Transmedia storytelling, put simply, is telling a story over many platforms. These can include but are not exclusive to books, games, movies, events and television shows.
Transmedia is becoming more popular as people become more attached to their fantasy worlds, and wish to see them extended beyond their original format – and it is becoming increasingly popular as more platforms are created that can be utilised.
Take for example, Harry Potter. After the books and movies ended, fans were devastated that the escape from their muggle worlds was gone. But then, J.K. Rowling came out with Pottermore.
https://www.pottermore.com/en/
Harry Potter is a perfect example of transmedia going above and beyond. Books, movies, games, toys, theme parks, and now Pottermore. Within Pottermore, fans get to relive the story, with new artwork and extra bits of information that never made it into the books or movies.
Imagine using this in Yr 10 History. After learning about the Holocaust, students could have the opportunity to go on a website or app which expands upon the basic information in different directions. Which introduces them to the emotional story of Anne Frank, or perhaps the logistics of how it happened. This would give students more say in what they want to learn, making it interesting and relatable, whilst solidifying and expanding upon their knowledge of the subject. It creates an immersive learning environment, with very few limits on what can be learnt.
We might define transmedia learning as: the application of storytelling techniques combined with the use of multiple platforms to create an immersive learning landscape which enables multivarious entry and exit points for learning and teaching. It is the unifying concept of the learning environment that is important since that can become a landscape for learning that has few, if any, boundaries.
(Fleming, 2013)
Playing and learning through transmedia encourages resourcefulness and critical thinking, as students need to find and study texts instead of listening to a teacher, as well as making lessons replayable, so that students are more likely to retain the information (Herr-Stephenson, Alper, Rielly & Jenkins, n.d., p. 5).
Though it is mostly used for fiction and frivolous activities at the moment, I can see transmedia becoming a huge part of our education system, not too far in the future.
References:
Fleming, Laura (2013) Expanding Learning Opportunities with Transmedia Practices:
Inanimate Alice as an Exemplar,Journal of Media Literacy Education. http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/jmle/vol5/iss2/3
Herr-Stephenson, B., Alper, M., Rielly, E., & Jenkins, H.
A digital world. 