Transmedia dynamics in education: the case of Robot Heart Stories

Abstract

This article discusses the potentiality and risks of applying transmedia storytelling strategies in the realm of education. The empirical approach is used to analyze the experiential education project Robot Heart Stories, developed in 2011 in Canada and the United States. The theoretical framework focuses on the conceptualization of transmedia storytelling in the scope of education and the examination of the implications of gamification in this scenario. The methodological approach of the case study is based on the transmedia project design analytical model and applied to Robot Heart Stories to depict how the project was developed and demonstrate how transmedia strategies can potentially enhance education. The research findings point out that the transmedia strategies in the project placed the students in the center of the learning process and motivated them to learn. As the students were actual characters in the story, they had the opportunity to experience it, instead of just listening or reading it. The project nurtured skills, such as multimodal literacy, critical literacy, digital literacy, media literacy, visual literacy, information literacy, and game literacy, in addition to interpersonal communication skills and experiential learning.