Digital Storytelling in Academia and Beyond (DSAB) is envisioned as a resource for humanities students looking to update their skills. Our site gives helpful tips on writing for an online audience and coding for Twine, in hopes that students can combine the two and come up with creative-driven content. But, more than that, it’s really a support system for anyone having difficulty or experiencing frustration when it comes to all things digital. We want students to understand that scholarship isn’t always a solitary, finite act and that in fact, it can be a collaborative, ongoing process. Instilling the confidence to share knowledge is integral, and we hope that our somewhat light, humorous tone shows students that sometimes its okay to not take their work or themselves too seriously.

The site is divided into three main sections: writing skills, digital skills and resources. Many of our suggestions can be used as supplements to traditional essays and other humanities style assignments. For example, a traditional essay can be complimented by an interactive annotated bibliography or a literary game that reinforces essay themes. The skills gained can also, however, be used beyond the academic setting as basic HTML skills and a sense of writing for a digital audience are invaluable in the workplace. Creative-computational literacy is therefore front and center with this project.

The comments function is also something we want to emphasize. Some of our posts directly ask users to comment with suggestions or questions, contributing to this idea that academic work can be a collaborative and open process. This transparency is meant to give us credibility while also demonstrating that we are learners, just like our users, and have our own faults and struggles when it comes to digital literacy.