Storytelling with Block Coding among College Students at a University in Northern Taiwan

Abstract

In this study, a storytelling approach was adopted in a college elective course, Game-Based Programming. An ADLR model (Analysis, Design, Leveraging, and Refinement) was adopted for story creation in the course. Along with the process of creation, several research questions were specified for further exploration, including: 1) What were the processes by which students analyzed the story project? 2) How did students design their storylines? 3) How did students leverage the use of media in their stories? 4) How did students refine their stories? and 5) How did students react to their achievement from the process? The study employed a qualitative approach to collect multiple research data. Inductive analysis summarized following research findings. To start their story projects, students searched relevant resources, chose a topic, analyzed the features of the platform, and set their own goals to create story content for a specified audience group. Students explored the design features and functions of the 3D story tool, and leveraged the use of media and block codes to present the content and interactions for their stories. They refined their story content by testing and modification to make the interactions tailored to the audience’s use. It is suggested that the ADLR process might be adopted for future implementation of digital storytelling.