Digital Storytelling in an EFL Telecollaborative Project

Digital storytelling is an online literacy practice that utilizes a combination of technology-integrated learning and the social construct of learning by doing. The medium for e-story creation has traditionally been videos or other liner storyboard software. Relatively few studies use game-based software featuring branching narratives. This study aimed to foster digital literacies by engaging students in composing game-based digital stories with global peers and examining their levels of engagement. Participants were 37 Taiwanese engineering majors and 20 Polish education majors, forming 20 groups with one Polish student pairing with one or two Taiwanese students. Students were first introduced to a list of e-books. They then worked in groups via Zoom to select a story they wanted to work on, and used storytelling software to retell the story based on their own creativity. Results showed that game-based digital storytelling promoted learner action and creativity; ability to work collaboratively to complete a task; networking competence and cross-cultural learning; and confidence in using digital storytelling applications. The findings of this study will allow practitioners to better prepare future students with digital competences so that they are able to collaborate and negotiate meaning during global exchanges.