Allan, C. (2017). Digital fiction: ‘Unruly object’ or literary artefact? English in Australia, 52(2), 21-27. https://search-informit-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/doi/epdf/10.3316/aeipt.216171
Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and Australian School Library Association (ASLA). (2016). Statement on Information Literacy. https://read.alia.org.au/alia-asla-joint-statement-library-and-information-services-schools
Canva (2024) Canva [Web App]. https://www.canva.com/
Child, J., (2018). School libraries enhancing student wellbeing. SCIS Connections (105), 8-9. https://www.scisdata.com/connections/issue-105/school-libraries-enhancing-student-wellbeing/
Combes, B. (2019). Digital Literacy: A New Flavour of Literacy or Something Different? (2019). Synergy, 14(1). https://slav.vic.edu.au/index.php/Synergy/article/view/v14120163
Gol Gol Public School. (2024). Strategic improvement plan 2021-2025. https://reports.sparo.schools.nsw.gov.au/plan-report/2021/2027/2021-2025_Gol_Gol_Public_School_SIP.pdf
Kingsley, K. V. (2007). Empower diverse learners with educational technology and digital media. Intervention in School and Clinic 43(1), 52-56. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10534512070430010701
Lamb, A. (2011). Reading redefined for a transmedia universe. Learning and leading with technology, 39(3), 12-17. https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/bitstream/handle/1805/8636/39-3.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
McDonald, L. (2023). A new literature companion for teachers; teaching mentor texts (3rd ed.). Primary English Teachers Association (PEETA).
NSW Education Standards Authority (2024) English K–10 Syllabus. https://curriculum.nsw.edu.au/learning-areas/english/english-k-10-2022/content/stage-3/fae233967c
NSW Education Standards Authority (2015) Geography K–10 Syllabus. https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/learning-areas/hsie/geography-k-10
Raising Children Network Australia Limited. (2024). Social Stories. https://raisingchildren.net.au/autism/therapies-guide/social-stories
Tan, L. & Chik, A. (2022). Between worlds: Extending students’ multimodal literacy practices with augmented reality. Primary English Teachers Association (PEETA).
Transmedia Storytelling. (2016, January 26). Ep 71: Learning in the wild with transmedia storytelling: How to use transmedia storytelling for informal and blended learning [Audio podcast]. Podomatic.
Weibye, A. (2024, August 26). I really like the sound of your proposal! Creating a website that families can access from home is a clever. [Comment on the blog post “ETL533 Digital Storytelling Project Proposal: Starting School Social Story Website”]. Talk Wordy to Me. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/bbertalli/2024/08/12/etl533-digital-storytelling-project-proposal-starting-school-social-story-website/#comment-13