Module 6 is intended to introduce you to the basics of digital storytelling, which encompasses everything from digital videos to podcasting to interactive text or graphic games. The readings will help you explore a variety of ways scholars have used the digital to tell historical stories or teaching historical lessons. The technical activities will introduce you to Twine, which is a platform for creating non-linear narratives (like the old Choose Your Own Adventure books).
Readings/Discussion (Required)
1. explore the free chapter(s) of Kate Heartfield, “The Road to Canterbury.”
2. listen to one of the history podcasts created by RRCHNM: https://podcasts.rrchnm.org/shows/
3. watch the PA Labor History Society, “Homestead Strike of 1892”
4. read Megan Zahneis, “A Ph.D. Student Simulated a Day in the Life of a Covid-19 Era Campus. It Went Viral, But It Wasn’t Pretty.” Chronicle of Higher Education, July 1, 2020 and explore one of the Twine stories (undergraduate student | graduate student | faculty member | staff member). Consider how Cait S. Kirby uses Twine to convey an argument as well as provide a narrative/game-like experience.
5. participate in the class discussion
Readings/Discussion (Optional)
6. play one or more of the Twine games created by RRCHNM and friends: Adventures in Illuminating (part of a Clio project!), Gaming the Great Plague, or Learning the Ropes
7. Leah Henrickson, Digital Storytelling: An Introduction (has to be requested)
Technical Activities (Required)
1. BEFORE CLASS download/install or determine you will use the browser-based version of Twine
2. during class, we will explore Twine and you will create an non-linear historical narrative to share with the class via Slack; if you miss class, you can use this Twine tutorial to make up this activity
(Want more help with formatting your text? Check out the Twine guide and/or this Markdown cheat sheet).
Technical Activities (Optional)
3. Create a slideshow using the software of your choice and use the videoconferencing software of your choice, e.g. Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams Meetings (or Quicktime if you’re on a Mac) to record yourself providing audio voiceover to the slideshow presentation. How might you use the tools built into your computer to do basic audio or video recording for digital storytelling?