Throughout this semester in studying Literature in Digital Environments I have extended my knowledge of the potentials of digital technologies for expanding the reading experience for audiences. Also, I have had the opportunity to engage in applied practice, creating the digital text Thylacine Dream. The text is a reflection of my learning and its application to the field of Science Communication in the service of natural conservation of biodiversity heritage. As such, the Thylacine Dream seeks to communicate the biocultural memory of the Thylacine by creating new connections to the primary texts that reveal the changing relationship of science and species in Australia. The text itself additionally serves at the same time as a meditation on the intersection of memory and literature as technological imposition on the worldview and valuation of the lives of animals.
By reflecting on the nature of literature in the dynamic information environment of the 21st Century, immediately I was encouraged to come to the understanding that the emerging space of digital literature is one that embraces boundary spanning praxis and realises the creative potentials of mixed media in the digital age. In my own work , I have tried to diffuse the history of the book in the field of natural science into the interactive space of the digital text by embedding digitised images of primary texts and illustrations, as well as linking back to digital object identifiers through use of QR coding. This juxtaposition of historical with contemporary text forms is intended as a reflection of my own personal ethos of book conservation contending with and adapting to the availability of new media technologies, such as Canva and Sway, to empower learners in building new connections through a form of guided inquiry and discovery. I also enjoyed sharing my notes with my colleagues! Please find below links to three projects I particularly connected with :
Reviewing a diverse set of digital texts, I chose to examine a number of ways narrative technologies can be used to intervene in the civic space, examining how the physical space of the city of Melbourne encounters and interacts with the emerging technologies of virtual and augmented realities. While I have yet to experiment with these technologies in my own creative work , I can see now the great potential they have in transporting audiences through the phenomenology of information through time, greatly transforming and adding to the perspectives with which learners meet and interact with the world. The concept of curating and digitally embedding cultural heritage, in particular biocultural heritage is an area of practice which I have become passionate about.
Additionally, one of the aspects of my learning which I enjoyed the most was the opportunity to engage in collaborative practice with a diverse group of colleagues, all of whom are committed to experimenting and expanding student learning through digital literature. My own work was greatly informed by the contributions of classmates who took an interest in my project, reassuring me that the content would be appreciated by audiences. In particular, the technical suggestions of my contemporaries regarding my platform of choice helped me to begin to animate my work in ways through Canva, which were limited in function through my initial platform of choice, Sway. The effect this has had is that I am now moving towards a more immersive and cinematic version of Thylacine Dream which I believe is much more engaging.
Overall, through the applied work and collaborative experiences delivered through the course have greatly extended my confidence and capabilities in using new media technologies to adapt my teaching and storytelling practice to emerging digital ecologies of Web 3.0. Most significantly, I have come to realise the potential of democratised technologies to extend access to the material heritage of our shared natural history. It is my intention to continue to experiment with such technologies in my efforts as an educator to promote an understanding and appreciation of biocultural heritage for generations to come. Finally, in the era of extinction, I have found great solace in the sanctuary new digital technologies hold for the memorial of species, so sacred to our land and country.