Before commencing my studies, I knew there were many arguments about the benefits and downfalls of digital literature, including its tendency to distract (Clarke, 2019a). Over time, I discovered both sides of the debate were accurate; good digital stories can enhance the reading experience, whereas unnecessary, complicated or irrelevant texts can be detrimental. Quality digitisations utilise all the capabilities of our computerised world to allow access, support meaning, provide contemporary opportunities and reflect students’ personal worlds. The online world also enables individuals to use a plethora of tools to express their thoughts and ideas. Digital literacy isn’t just about reading and responding, it’s also about creating. Therefore, I have learnt the role of the education professional is to expose students to this world through targeted lessons and resources.

After I read a variety of digital texts, I was surprised to discover that some of my favourite stories were simple and straightforward (Clarke, 2019b). More complex multimodal combinations and layouts were distracting and hard to read if the visual, audio and interactive elements were extraneous. Distractions and disrupted reading can occur when hyperlinks and similar features are embedded in texts (Ross, Pechenkina, Aeschliman & Chase, 2017). It can also be difficult to adjust to the different pages of a text if various layouts, design elements and interactive features are utilised (Mascone, 2014). This is why education professionals need to teach students the language of digital texts and how they can navigate these types of stories (Simpson and Walsh, 2015). When used to support meaning, images and other multimodal elements can lead to critical understanding (Simpson and Walsh, 2015). I have learnt the most important part of a digital text should always be the story (Hardwick, 2018) and technology should be used to support or enhance the narrative.

Additionally, I have discovered teachers should introduce students to lessons and digital texts that reflect the broader worlds of students (Ng & Nicholas, 2016) because our pupils need to be able to read various text types in order to function in modern society. Incorporating students’ prior knowledge is also important because engagement and deeper comprehension is prompted when students are provided with opportunities to interact in familiar digital environments (Ng & Nicholas, 2016), such as those that mimic social media landscapes (McDonald and Danino, 2018). These types of texts provide students with a sense of community and a chance to collaborate with others (McDonald and Danino, 2018).

After reading the literature associated with this subject, it became evident that students need to create and experiment in order to learn the skills necessary to produce texts for a 21st Century audience. Initially I was focused on the benefits of reading digital texts, not the creation of digital texts. In particular, these types of activities enable students from diverse backgrounds to express themselves without the language barriers imposed by traditional forms of composition. For example, Johnson and Kendrick (2016) completed a study where teenagers from immigrant and refugee backgrounds were given a chance to share their stories in a digital format. The students involved were able to use images and music to tell traumatic stories they were unable to put into words. Another study (Laing, Moules, Estefan & Lang, 2017) explored the therapeutic benefits of digital storytelling in the case of adolescent cancer patients, demonstrating the flexibility and relevancy of multimodal texts. Education professionals must provide students with activities where they are able to express themselves digitally.

Reading digital narratives helped me understand why it is often better for teachers and librarians to create texts specifically for their school context. A lot of the literature does not cater to the specific needs of local school communities or it is out-of-date. However, after creating my own text, I realised this isn’t as easy it seems! When I posted my proposal to the INF533 discussion forum, the response was positive (Fawkes, 2019) and I felt optimistic about creating my website. I planned thoroughly and thought about it often, but my limited technical skills slowed the process. Therefore, this experience has showed me that it is important for educational professionals to collaborate because everyone has different technological skills and knowledge.

Through this subject (INF533), I was able to participate in valuable experiences that reflect the ways high school students interact with contemporary literature. In classrooms, we expect students to navigate and create digital texts, but we often haven’t completed these tasks ourselves. My eyes have been opened to the different ways students might respond to the activities I set, and I will endeavour to consider my own struggles with digital texts when I devise future lessons.

References:
Clarke, J. (2019a, July 28). INF533 assessment 1 [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/conanthelibrarian/2019/07/28/inf533-assessment-1/

Clarke, J. (2019b, August 26). Critical reflection of digital literature experience [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/conanthelibrarian/2019/08/26/critical-reflection-of-digital-literature-experience/

Fawkes, A. (2019, September 8). RE: Assessment 3 digital storytelling proposal [Forum comment]. Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_39502_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_76005_1&forum_id=_159416_1&message_id=_2470085_1

Hardwick. L. (2018). Digital storytelling: media that makes a difference. In G. Brewer & R. Hogarth (Eds.), Creative education, teaching and learning [Palgrave Macmillan]. DOI: https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.1057/9781137402141

Johnson, L., & Kendrick, M. (2016). “Impossible is nothing”: expressing difficult knowledge through digital storytelling. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 60(6), 667-675. DOI: 10.1002/jaal.624

Laing, C., Moules, N., Estefan, A., & Lang, M. (2017). Stories that heal: understanding the effects of creating digital stories with pediatric and adolescent/young adult oncology patients. Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing, 34(4), 272-282. DOI: 10.1177%2F1043454216688639

Mascone, C. (2014). Print it or forget it. Chemical Engineering Progress, 110(11), 3. Retrieved from https://www.aiche.org/resources/publications/cep

McDonald, R., & Danino, N. (2018). Social media in education and the community. In G. Brewer & R. Hogarth (Eds.), Creative education, teaching and learning [Palgrave Macmillan]. DOI: https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.1057/9781137402141

Ng, W., & Nicholas, H. (2016). Understanding mobile digital worlds: how do Australian adolescents relate to mobile technology?. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 27(4), 513-528. DOI: 10.1080/1475939X.2018.1523067

Ross, B., Pechenkina, E., Aeschliman, C., & Chase, A-M. (2017). Print versus digital texts: understanding the experimental research and challenging the dichotomies. Research in Learning Technology, 25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v25.1976

Simpson, A., & Walsh, M. (2015). Children’s literature in the digital world: how does multimodality support affective, aesthetic and critical response to narrative?. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 14(1), 28-43. DOI: 10.1108/ETPC-12-2014-0005

‘Home’, a digital story in the form of a website, was created for a Stage 4 English class within New South Wales, although it could be used as a resource in other subjects such as Geography and Science as it focuses on environmental issues. Through the text, students will learn about the Cross-Curriculum Priority of sustainability (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2016) and explore English devices (figurative language, symbolism, visual techniques). The text is a cautionary metaphor for the destruction of the planet. Eventually, the teen narrator is no longer able to live in her house due to her unsustainable actions.

The website is intended to be read and studied as a class and does not provide students with a stand-alone lesson. It creates flexibility for teachers as they can use reading strategies that are appropriate for their students; irrelevant activities and questions do not interrupt the story. Students will use the website as a model when they create websites about their own personal experiences with the planet we call our home. Through creatively and collaboratively creating digital texts, individuals can develop a greater understanding of the complex issues associated with sustainability (Daskolia, Kynigos & Makri, 2015). Furthermore, students are able to immediately respond to the text and a guiding question in the ‘comments’ section of the website. This helps them consolidate their thoughts and opinions about the text and sustainability.

‘Home’ is a valuable resource for the junior English curriculum because multimodal texts are an essential part of the NSW syllabus. Students are expected to ‘effectively use a widening range of processes, skills, strategies and knowledge for responding to and composing texts in different media and technologies’ (NSW Education Standards Authority, 2012). These types of texts are also prevalent in today’s society, so it is important for students to explore a variety of multimodal texts in order to become contemporarily literate (Abrams & Gerber, 2014). During a study of ‘Home’, readers encounter interactive elements, text, images and videos. These features contribute to the meaning rather than just being superfluous. For example, the title (‘Home’) provides a hyperlink to the home page but it becomes unfunctional or ‘broken’ at the end of the story when the house is ruined. The poll encourages readers to think about the length of their showers and how much water they are using.

This website targets and supports a younger audience through its use of social-media style textual features (hashtags, emoticons, references to popular culture, filtered images, first person language, comment section, external links). Students and adults alike are already telling their stories via social media (Alexander, 2011), so it is important to utilise these known formats (Wilber, 2010). The ability to comment on the story provides a social element, which promotes engagement and supports the reading experience (Huang, 2011; Valenza & Stephens, 2012). Some of these elements, specifically the comment section and the website links, are positioned at the end of the story so as to reduce distractions and create clear reading paths.

Easy accessibility is a distinct benefit of ‘Home’. Websites can be used by anyone with an internet connection and students do not need to buy extra devices or download additional applications. It is also free and won’t cost students or schools money like many other digital stories. Most importantly, the short chunks of text and the visual nature of the website allow struggling readers to develop a deeper understanding of the content. The combination of words and images in texts results in increased retention because the visuals make the story more memorable (Botzakis, DeHart & Connors, 2016). It has been proven that these types of texts cater for a wide variety of students by motivating disengaged readers, creating connections for ESL students and providing alternate information paths for deaf students (Botzakis, DeHart & Connors, 2016).

Finally, the website format allows for continuous changes and updates, ensuring ‘Home’ remains contemporary and relevant. Too often, texts become unusable or obsolete because they are not updated to correspond with newer operating systems, software or hardware. For example, educational CD-ROMs were prevalent during the early 2000s, with many academics lauding their benefits in the classroom (Jongsma, 2001; Witham & Krockover, 2001). Now, these are mostly unusable because newer computers do not have CD drives and/or the current operating systems do not support the software. The website is online, so isn’t affected by the physical limitations imposed by changing devices.
Overall, ‘Home’ is a contemporary digital story that provides flexible learning opportunities for Stage 4 English and HSIE students. It is intended to be a springboard for students’ own explorations of sustainability through reflection, discussion and the creation of similar websites.

References:
Abrams, S., & Gerber, H. (2014). Cross-literate digital connections: contemporary frames for meaning making. English Journal, 103(4), 18-24. Retrieved from https://www2.ncte.org/resources/journals/english-journal/

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2016). Sustainability. Retrieved from
https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/cross-curriculum-priorities/sustainability/

Alexander, B. (2011). The new digital storytelling [ABC-CLIO]. Retrieved from ProQuest Ebook Central.

Botzakis, S., DeHart, J., & Connors, S. (2016). Graphic text and visual literacies in reading comprehension. In S. Israel G. Duffy (eds.), Handbook of Research on Reading Comprehension [Guilford Publications]. Retrieved from ProQuest Ebook Central.

Daskolia, M., Kynigos, C., & Makri, K. (2015). Learning about urban sustainability with digital stories. Constructivist Foundations, 10(3), 388-396). Retrieved from https://constructivist.info

Huang, H-C. (2012). E-reading and e-discussion: EFL learners’ perceptions of an e-book reading program. Computer assisted language learning, 26(3), 258-281. DOI: 10.1080/09588221.2012.656313

Jongsma, K. (2001). Instructional materials: using CD-ROMS to support the development of literacy processes. The Reading Teacher, 54(6). Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20204959

NSW Educations Standards Authority. (2012). English K-10 Syllabus. https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/learning-areas/english-year-10/english-k-10

Valenza, J. K., & Stephens, W. (2012). Reading Remixed. Educational Leadership, 69(6), 75-78. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership.aspx

Wilber, D. (2010). iWrite: using blogs, wikis, and digital stories in the English classroom [Heinemann]. Retrieved from Proquest Ebook Central.

Witham, S., & Krockover, G. (2001). CD-ROMS in the classroom. The Science Teacher, 68(8), 72-74). Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/214625725?accountid=10344