CONTENTS
HOME
ABOUT THIS SITE
TOWARDS DIGITAL STORYTELLING FOR CHILDREN
THE EVOLUTION OF STORYTELLING FROM THE MIDDLE AGES
- Middle Ages - Oral Tradition
- 1400-1500's - Instruction
- 1600's - Enjoyable Learning
- 1700's - Introduction of Adventure
- 1800's - Storytelling that Delights
- 1900's - Too Much, Too Fast
- 1970's - Multimedia Mix
Links
Links will
be provided for key words and ideas in the essay. They are marked with
an asterisk in the text but can only be accessed from the link column.
In this paper I identify that digital narrative for children is still in its infancy and "there are many miles to go." A description of the development of printed books, and of children's books in particular, provides a historical backdrop against which the changes occurring in digital narrative are viewed. I identify events in the development of book narrative to which events occurring in digital narrative have similarities and how events that took 400 years to unfold with book development are compressed greatly in the development of digital narrative. I show that development of digital technology in the narrative area does not stand still for writers, that the changes are being driven by computer scientists, by technicians, by software developers, by business. I make the point that if writers want to influence the growth of digital narrative they must guide the process by getting involved in it.
To demonstrate the possibilities available to writers for creating hypermedia essays, I have taken this essay and made it into a hypermedia document within the web environment. This is a preliminary exploration intended for comparison purposes (with narratives developed in programs such as Storyspace). There are a number of design/reading/writing issues which I addressed in completing the website. These are identified in the concluding remarks provided at the end of the essay.
Page Format:
• Top left: "Back" and "Next" buttons which take you to the screens immediately before or after the one you are viewing.
• Left side: "Contents" with links to the three main sections of the essay. Each section is divided into a a series of subsections. You can travel through the paper by progressively clicking on the NEXT button or by clicking on the next heading in the contents. You can go back through the paper in the same manner (except click BACK!). I suggest you go through the paper consecutively the first time. The essay is structured in a linear way and the information will make more sense if you read it that way.
• Left side, continued: "Links" for the particular screen you are looking at. Links are provided to key words identified by asterisks in the text.. All of the links are internal on the first level. Only when you go the the next level will you find links which are external.
• Top right: Section identification
• Right side: Main text with illustrations of characters or books mentionned.
