Course

Digital Storytelling

Faculty
Language, Literature & Performing Arts
Department
Creative Writing
Course code
CRWR 2300
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15 Weeks
Max class size
20
Method(s) of instruction
Tutorial
Course designation
None
Industry designation
None
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
This course focuses on the process of creative writing for digital media, with instruction in creating immersive and multilinear stories, dialogue, and characters specifically for digital environments. The course will explore interactivity, choice, games, and the immersive in VR/AR/XR, social media, cyber theatre, video platforms, and other emerging spaces for digital storytelling. To inspire and inform engagement with the creative process, the course will survey the historical contexts of digital storytelling and examine the roots of digital storytelling concepts, as well as deeply engage with educational applications, experimental work, representation, and equity. Students' work with digital storytelling will be developed in a workshop environment; verbal participation and collaboration are essential to this course.
Course content

1.     Students’ manuscripts

2.     Discussion and analysis of selections from textbook(s)

3.     Discussion and analysis of digital text(s)

Learning activities

In this course, students engage in a variety of learning activities such as lectures, group discussions and group work, in-class and self-directed writing, craft analysis and peer-to-peer workshopping. Students' work with digital storytelling will be developed in a workshop environment; verbal participation and collaboration are essential to this course.

Means of assessment

Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. An evaluation schedule is presented at the beginning of the course. This is a graded course.

Students are expected to complete three to four creative assignments, at least one of which will be submitted to the workshop. These assignments will account for a minimum of 60% toward the student’s final grade. 

Other evaluations will include attendance and class participation, and may include self-evaluation, in-class writing, presentations, responses to digital media projects, and attendance at industry events.

Example Evaluation Scheme: 

Written/Digitally Created Assignments are worth 80% of the final grade:

In-class writing 10% 

Character Creation for a Digital Platform (Written Project, 300-500 words) 10%

Immersive, Multi-choice Story for a Digital Platform (Written Project using free software, equivalent to 1500-2000 words) 10%

Video Storytelling Project, with Dialogue, Visual and Music Tracks, (Video Project, equivalent to 2000–2500-word project) 20%

Proposal for a large scale, immersive Digital Media Project, with short demo (Written/Video Project, equivalent to 2000–2500-word project) 20%

Written or Oral Response to a piece of digital storytelling media (Written Project, 750-1000 words) 10%

Class Participation is worth 20% of the final grade: 

Attendance 10%

Self-Evaluation 5%

Instructor-Evaluation 5%

Total: 100%

Attendance is required. A student missing more than 20% of classes will receive a zero in class participation. A student who completes less than 70% of the course work will receive a UN (unofficial withdrawal) for the course. Students must make a good faith attempt to complete all course assignments to receive a passing final grade. 

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: 

  • Identify techniques common to digital storytelling such as its approach to interactivity, character development, dialogue, narrative, and story-structure; 

  • Navigate and identify platforms for digital storytelling including, but not limited to, video games, hypertexts, cyber theatre, social media, VR/AR/XR, online audio and video; 

  • Create original work for digital platforms, while also learning how to avoid imitation or cliché; 

  • Understand how digital storytelling engages with historical precedents, education, and equity;

  • Understand and reflect upon how professional creators solve common technical problems of craft and form in digital environments;

  • Communicate useful, supportive feedback to peers in a creative writing workshop; 

  • Demonstrate an understanding of revision as essential to the writing process;

  • Evaluate suggestions from an instructor and peers, applying those suggestions to revisions.

Textbook materials

Student writing (in any format) will form the bulk of the course content and reading. However, the instructor may augment the course content with a textbook or selected examples from published texts, digital media, and other formats for digital storytelling. If a textbook and other materials are required, students are responsible for their purchase (as necessary).  

A list of required textbooks and materials is provided for students at the beginning of the semester.

Requisites

Prerequisites

Enrollment in the Advanced Certificate in Applied Audio

or

A minimum grade of B in CRWR 1102 or CRWR 1103 or CRWR 1202 or CRWR 2200

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer details for CRWR 2300
There are no applicable transfer credits for this course.

Course Offerings

Winter 2025