Transmedia Storytelling

EDUCAUSE LEARNING INITIATIVE | OCTOBER 2016

Transmedia storytelling combines audio, video, text, and other media platforms to create a narrative that unfolds over time. As a technique for teaching and learning, transmedia storytelling creates opportunities for both the consumers of digital stories and the producers of them to have engaging learning experiences. The resources below explain transmedia storytelling and the ways in which it can have significant impacts in higher education as an alternative means of expressing learning.

Digital Storytelling Multimedia Archive (2012)

This website presents a broad overview of digital storytelling, based on research conducted at Georgetown University. The site contains video examples and a research section covering what makes multimedia distinctive, the social pedagogy of digital storytelling, and the emotional or affective aspect of the process. It also includes an interactive grid of the research findings.

Transmedia and Education: How Transmedia Is Changing the Way We Learn (2014)

Examples of transmedia abound, and this article links to many examples while explaining how transmedia is changing the way we learn. Descriptions of the examples include extensive detail about how they work and their application in educational settings.

Transmedia Storytelling 101 (2007)

In this overview, Henry Jenkins of USC and author of Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, outlines the basics of what transmedia storytelling is, its role in learning, and some of its potential for growth. The content was produced for students in his transmedia storytelling courses and has been presented at workshops as well.

Transmedia Storytelling and Entertainment—A Syllabus (2009)

The syllabus for a transmedia storytelling course taught by Henry Jenkins provides a window into the activities the students pursued, as well as the resources they consulted for the course. Links to numerous examples are included.

Transmedia Storytelling as an Education Tool (2014)

The authors of this paper describe how transmedia storytelling provides a new avenue by which students—particularly those who might underperform using traditional pedagogical models—can creatively engage in their learning. The paper includes a discussion about the intersection of makerspaces and transmedia storytelling.

Transmedia 202: Further Reflections (2011)

In this post, Henry Jenkins builds on his Transmedia 101 piece with an in-depth discussion of the opportunities and the development of transmedia storytelling. He argues that transmedia is a complicated topic that isn’t easily pinned down but that the potential to influence learning is significant.

Use of Transmedia Storytelling for Teaching Teenagers (2016)

Two researchers conducted a literature review to investigate the use of transmedia storytelling in teaching and learning with teenage students and the effectiveness of those initiatives. They found that despite the newness of the approach, and despite some methodological weaknesses in the research, transmedia storytelling does appear to be effective for learning.

educause.edu/ELI | ELI 7 Things You Should Read About ... ™

© 2016 EDUCAUSE. Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0.