Interactive digital narrative (IDN)—new ways to represent complexity and facilitate digitally empowered citizens

In this overview paper, we consider interactive digital narratives (IDN) as a means to represent and enable understanding of complex topics both at the public level (e.g. global warming, the COVID-19 pandemic, migration, or e-mobility) and at the personal level (trauma and other mental health issues, interpersonal relationships). We discuss scholarly, artistic, and non-fiction approaches to complexity, point out limitations of traditional media to represent complex issues, and describe the foundational advantages of IDN in this regard, using the SPP model as a conceptual lens. Then, we describe the problem space of IDN for complexity, and what aspects need further work in order to more fully realise the potential of IDN to represent complex topic in education and public communication.

Making COVID dis-connections: designing intra-active and transdisciplinary sound-based narratives for phenomenal new material worlds

In this article, we reflect on the design and implementation of an interactive transhistorical and transmedial web-based digital narrative audio experience, PATTER(n)INGS: Apt 3B, 2020 that we developed in 2020. This work is an immersive audio-only application, and it focuses on the complex, material living conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing inspiration from PATTER(n)INGS and its complex, material audio and narrative design, we propose a model for creating the content and delivery for similar sound-based interactive digital narratives. Our proposed model focuses primarily on the creative process for designing such sound-based work. To construct our analytical model, the New Material/Spectral Morphology Design Model (or NM/SM Design Model), we draw on theoretical influences from critical posthumanism, feminist new materialism and non-human narrative that critique notions of stable subjectivity as sites for power and authority over semiotic meaning-making. We combine these views with foundational theoretical research in electroacoustic musical composition notation, and audio experimentation that complicate notions of sound, sound making, spatial perception, psychoacoustic phenomena, and listening practices. Together, this theoretical/compositional framework provides a unique method to consider how one can sustain and maximize sonic agents as core phenomena to create anti-cognitive worlds and stories.

A tale from extensive readers in an online extensive reading classroom

Purpose: While extensive reading has been widely implemented in face-to-face settings, few studies have examined how extensive reading in online classrooms is enacted. The present study aims to explore students' voice in online extensive reading classrooms. Design/methodology/approach: This brief report is part of classroom action research. It involved 3 undergraduate students majoring in English education who undertook extensive reading course during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants documented their reading experience through digital storytelling (DST) at the end of the semester. Data from the DST were collected and analyzed using thematic analysis with narrative approach. Findings: The story began with the recollection of the participants' memories in the past when they studied English. It then moved to students expressing meeting the intersection between challenges and opportunities when becoming an extensive reader. The digital story ended with a reflection on the action of the participants when engaged in extensive reading and its learning tasks. The present research suggests that extensive reading teachers should involve students in meaningful but flexible online activities to develop reading habit and interest, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value: Ample studies have investigated how students experience extensive reading class situated in either online or offline setting. However, few studies have explored students' voices when they have to do extensive reading online during university closure due to COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, this study investigates students' voice from DST as a data collection technique. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

"And Then COVID Hit": (Re)flexibility of Digital Storytelling in Qualitative Health Research

The purpose of our qualitative health research study was to understand the experiences of Ontarians who accompanied someone throughout their dying process using medical assistance in dying (MAiD). The second phase used digital stories as a method to examine and share these experiences at the end of life. And then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and we faced a pivot to our original plan. This pivot resulted in reinforcing the myriad benefits of using digital storytelling in qualitative health research. And rather than detracting from the initial study, we also learned that digital storytelling is a flexible method that can be creatively, compassionately, and effectively conducted in virtual spaces. We will employ digital storytelling in future qualitative health research as both a component of studies but also as a conduit for explorations of other tools of data collection and dissemination. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Qualitative Methods is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

An investigation into oral digital storytelling in primary English in Switzerland

This thesis investigates oral digital storytelling (DST) in the young learner foreign language (L2) classroom and was motivated by my practice as a Swiss primary teacher and English language methodology lecturer at the teacher training college in Zug. To date, there has been little research on the potential role of oral task-based DST in the L2 classroom at primary level. This year-long study explores opportunities and challenges of collaborative oral task-based DST in English L2 classes in a Year 4 primary classroom (ten-year-olds). It examines how L2 learning can be promoted, and what prior knowledge is needed to engage in the tasks. It further explores the effect of collaborative DST on speaking proficiency, and the use of language(s) - and notably translanguaging. The main data consist of video- and audio-recordings of four pupils working in dyads on collaborative oral tasks, and semi-structured interviews with the children and their Year 4 teacher. My original research and data-collection plans were significantly affected by the COVID-19 lockdown, making adaptations necessary. These included: analysis of an English lesson observed before lockdown;an individual DST task for the children to complete as part of home-schooling;a pupil questionnaire about their different experiences of DST in pairs at school and at home alone;and an interview with the children's Year 5 teacher to gain some qualitative insights into her perception of the impact of DST on the children's English. The data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis and the underlying approach to the research was ecological constructivism. The findings suggest that DST can provide a bridge between the mandated textbook to connect it with the children's lives and play a motivating role in supporting the development of L2 oracy, particularly where supported by: the explicit teaching of effective collaborative work;the provision of task-based language support resources;and the presence of an audience. A further significant finding was the positive role of using L1 and translanguaging in the L2 classroom. Translanguaging, little-known in Switzerland, is unsupported by Curriculum 21, the recently implemented curriculum to harmonise education across the various cantons in Switzerland. My findings also give insights into how structured oral task-based DST can enhance pupils' oracy in an L2, pupils' and teachers' Information and Communication Technology skills, and pedagogy more generally - an important set of findings given the necessity for more theoretical insights in technology-supported task-based DST. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

The Innerworkings of Digital Storytelling

Traditionally, storytelling was used for entertainment and the transfer of know-how. The advent of digital media gave rise to new possibilities for telling stories. When the context is, for example, to relay information about how to protect a person from COVID-19, it is referred to as serious storytelling. The main objective of this research was to establish what skills and attributes would be required for someone to autonomously "tell” a serious digital story in a resource constrained environment. A systematic literature review of peer reviewed articles resulted in a knowledge bank of articles. Atlas Ti was used to qualitatively analyse these articles. Even though a resource constrained environment may be a limiting factor for telling a digital story, this research has found that emotional support, digital inclusion, as well as assisting individuals with their devices, can pave the way to autonomous digital storytelling. © 2023 Authors. All rights reserved.

The Innerworkings of Digital Storytelling

Traditionally, storytelling was used for entertainment and the transfer of know-how. The advent of digital media gave rise to new possibilities for telling stories. When the context is, for example, to relay information about how to protect a person from COVID-19, it is referred to as serious storytelling. The main objective of this research was to establish what skills and attributes would be required for someone to autonomously "tell” a serious digital story in a resource constrained environment. A systematic literature review of peer reviewed articles resulted in a knowledge bank of articles. Atlas Ti was used to qualitatively analyse these articles. Even though a resource constrained environment may be a limiting factor for telling a digital story, this research has found that emotional support, digital inclusion, as well as assisting individuals with their devices, can pave the way to autonomous digital storytelling.

Perceptions and engagement of Klang Valley urbanites on COVID-19 PSAs during the pandemic

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, rampant misinformation about the virus has created large-scale panic and uneasiness among the Malaysian public. In response to this threat, the Malaysian government launched public service announcements (PSAs) on COVID-19 in various media to increase public awareness and knowledge, specifically on recommended solutions. The messages in the PSAs were tailored to underscore the various phases of the pandemic to persuade public belief as well as nurture positive attitude and behavioural changes. The objectives of this study are: (1) to investigate the public's information-seeking behaviours, (2) to investigate user perceptions and indicators of PSAs, and (3) to determine the effectiveness of PSAs as a communication platform to convey important information about the pandemic throughout the different Movement Control Order (MCO) phases. Through focus group discussions with eight urban Klang Valley informants, findings highlight the crucial elements in identifying motivation and factors of media preferences which affect how various media platforms benefit the Malaysian public. The findings also illustrate the need for the government to ensure that the content and context of the PSAs meet the audiences' demographics in ensuring effective dissemination of information and awareness during a pandemic. © SEARCH Journal 2022.

Intelligent Digital Storytelling Platform

Due to the sudden outbreak of Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) affecting education. This led to social distancing and a shift towards an online model. Online teaching has become important. Digital platforms are considered a suitable learning system because people are limited in their homes to avoid socializing, replacing the online world in their daily lives. Based on the problems, the researcher is interested in bringing information and communication technology together with digital storytelling by using intelligent technology and learning management systems to enhance learning efficiency. The research methodology is divided into two steps: the first synthesizes the components of the system architecture, digital learning platform, and the digital learning platform and intelligent digital storytelling and the next step is to develop a conceptual framework for design. By using integrated technology to support learning management systems, organizations can plan strategies and implement priorities more efficiently. This is ideal for medical professionals as it can help access medical questions to lead to proactive doctor-patient communication. and the patient's family It can help reduce the medical gap. © 2022 IEEE.

Digital Storytelling as teaching methodology for special needs teachers: a case study

Digital Storytelling (DST), as a new teaching methodology, has encountered a lot of appreciation and good practices. For these reasons, in the planning of the laboratory of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the framework of the training course for special needs teachers (TFA sostegno) at University of Foggia, our research team decided to invest time in studying the DST and then teach this methodology to the aspiring special needs teachers. The course was planned during the Covid-19 pandemic period, so it was designed specifically to be provided in a full digital learning environment. In the paper it is presented the design of the course, from the idea to the structure of it and its very administration during the course. © 2022 Copyright for this paper by its authors.

Digital storytelling in online elementary science education: a case study on science and technology club activities

With the spread of online education due to the COVID-19 pandemic, instructional technologies have gained importance. One of these applications is digital story, which is the presentation of a story specific to a particular subject using various digital multimedia such as visual, audio and video. This case study aimed to reveal the effect of the digital story-based Science and Technology Club on students' digital story performance and academic achievement in the science course and to examine the students' and teacher's reflections on digital story-based experiences. As data sources, interviews with 16 students, teacher's reflection notes, students' digital stories and students' science course grades were analyzed. The evaluation of digital stories showed that they performed best in providing relevance of the content to science but had problems integrating voiceover and music. The students' science course grades significantly increased. The results also revealedthat digital story-based activities encouraged them to research and learn new information and their audio-visual features facilitated their learning. Moreover, students expressed that the use of digital stories triggered their technology skills and improved their social skills. Despite its contributing and motivating features, they stated various difficulties because of spending a lot of time in front of the screen while using this application.

The Interactive Digital Storytelling Assignment in Online Teaching and Learning

With the current demand for online teaching and learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Digital Storytelling (DST) has arisen as a practical tool that keeps both teachers and students positively and actively engaged in the teaching and learning process. DST is effective in enhancing students’ literacy, communication skills and, most notably, thinking skills. The integration of thinking skills and DST is essential in the teaching and learning process to activate students’ higher-order thinking skills. This chapter aims to serve as a helpful guide, especially for teachers, to apply DST in teaching and learning by understanding its approaches, strategies, and techniques. A summary of selected studies is presented in this chapter to show how DST is utilized globally in various educational settings. In addition, a 12-step process is introduced to guide teachers’ adoption of the DST project as a classroom activity with their students. This process outlines the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation phases. With DST, students are allowed to think and apply their knowledge and skills to a new learning context. The implication of this paper is to tap into and revitalize students’ creative thought process and ‘thinking outside the box’ capability, which will enable them to devise new ways to carry out tasks and solve problems in challenging times. © 2022 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Digital Storytelling Methods to Empower Young Black Adults in COVID-19 Vaccination Decision-Making: Feasibility Study and Demonstration.

BACKGROUND: Despite high rates of novel COVID-19, acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination is low among Black adults. In response, we developed a digital health intervention (Tough Talks-COVID) that includes digital stories created in a workshop we held with young Black adults. OBJECTIVE: Our formative research using digital storytelling workshops asked 3 research questions: (1) What issues did participants have in conceptualizing their stories, and what themes emerged from the stories they created? (2) What issues did participants have related to production techniques, and which techniques were utilized in stories? and (3) Overall, how did participants evaluate their workshop experience? METHODS: Participants were workshop-eligible if they were vaccine-accepting based on a baseline survey fielded in late 2021. Final participants (N=11) completed a consent process, all 3 workshops, and a media release form for their digital story. The first 2 workshops provided background information and hands-on digital storytelling skills from pre- to postproduction. The third workshop served as a screening and feedback session for participants' final videos. Qualitative and quantitative feedback elements were incorporated into all 3 sessions. RESULTS: Digital stories addressed one or more of 4 broad themes: (1) COVID-19 vulnerability, (2) community connections, (3) addressing vaccine hesitancy, and (4) countering vaccine misinformation. Participants incorporated an array of technical approaches, including unique creative elements such as cartoon images and instant messaging tools to convey social interactions around COVID-19 decision-making. Most (9/11, 82%) strongly agreed the digital storytelling workshops were delivered as expected; 10 of 11 agreed (n=5) or strongly agreed (n=5) that they had some ideas about what story to tell by the end of the first workshop, and most (8/11, 73%) strongly agreed they had narrowed down their ideas by workshop two. Of the participants, 9 felt they would very likely (n=6) or likely (n=3) use digital storytelling techniques for personal use in the future, and even more were very likely (n=7) to use the techniques for professional use. CONCLUSIONS: Our study is one of the first to incorporate digital storytelling as a central component to a digital health intervention and the only one to do so with exclusive focus on young Black adults. Our emphasis on digital storytelling was shown to be highly acceptable. Similar approaches, including careful consideration of the ethical challenges of community-based participatory approaches, are applicable to other populations experiencing both COVID-19 inequities and marginalization, such as other age demographics and people of color.

Flipping the Undergraduate Classroom to Develop Student Analytical Thinking Skills

In Thailand, analytical thinking skills (ATS) have been identified as an essential element in the development of a 21st-century workforce. Moreover, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the concern for student health and safety, the Thai Ministry of Education has stated that online education will become part of the New Normal in education. Therefore, it has become imperative that the most effective methods and mechanisms be found for online teaching in Thailand. Therefore, the authors investigated which factors increase Thai student ATS by flipping the classroom environment and using digital storytelling and inquiry-based learning (IBL). Therefore, this research aims to develop and evaluate the LIFD ATS instruction model to study the proposed effects of the ATS instruction model. A mixed research methodology was employed. The mean, standard deviation, and t-test were used to analyze the data. From the qualitative review, an initial learning model was developed and subsequently examined by a panel of eight education experts. After that, 40 students became the study's experimental group for the revised model. The results showed that the results of the expert assessment of the learning environment model using a flipped classroom combined with IBL and digital storytelling to promote ATS and academic achievement had appropriateness at the highest level. The evaluation of the student results using the ATS model identified four significant results. These were: 1) Post-test after the student's use of the ATS model determined their ATS abilities were higher than before the class. 2) Student learning achievement, innovation, and ICT skills increased as an outcome of the ATS model’s use. 3) The comparison of academic achievement after study of the students who studied with the format was 83.33%, higher than the specified 80% criteria and previously established assumptions. 4) The evaluation results of the model’s effectiveness determined that the learning effectiveness index (EI) of the learners was 0.6666 and the EI of the ATS was 0.6966, which was higher than 0.50, thus meeting the specified criteria. The study contributes to the knowledge concerning student ATS and these skills’ importance to a 21st century knowledge worker. © 2022 by the authors.

“And though our dreams may be shattered to pieces, I will resist”: digital storytelling to analyse emotional impact of the pandemic on university students

Covid-19 generated an important impact on the mental health of university students. In this context, a double need arises: to analyse the effects of this impact and to work on emotional education with this educational sector. This study is part of a broader educational innovation project focused on working on the emotional education of university students. In this case, our purpose was to analyse the experiences of university students (N=6) during the pandemic through Digital Storytellings. The results showed revealing aspects regarding the influence that the pandemic had on students: the shortcomings of virtuality in teaching, the development of coping strategies, the lessons learned from the pandemic, etc. Finally, it was set out a number of implications for higher education, like the promotion of emotional education plans, the optimisation of online educational resources, and increased teacher training in digital issues and emotional support. © 2022, Universidad Compultense Madrid. All rights reserved.

A fictional character in a real pandemic: Humanization of the Covid-19 virus as a parody account on Twitter

The aim of this paper is to understand the role of parody characters on Twitter as drivers of digital narratives connected to ongoing crises. Using a paradigmatic case study methodology, we will focus on the hugely popular Spanish parody account @Coronavid19, where the virus, presented as a fictional character, has been offering a humorous chronicle of an unprecedented social and health crisis, from the early beginning and in almost real time. This case has been chosen considering its popular impact in terms of media repercussion and growth (almost half a million followers in less than a week), but also its peculiarities as a fictional character and a privileged chronicler in the first person. Our goal is to understand how this kind of fictional parody character is built, how narrative and character traits evolve along time, and to observe to which extent they serve as a tool to cope with hard times, fostering collective empowerment, empathy and stressing official recommendations by mocking irrational behavior. We conducted a systematic extraction of tweets over nineteen weeks (n = 954 tweets) for analysis and conducted a semi-structured interview with the author behind the account. Results point to a character-driven narrative with a transformation arc in an otherwise unpredictable plot, where: (1) the threat is made tangible and vulnerable through humanization;(2) the bleakest implications of the pandemic are side-lined in the process;(3) there lies a tension between character coherence, relevance and the authorial ethical dilemmas faced in front of an unpredictable, far-reaching crisis. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Using digital storytelling in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy: comparison of two online interventions

Constant development of information technology in human lives has encouraged them to use technology in the field of educational sciences. This study aimed to investigate the effect of digital storytelling in online psychological services and its application using Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) on reducing coronavirus anxiety and increase academic and social integration. The research design was based on quasi-experimental designs with pretest and posttest and follow-up with control group. The statistical population of the current study consisted of all undergraduate students in Tehran in 2020. For this purpose, 98 students were selected as the sample and randomly assigned into two experimental groups of digital storytelling and online psychology and a control group. The results showed that digital storytelling and online psychology groups have a significant effect on reducing coronavirus anxiety and increased academic and social integration. Comparison of the experimental groups showed that the digital storytelling group outperforms the online psychology group in reducing coronavirus anxiety and increased academic and social integration of students. According to the results of this study, it can be concluded that storytelling can be used in online psychological services and REBT is compatible with online psychology and digital storytelling. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Behaviour & Information Technology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Digital Storytelling Review in a Pharmacy Self-Care Course.

Digital storytelling is a type of active learning that allows instructors to simulate real-life situations through a series of connected videos. While this technique has been used in other healthcare education disciplines, its use in pharmacy has not been well documented. A digital storytelling model was incorporated in a required self-care pharmacy course to assess if the technique was helpful to improve the knowledge, confidence, and satisfaction of students. Due to a shift in online learning, the self-care course offered a remote exam review session containing a digital storytelling model, and this approach was compared to an in-person exam review that followed a lecture-based model held earlier in the course. Pre- and post-knowledge assessments were given to determine the impact of the digital storytelling review. There were 50 students involved in both sessions and there was a 70% response rate in the digital storytelling group and a 90% response rate in the lecture-based group. Students' knowledge numerically improved, but not to a statistically significant level for most questions. Nonetheless, students reported more confidence (p < 0.05) in their ability to pass the upcoming exam following the digital storytelling review. Thematic analysis revealed that the digital storytelling session was engaging and interactive, though time-management and breakout rooms could be further optimized. Based on these results, exam review in a required self-care pharmacy course using a digital storytelling format may be a suitable method for students to apply course content and may particularly be of utility in online or hybrid courses.

Narrative techniques and digital storytelling laboratory for the development of emotional and cognitive skills in school

Strengthened by Lambert, Atchley and Holler's international models of the construction of digital narratives, this article focuses attention on the contemporary evolution of the storytelling methodology in a digital key. The innovative teaching methodologies (for example IBL, PBL, etc.) have been experiencing digital evolution and experimentation, especially during the covid-19 pandemic in which schools have engaged in periods of distance-teaching. The use of stories on social media is now a very widespread communication practice among internet users. This narrative methodology is used in educational practice in various sectors of training not only to electrify disciplinary content but also to encourage emotional sharing and participation in the educational process. The purpose of the article is the design of an educational intervention aimed at teachers in the initial stages of a training path that aims to develop digital skills and a group atmosphere that will accompany the use of those skills in their subsequent training activities. The proposed experimental model not only collects the content to be followed during the educational intervention but also focuses attention on the use of digital technology (apps and software) to be integrated with the virtual platform for the concrete realization of digital storytelling 2.0. From a psychological point of view, it is interesting to monitor the processes of motivation, attention and participation in the didactic intervention. © 2021 Copyright for this paper by its authors.

Digital Storytelling and Community Engagement to Find Missing TB Cases in Rural Nuh, India.

Nuh, Haryana, is one of India's least developed districts. To improve TB case notifications, ZMQ carried out an active case-finding (ACF) intervention conducted by community health workers (MIRAs) using a digital TB storytelling platform to create TB awareness in the community. The combined storytelling and ACF intervention were conducted house-to-house or in community group settings. Steps included (A) the development of digital TB awareness-raising stories using a participatory approach called Story Labs; (B) the implementation of the intervention; and (C) process, outcome, and impact evaluation of these activities. Six digital stories were created and used during ACF in which 19,345 people were screened and 255 people were diagnosed with TB. Of 731 participants surveyed, the stories were well received and resulted in an increase in TB knowledge. ACF activities resulted in a 56% increase in bacteriologically confirmed TB and an 8% decrease in all forms of TB compared to baseline. All form notifications may have been impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns. Digital TB storytelling can improve TB awareness and knowledge, particularly for low-literacy populations. The use of these tools may benefit ACF campaigns and improve TB case finding.