Transmedia Workshop

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend Jeff Gomez's transmedia workshop in his hometown of New York City.  In his workshop, Jeff gave us a deep overview of his transmedia development process.  Hearing Jeff kick off the workshop by telling his personal story of how he came to embrace transmedia was inspiring enough, but the rest of the workshop was incredibly powerful and informative as well.  It consisted of four parts:

I. Defining Transmedia Storytelling as it relates to Branded Entertainment

II. Entertainment Franchises & Branded Entertainment 

III. Creating Positive Links Between the Brand and the Branded Entertainment

IV.  Producing Branded and Franchised Content for Multiple Platforms

V.  Respect the Audience and Create Stories Worth Telling

The workshop attendees were a diverse group ranging from filmmakers, to writers, to marketers, to even a lawyer!  I would like to share the core education insights I took away, that were spurred by Jeff's talk.  

• Perhaps what one of the most important things I walked away with is the importance of expanding and extending the learning world beyond the hours of just the school day and the confines of the four walls of a classroom and how we can use transmedia techniques to do so.  Learning can no longer take place in the four walls of a school building.  We need to create a rich world with global reach.
• The deep, immersive experience that transmedia storytelling provides should convey emotion which is so often left out of our instruction.
• The process of transmedia broadens the life cycle of content- when and where learning.
• Do not use educational technology tools for the sake of the tool itself; think about how the content plays to the strengths of the media so that the story can be told well.
• Transmedia techniques create a totality of learning experiences that encompass learning both in school, in the community, and at home.
• Celebrating the participation of the learner is validating and will lead to further engagement with the content.
• Transmedia learning worlds reach a broader learner base in a wider variety of ways, over a longer period of time.
• Telling quality, positive stories is vital; children will always go to where the stories are.
• Assessment driven learning makes it challenging to tell good stories but that should not stop us in creating layered, multi-touchpoint learning experiences.
• Storytelling can create a powerful connection between content and learners.
• A non-linear approach to learning allows for a living, ever-evolving learning world
• Effectively implementing transmedia techniques into education requires listening to hear and measure learner response and feedback allowing for adjustments and a more organic learning experience.
• The prominence of ‘aspirational drivers’ typically refers to audiences and connecting them with an IP.  These same principals are essential is connecting learners with content.  (Inner pride, outer appreciation, mastery, winning, empowerment etc.)
• Jeff often speaks about the concept of 'distant mountains'.  Transmedia storytelling in education, and the layered learning experiences it provides, plants seeds that will grow into valuable opportunities for learning in the future. 

Jeff was a recent guest speaker for Henry Jenkins during his Transmedia Storytelling class.  During that class he said that transmedia is about dialogue, listening, acknowledging presence/participation and compared that directly with what it sounds like to be a good teacher.  He couldn't be more right.