novelling is a digital novel that is ever-evolving and “algorithmically orders and spatially arranges fragments of media” (Luers, Smith & Dean, 2016, para.1). The user is presented with a passage of text, a snippet of video and some background music – none of which are related to each other. The media changes every 30 seconds or when clicked, to create a 6-minute cycle of presentation. It is the prerogative of the viewer to create their own story from what is presented to them – Do you add elements of the video to the text that you have read? Does the text make sense with what you have already created in your mind?

The most notable feature of novelling is its linear yet apparent disorganisation of media elements. Text is presented in different fonts of different sizes, in boxes of different sizes, some with narrow margins, some with wide margins. The video clips are also in different sized screens, often with two clips overlapping each other or text on top of the video. All the while, background music plays and other lines and rectangles are interspersed across the screen. The confusion caused by these elements overstimulates the brain, encouraging deep creative thinking. Further contrast between the often morbid video clips, the romantic text and peaceful music assists the viewer to create an invariable story if they wish, or to change between genres to maintain interest.

Whilst this digital literature piece has very little technical navigation elements (such as arrows to indicate next page), it is up to the user and their mind to create their own navigation both across the page and in their interpretation of the story. The higher order thinking skills required for comprehension of this text make it most suited to adults or students studying higher levels of English in secondary school. On first glance, the presentation seems clumsy and difficult to decipher. A brief introduction is given on the home page and is definitely necessary for the user to read prior to embarking on the journey through this piece of literature. Once the journey begins, it is up to the viewer to decide their path. Repeated viewing and watching the cycles a number of times, reveals a close connection to the actions of reading and writing. The haphazard navigation coupled with the subliminal messaging gives this piece the innate ability to incite conversation. Provided on the home page are a number of questions designed to engage the user in deep thinking. Whilst these would be beneficial to students, the narrative itself prompts a seemingly endless list of questions and invokes the viewer’s comprehension strategies in the area of Questioning (McEwan, 2009, p.116).

novelling uses a sophisticated repertoire of language in the snippets of text to entice the reader and to give a clear indication of the path of the story. A key teaching point for older high school students would be the impact of rich vocabulary on the overall narrative. Words and phrases such as audaciously, obliqueness, and predators of endurance evoke a sense of sophistication and encourage the viewer to create a more intricate and highly emotive story.

On first viewing, it would seem that novelling does not possess flexibility as a medium (Hoel, 2023, p.11) – there is no ‘read to me’ function, there is no button for sound adjustment (except the ‘off’ button on your computer) and navigation is restricted to one-way. However, as presented by Leu, et. al. (2011, p.8), one of the key differences between online and offline texts is that online reading is “a self-directed, text-construction process”. The flexibility in novelling lies in the navigation of the reading path as viewers are free to allow their eyes to roam the screen for the full 30 seconds if they wish, to soak in the visuals and decode the text segments.

novelling is a great example of digital literature. It is far from a simple audio recording of a novel or digitalisation of a picture book. novelling incorporates carefully selected video, audio and text components to allow the viewer to ‘choose their own adventure’. It is important to note that traditional literacy skills are vital for students to possess before attempting to decipher the language and presentation of novelling (Combes, 2016). It would be too complex for primary students but would be an engaging addition to a secondary school unit of work.

 

Reference List

Combes, B. (2016). Digital literacy: A new flavour of literacy or something different? Synergy, 14(1). https://slav.vic.edu.au/index.php/Synergy/article/view/v14120163.

Hoel, T. & Jernes, M. (2023). Quality in children’s digital picture books: Seven key strands for educational reflections for shared dialogue-based reading in early childhood settings. Early Years. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2023.2172552.

Leu, D. J., McVerry, G., O’Byrne, W. I., Kiili, C., Zawilinski, L., Everett-Cacopardo, H., Kennedy, C. & Forzani, E. (2011, September). The new literacies of online reading comprehension: Expanding the literacy and learning curriculum. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 55(1), 5-14.

Luers, W., Smith, H. & Dean, R. (2016). novelling. http://novelling.newbinarypress.com/.

McEwan, E. K. (2009) Teach Them ALL to Read. United States: SAGE Publications.