Part A: Context for Digital Storytelling
My digital literature artefact will be a historical story created in Book Creator about a significant Australian—Mary Reiby. This project has two key purposes:
a) To support students in identifying the genre of historical fiction within a Stage 3 library unit of work on significant Australian personalities.
b) To provide a model for students as they develop their own digital stories about significant Australians.
The target audience will be Year 5 students, who during the term their curriculum focus is on the history of Australia’s penal colony and the individuals central to its development. As they engage with the digital story, students will be presented with a series of questions and prompts, aimed not only at building digital skills but also at strengthening their ability to recognise the conventions of historical fiction. This aligns with (Malita & Martin, 2010), who highlight the educational benefits of storytelling, including its role in meaning-making and challenging assumptions. Exposure to this form of narrative fiction also introduces students to a style of storytelling they may have previously dismissed as ‘boring’ or outdated. As (Miller, 2019) notes, digital storytelling holds particular value in offering new perspectives, simply by altering the visual point of view. By creating an engaging and positive experience of historical narrative, students may become more open to exploring texts from this genre. Furthermore, the integration of modern digital technologies with historical content helps bridge the gap between past and present. (Foss & Kumar, 2025) argue that while traditional methods can fail to capture students’ interest in the complex narratives of history, digital storytelling provides a powerful tool for making these stories more accessible and meaningful to today’s learners.
This artefact not only supports the development of students’ literary skills but is also designed to build their digital capabilities through practice and application. (Botturi et al., 2012) explain that one of the key skill sets in creating digital stories lies in shaping narratives in three modes—verbal, visual, and aural. This multimodal approach creates layers of accessibility for students with diverse abilities. By providing multiple pathways to success, the task allows students to focus on one or combine all three, enabling educators to differentiate outcomes. The learning task can also be scaffolded in stages, beginning with visual storytelling, before incorporating sound, hyperlinks, and interactivity as students gain confidence with the platform. This reflects (Bjorgen’s, 2010) view that digital storytelling fosters new ways of learning and expressing identity. Furthermore, by practising and reinforcing these skills across several lessons, students can develop transferable competence that extends to other school and social technologies, echoing (Walker and Nocon’s, 2007) findings on how skill acquisition supports engagement across different sociocultural contexts.
The use of Book Creator provides further advantages, as the platform allows additional pages or interactive activities to be added with ease. This flexibility means the digital story can be adapted for different age groups—simplifying text for younger learners or introducing more complex narratives for older students. A key strength of digital platforms is their adaptability, which enables teachers to reuse and modify resources efficiently, an important consideration in light of increasing administrative demands.
Beyond history lessons, this artefact also has broader applications. It could be used to teach biographical and personal narratives or to explicitly develop digital competencies, such as image uploading, copyright and fair use, integrating generative AI for image creation, or embedding the artefact in larger digital spaces like websites. Such accommodations align with (Nokelainen’s, 2006) criteria for usability, including applicability, flexibility, learner activity, and goal orientation.
This artefact and its associated activities are particularly relevant to the school context, where students have had limited explicit instruction in digital technologies and may feel hesitant when faced with complex tasks that demand more than simply pressing or swiping a start button. Engaging with this project not only promotes greater participation but also fosters learner autonomy as students take ownership of the task. (Nokelainen, 2006) highlights that learning is most effective when it involves practical, hands-on methods—such as students designing and producing their own digital stories. Simply showing students the artefact would restrict their learning to what they can retain in working memory, which is limited. By contrast, engaging them in the process addresses concerns about cognitive load and enables pedagogy that supports more effective and sustainable learning outcomes for all students.
In conclusion, this digital literature artefact combines historical content, narrative conventions, and digital technologies to create an engaging and adaptable learning resource. By modelling historical fiction and encouraging student-led digital storytelling, it supports both literacy and digital capability development. Aligned with research on storytelling and digital pedagogy, it offers practical, hands-on opportunities for creative expression while making history meaningful, accessible, and relevant to contemporary learners with a variety of abilities and interests.
References
Botturi, L., Bramani, C., & Corbino, S. (2012). Finding Your Voice Through Digital Storytelling. TechTrends, 56(3), 10–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-012-0569-1
Bjørgen, A. M. (2010). Boundary crossing and learning identities – digital storytelling in primary schools. Seminar.Net, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.7577/seminar.2429
Foss, C. & Kumar, S. (2025). The role of digital story-telling in bringing history to life in the classroom. International Journal of History, 7(5), 19-28.
Nokelainen, P. (2006). An empirical assessment of pedagogical usability criteria for digital learning material with elementary school students. Educational Technology & Society, 9(2), 178–197.
Walker, D., & Nocon, H. (2007). Boundary-Crossing Competence: Theoretical Considerations and Educational Design. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 14(3), 178–195. https://doi.org/10.1080/10749030701316318