Digital Storytelling
Curriculum guideline
Tutorial: 4 hours/week
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.
1. Students’ manuscripts
2. Discussion and analysis of selections from textbook(s)
3. Discussion and analysis of digital text(s)
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
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Identify techniques common to digital storytelling such as its approach to interactivity, character development, dialogue, narrative, and story-structure;
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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;
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Create original work for digital platforms, while also learning how to avoid imitation or cliché;
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Understand how digital storytelling engages with historical precedents, education, and equity;
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Understand and reflect upon how professional creators solve common technical problems of craft and form in digital environments;
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Communicate useful, supportive feedback to peers in a creative writing workshop;
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Demonstrate an understanding of revision as essential to the writing process;
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Evaluate suggestions from an instructor and peers, applying those suggestions to revisions.
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.
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.