Tag Archives: ETL533 digital literature environments

Digital Storytelling Project – Part A: Context & Rationale

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Matthew Brady Digital Storytelling Project

Subject Area and Context
This digital storytelling project explores the life of Australian bushranger, Matthew Brady through a semi-biographical interactive website created on Canva. The project combines factual historical information with fictionalised diary entries, allowing students to engage with both the historical content and imaginative reconstruction. Petousi, et al., state that, “By engaging with interactive digital stories, students can take on the perspectives of historical figures,” (2022, p. 3). This perspective allows students to develop a deeper understanding of the past and an empathy for historical figures.

 The My Story series (Scholastic, 1999-2010) provides a precedent for blending historical events through the view point of fictional diaries. The series invites readers to empathise with the experiences of children during historical events such as the First Fleet, Eureka Stockade, and World War II. This approach supports historical inquiry skills by encouraging students to see history not just as dates and events but rather as lived human experiences. My digital storytelling project mirrors this technique of fictional diary entries to support factual information and create a more personal look at Australia’s colonial history.

The project is designed for Stage 3 learners in alignment with the History K-10 syllabus unit, The Australian Colonies (NESA, n.d.). Students are required to investigate the lives of individuals in Australia’s colonial past. Although bushrangers are not explicitly identified in the syllabus, they represent a culturally significant part of colonial life and provide an accessible entry point for students to explore broader themes such as law and order, survival, and social identity in the 1800s. This project is a jumping off point for students to research and create their own semi-biographical journal depicting the life of someone from colonial times, be that a notable person or simply a person living their day-to-day life at that time. 

Intended Purpose and Audience
The intended audience for this project is Stage 3 primary school students. The project was designed as a resource to model how students might create their own historical narratives, blending researched facts with creative narrative. The concept is to use this resource within a classroom as a part of a history unit however, it may be adapted to a library storytelling session. 

Value & Implementation of Canva
The site, Canva, serves multiple purposes in program delivery. It models digital storytelling as a learning tool and provides students with a clear example of how digital platforms can be used to create multimodal texts. The site also provides opportunities for independent learning, as students can engage with the resource prior to class discussions or activities. Importantly, the inclusion of fictional diary entries gives students a personal narrative voice to connect with, making abstract historical content more relatable while fostering empathy and curiosity. Canva was selected as the tool to create this digital storytelling project as Canva for Education is freely available to all staff and students in the NSW Department of Education and is a sanctioned tool for educators to implement. This program also aligns with the digital learning Technology 4 Learning,  digital learning policy (NSW DoE, n.d). It was also selected due to the extensive templates, I used a template by Ruangkasa Studio in Canva (n.d.). 

Support for Diverse Learning Needs
The project integrates multimodal features such as text, images and voice-over to allow for multiple access points to engage with the content. For students who may struggle with literacy, the visual and auditory elements support comprehension, while more capable readers can engage with the diary style text. The open-ended, inquiry based approach can be extended or simplified to provide scaffolding or extension depending on the differentiated learning needs within the same classroom (Anis & Khan, 2023).  Multimodal approaches like these are used to promote inclusivity, engagement and differentiation in the classroom. 

Community and Library Use
Though the resource is intended for classroom use, the digital story can be used within the library or community context to promote Australian and family history. Bushrangers such as Matthew Brady capture public imagination, and his story in particular holds personal resonance for me as part of my own family history. In the library context, the project could be incorporated into history displays, storytelling sessions or even digital literacy programs. This project can be implemented within the community to demonstrate how personal connections can be implemented as a way to explore historical resources, and to invite communities to reflect on the colonial past of our country in an informative and interactive way. 

 

References

Anis, M., & Khan, R. (2023). Integrating multimodal approaches in English language teaching for inclusive education: A pedagogical exploration. 2(3), 241.

New South Wales Department of Education. (2025). Canva for education. Technology 4 Learning. https://t4l.schools.nsw.gov.au/resources/professional-learning-resources/canva-for-education.html

NSW Education Standards Authority. (n.d.). History K–10: Stage 3 – The Australian colonies. NSW Government. https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/hsie/hsie-curriculum-resources-k-12/hsie-k-6-curriculum-resources/the-australian-colonies

Petousi, D., Katifori, A., Servi, K., Roussou, M., & Ioannidis, Y. (2022). History education done different: A collaborative interactive digital storytelling approach for remote learners. Frontiers in Education (Lausanne), 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.942834

Ruangkasa Studio. (2025). Brown aesthetic scrapbook group project presentation [Canva template]. Canva. https://www.canva.com/ 

State Library of Tasmania. (ca. 1826). Sketch of James McCabe, Matthew Brady, and Patrick Bryant [Sketch]. https://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/B/Matthew%20Brady.htm

Finding Story in the Digital Space

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One of the ideas that really stayed with me from ETL533 module 4 was the concept of transmedia storytelling. I had always thought of social media and digital platforms as tools for sharing or promoting stories, but not necessarily as part of the story itself. Reading about how narratives can unfold across platforms; books, games, apps, and even social media, made me reflect on how students are already living in this kind of world. They move seamlessly between screens and media, piecing together stories from YouTube, TikTok, podcasts, and games.

As a teacher librarian, this makes me excited about the potential of incorporating digital texts and tools into programs. Story no longer has to be bound to a single traditional text format; it can be interactive, collaborative, and student-driven. A student might start with a book, explore a related interactive website, then share their own creative response through a tool like Canva. Each platform adds another layer to their learning journey.

What stood out most for me is that digital storytelling doesn’t replace traditional literacy, but rather, it extends it. It provides opportunities for students to be creators as well as consumers of stories, while also developing digital literacy skills that are vital in today’s world. For me, that’s the real power of digital storytelling in education: it opens the door for students to see themselves not just as readers, but as storytellers too.

Vooks: Storytime brought to life

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(Vooks, 2025, 0:32)

 

One increasingly popular digital literature format for younger audiences is the animated digital storybook. These stories are, ‘conveyed to an audience through the skillful use of media’ (Alexander, 2011).  Animated digital storybooks are a hybrid of video, narration, animation and written text, offering children an experience that combines reading with audiovisual storytelling. Vooks is one such platform that animates children’s picture books. The program was initially offered as free for educators during its early years, it has since transitioned to a discounted model for teachers, with some titles also available free on YouTube. According to Huan, “animation can engage children and sustain their motivation as an effective learning tool’ (2020). Animated digital story telling is an example of how digital media can be used to enrich the reading experience for children. 

Vooks’ catch phrase is ‘storytime brought to life,’ (Vooks, 2025) which reflects their objective of increasing children’s engagement with picture books. They offer a curated selection of popular picture books as well as texts written specifically for their platform. Examples of popular titles include the Curious George series by Margret and Hans Rey and Llama Llama Love to Read by Anna Dewdney. Each story is animated, professionally narrated and has the addition of light background music. 

From a literacy perspective, Vooks is a cross between literature and passive media. The visual modality supports meaning-making, particular for visual learners who find it difficult to engage with traditional text picture books. The use of narration adds tone, pitch and rhythm which help children with their reading practice in areas such as fluency. This multimodal storytelling can help develop comprehension and engagement. 

Once a story has been selected, it plays automatically similar to a video. This highlights one of the key limitations of the program. Due to the automated page turning and the narration, children have limited opportunities to control the pace or actively construct meaning. Traditional picture books provide the opportunity to control the pace, which allows time for asking questions and pausing for discussion. These crucial conversations foster a deeper understanding of the text and increase comprehension.  Animated storybooks run the risk of simply becoming entertainment unless a parent or teacher is able to facilitate deeper connections through constructing meaning and encouraging comprehension. Without support the active engagement activity turns into a receptive activity which can raise concerns around screen time and literacy skill development. 

Vooks does attempt to address these concerns. Gong & Levy suggest that animation can enhance children’s engagement by making stories more fun, however it is crucial to capture their attention to the text plays in their reading (as cited in, Arslan-Ari & Ari, 2021). Vooks incorporate the text from each story book, ensuring it is always visible on the page as well as highlighting the text in sync with the narration. This strategy of highlighting can help encourage tracking however younger children in particular, may still focus primarily on the animations (Arslan-Ari & Ari, 2021). Vooks also address the need for adult facilitation of activities by providing supporting resources for educators including lesson plans and discussion guides. Vooks emphasise that their program is complementary to print rather than a replacement. 

Vooks can be seen as a middle ground between other examples of digital story telling that focus on different key elements of narrative. Programs such as Storyline Online, focus less on animation and place more emphasis on the oral presentation and the use of famous celebrities to create engagement. Comparatively, media such as the Inanimate Alice novel experience, incorporate interactivity and user decision-making as a key feature that are used to promote active engagement with the story. There is a fine line between telling an interactive story and giving the reader too much autonomy over the story, this is where some interactive programs blur the line between story and game, turning the ‘audience into a game player’ (Yip, 2022).  Vooks is more visually engaging than the simple readings of Storyline online, but less interactive than programs such as branching narrative digital storytelling present in Inanimate Alice. 

Vooks and similar animated storybook programs represent a significant shift in how we define and deliver literature to young readers. Whilst the stories on Vooks are not interactive, their multimodal approach can support children’s engagement, comprehension and can make the stories more accessible for young readers. When used effectively with adult scaffolding, these digital texts can be a positive tool to integrate with literacy development. 

 

References 

Alexander, B. (2011). The new digital storytelling : Creating narratives with new media. ABC-CLIO, LLC.

Arslan-Ari, I., & Ari, F. (2022). The effect of visual cues in e-books on pre-K children’s visual attention, word recognition, and comprehension: An eye tracking study. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 54(5), 800–814. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2021.1938763

BradField Narrative Designs Inc. (n.d.). Inanimate Alice [Website]. https://inanimatealice.com/

Huan, R. (2021). Evaluating Child Engagement in Digital Story Stems Using Facial Data.
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.

SAG-AFTRA Foundation. (n.d.). Storyline Online [Website]. https://storylineonline.net/

Vooks. (2025, March). Vooks Explainer Video 2024 (60 s) [Video].Vooks.https://www.vooks.com/

Yip, D. K. M. (2022). Between passive viewing and active choosing in storytelling. Human factors in communication of design (Vol. 49, pp. 65–69). AHFE International. https://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1002037