Part A – Project Rationale:
This project is a collaborative Year 6 transmedia storytelling experience centred on the co-creation of a reimagined fairytale, inspired by the Grimm Brothers’ Little Red Cap (1812), also known as Little Red Riding Hood. Guided by the teacher librarian (TL) and classroom teachers, students will co-create multimodal artefacts across platforms, anchored in Google Sites, to form a non-linear narrative.
Students will work in small groups to produce story elements, including branching pathways and alternate endings. To ensure cohesion, the TL will provide a story map and artefact guide sheets, reinforcing that narrative quality is paramount—a principle consistently endorsed in digital storytelling literature (Dobler, 2013; Ohler, 2013; Yokota & Teale, 2014). Unlike traditional linear narratives, this project utilises digital media to provide readers with choice and multiple perspectives. Transmedia storytelling requires students to think critically about how each component contributes to the whole. The value of this project lies in deepening students’ understanding of text structure and purpose, rather than playing with digital media for novelty (Robin, 2016; Walsh, 2013).
Curriculum Alignment
The project aligns with Year 6 English curriculum outcomes requiring students to “create and edit literary texts that adapt plot structure, characters, settings and ideas” (AC9E6LE05), “create, edit and publish multimodal texts” (AC9E6LY06), and examine how narrative organisation shapes meaning (AC9E6LA03) (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], n.d.). By designing a non-linear transmedia story, students compare a traditional fairytale with a deliberate non-linear format. They are asked to critically analyse: What is gained when a story can branch and loop? What is lost?
Digital stories expand communicative possibilities by combining image, sound, and interactivity (Kress, 2010; Walsh, 2013). Yet co-creating them can increase cognitive load, with students focusing on aesthetics over narrative quality (Cope & Kalantzis, 2015; Jabr, 2013; Lamb, 2011). To mitigate this, literary merit must be a central focus. Guide sheets, provided by the TL, remind students that all design choices must advance plot, character, or setting. Students will also study examples where digital features enrich meaning, such as Inanimate Alice, where mini-games reveal character development or setting.
Inclusivity and Learner Diversity
Digital storytelling supports diverse learners by offering multiple avenues for expression, aligning with the school’s commitment to Universal Design for Learning (CAST, 2018). Tools such as Read&Write (Texthelp, 2025), voice-to-text, and read-aloud reduce barriers by offering support to all children. For EAL/D students and those with ADHD, ASD, or literacy difficulties, a transmedia approach enables participation based on personal strengths through various modalities (Rowsell, 2013), including poetry, written prose, visual design or videogame development.
However, inclusivity requires more than offering choice. Mixed grouping, explicit scaffolding, and collaboration with classroom and Digital Technologies teachers ensure greater equitable access. Written elements will be developed in class during regular writing lessons, integrating sentence- and text-level instruction. This approach exemplifies how the TL can enact inclusivity while positioning literacy in a future-focused sense (Lamb, 2011).
Critical Digital Engagement
Explicit teaching of digital citizenship and integrity underpins the project. The TL will model copyright considerations, acknowledgements, and safe online practices. Students explore generative AI as a promising tool for digital storytelling, particularly in image generation, idea sculpting and editing.
The key question is not only how to use AI, but whether it should be used, and under what limits. Exploring AI tools with students in a guided environment can help demystify their potential; however, restrictions on written aspects are still necessary to protect the development of authentic writing skills. Positioning AI as a support rather than a replacement encourages students to reflect on creativity, originality, and integrity. The TL must take a leadership role in guiding students’ critical engagement with evolving technologies to develop digital literacy.
Evaluation and Reflection
Clear success criteria will remind students to focus on literary quality rather than technical prowess and aesthetics. The most valuable evidence of their learning lies in students’ ability to justify their design choices and reflect on how text structure influences meaning. A final student self-reflection on the transmedia story, comparing it with a linear retelling of Red Riding Hood, will provide insight into their understanding of text organisation (Herrington, Reeves, & Oliver, 2014).
This approach addresses the broader concern of whether digital storytelling deepens literacy or distracts from it (Ohler, 2013). By emphasising reflection, structure, and literary quality, the project ensures that integrating digital affordances into a literature project enhances student learning rather than eclipsing it.
Conclusion
This transmedia storytelling project extends students’ critical understanding of narrative and fosters inclusive literacy practices by offering multiple avenues for expression. It exemplifies the TL’s role as a leader in digital pedagogy, navigating the evolving information landscape while upholding literary depth. For Year 6 students, it is more than a creative task: it is an opportunity to critically examine narrative structures and explore how multimodality reshapes storytelling into a more immersive experience for both reader and writer (Jenkins, 2010; Walsh, 2013).
Experience it here: Whispers of the Red Thread: A Red Riding Hood Transmedia Story
Note: Tracey Sloan created this transmedia story as part of ETL533, and an exemplar for Year 6 students to experience and recreate this project with their own artefacts and ideas.
References
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). Australian curriculum: English, Year 6, (Version 9). https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/learning-areas/english/year-6?view=quick&detailed-content-descriptions=0&hide-ccp=0&hide-gc=0&side-by-side=1&strands-start-index=0
CAST. (2018). Universal design for learning guidelines version 2.2. http://udlguidelines.cast.org
Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (Eds.). (2015). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Learning by design. Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Dobler, E. (2013). Looking beyond the screen: Evaluating the quality of digital books. Reading Today, 30(5), 20-21.
Grimm, J., & Grimm, W. (1812). Kinder- und Hausmärchen [Children’s and Household Tales]. Original manuscript.
Herrington, J., Reeves, T. C., & Oliver, R. (2014). Authentic learning environments. In Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology: Fourth Edition (pp. 401–412). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3185-5_3
Jabr, F. (2013, 11 April). The reading brain in the digital age: The science of paper versus screens. Scientific American. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-screens/
Jenkins, H. (2010). Transmedia storytelling and entertainment: An annotated syllabus. Continuum, 24(6), 943-958. https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2010.510599
Kress, G. R. (2010). Multimodality: a social semiotic approach to contemporary communication. Taylor & Francis.
Lamb, A. (2011). Reading redefined for a transmedia universe. Learning and Leading with Technology, 39(3), 12.
Ohler, J. (2013). Digital storytelling in the classroom: New media pathways to literacy, learning, and creativity (2nd ed.). Corwin.
Pullinger, K., & Joseph, C. (2025). Inanimate Alice. The BradField Company. http://www.inanimatealice.com/
Robin, B. R. (2016). The power of digital storytelling to support teaching and learning. Digital Education Review, 30, 17–29. https://doi.org/10.1344/der.2016.30.17-29
Rowsell, J. (2013). Working with Multimodality: Rethinking Literacy in a Digital Age (1st ed.). Taylor and Francis.
Selwyn, N. (2017). Education and technology: key issues and debates (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury Academic.
Texthelp. (2025). Read&Write (Version 14.0) [Computer software]. https://www.texthelp.com/en-au/products/read-write/
Walsh, M. (2013). Multimodal literacy: What does it mean for classroom practice? Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 36(3), 211–239.
Yokota, J., & Teale, W. H. (2014). Picture books and the digital world: Making informed choices. The Reading Teacher, 67(8), 577–585. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1252
Cover image: Sloan, T. (2025). Whispers of the red thread: A Red Riding Hood transmedia story.
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