My Year in Transmedia

One year ago this month I started blogging, and in a post on August 23rd, almost one year ago, I first mentioned transmedia.  Not only was Transmedia Storytellers my first post about transmedia, but it was the first time I had ever heard of the term.  As a school librarian with a degree in technology, and a storyteller by trade, it wasn’t a far leap for me to embrace transmedia and all of its potential.

Sometimes I feel like I have been immersed in this transmedia world for a lifetime and oftentimes have to remind myself that it has been just a year.  Looking back on my own blog, I realize it has been a personal journey of awareness and discovery- an awakening of sorts.  A few years back I saw the profound impact Patrick Carman’s Skeleton Creek novel had on my students.  Half traditional print text and half online videos, this hybrid story captured my students in ways I had never seen before.  After contacting him to tell him what I saw, and having an inspiring conversation, he encouraged me to start blogging some of my thoughts on interactive literature.  I didn’t start to blog then, but did decide to research all things related to interactive storytelling.  A few years later, I felt I had learned enough to start writing about my experiences.  Just as I started to blog, I discovered the concept of transmedia storytelling.  I was so excited about the educational applications of transmedia that I began to research incessantly and found that there wasn’t much out there related to transmedia and education at the K-12 level.  It was at that time I was lucky enough to speak with the inspiring Jeff Gomez who motivated and encouraged me to keep on my path.  At that time, I also found Inanimate Alice, which to me is the best example as to what is possible with transmedia implementations in education. 

At the footer of my blog, I have a quote that drives what I try and do every single day.

"If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes." 

Andrew Carnegie, Scots-American Industrialist and Philanthropist

This sentiment so perfectly reflects my commitment to transmedia. What I have seen happen with transmedia just in the past year alone makes me happy and gives me the energy and drive to continue.  The mission of my blog has been to draw connections between transmedia and learning.  I have tried to create an awareness amongst the transmedia community about the potential applications of these techniques to education, and I have tried to create an awareness amongst the education community about the powerful impact these techniques can have on learning.  I smile every time I see people from countries all over the world arrive on my blog because of googling ‘transmedia and education’.  I look forward to seeing what the future holds for learning in a transmedia world.

More and more I see people writing about how to harness these techniques into making the world a better place.  Most recently this post by Nedra Weinreich on Changing the World with Transmedia Storytelling and of course, this post by Jeff Gomez titled Reawakening the Grand Narrative. This September in Rome, there is a TedX event focusing on extending transmedia properties beyond simple 'entertainment' to shape a better future.  It is my hope that all in attendance will embark on the same journey I have, and realize that making a difference begins and ends with the education of our children.