DTC 354: Digital Storytelling
Spring 2026
- Class: T/TH 10:35am-11:50am
- Location: VMMC 111
- Instructor: Will Luers
- Phone: 503-975-3254
- Email: wluers@wsu.edu
- Office Hours: M 4:00pm-5:00pm, T 3:00pm-4:00pm in the Digs or on Zoom most days after 12pm
Course Description
DTC 354 / Digital Storytelling will immerse students in the theory and practice of creating and delivering stories in a digital and computational environment. We will look at narrative traditions that precede the digital to understand the foundations of storytelling as an evolved and evolving form of meaning-making and then proceed through different digital storytelling modalities - textual, diagrammatic/typographic, visual/auditory, cinematic and hypermedial - to arrive at an integrated approach to networked, multilinear and multimedia storytelling.
Lectures, blogging, in-depth readings and in-class discussion will offer students multiple modes for understanding the theories and expressive possibilities behind "digital storytelling." Concepts explored will be the spring boards for students to develop their own practice-based research. Through short creative assignments and collaborative group projects, students will have the opportunity to work with text, digital imaging, sound, video, and other media to create new forms of the digital stories.
Learning Goals
| Required Course Activities | University Learning Goals | University Learning Objectives | CMDC Goals & Objectives |
| 1. Typographic, Visual & Cinematic | Critical and Creative Thinking (ULG1) Communication (ULG4) | Combine and synthesize existing ideas, images, or expertise in original ways. Express concepts, propositions, and beliefs in coherent, concise, and technically correct form. | Goal 1 Demonstrate competency with computers for designing, distributing, retrieving, and preserving digital works in various mediums for humane and effective human-computer interactions. Goal 2 Synthesize media forms for multimedia contexts. Goal 3 Employ the principles of visual form for sophisticated image manipulation. |
| 2. Hypermedia | Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning (ULG2) | Understand and apply quantitative, symbolic and computational principles and methods in the solution of problems. | Goal 7 Recognize various forms of language processing and their implications for media authoring. |
| 3. Final Project | Critical and Creative Thinking (ULG1) Information Literacy (ULG2) Communication (ULG4) Depth, Breadth, and Integration of Learning (ULG7) | Combine and synthesize existing ideas, images, or expertise in original ways. Determine the extent and type of information needed. Express concepts, propositions, and beliefs in coherent, concise, and technically correct form. By applying the concepts of the general and specialized studies to personal, academic, service learning, professional, and/or community activities. | Goal 5 Know the basics of information architecture and knowledge management along with ways digital information can be structured for retrieval and archival purposes for different audiences. |
The assignments and activities for this course reflect these objectives and serve to assist students with reaching program goals.
Course Structure
- Focus on the manual creation of web-based objects and other digital interfaces
- Readings, discussion of concepts, and application of theory
- Multiple assignments and projects
- Conceptual and creative work with ideas explored in this course
Required Course Texts and other resources
- The Poetics, by Aristotle (Bookie)
- Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud (Bookie)
- Movie Rental: Fargo $3-5
- Movie Rental: Occurrence and Owl Creek Bridge $2
- Selected online readings
- Access to smartphone and/or digital camera (option to check-out equipment)
Course Point-Earning Opportunities
- 5 story summaries 5%
- One-on-one Zoom meeting 5%
- Diagrammatic Narrative 15%
- Visual Narrative: 15%
- Video/Audio Story 15%
- Hypermedia Narrative: 15%
- Final Project: 20%
- Participation (journaling, activities and discussions): 10%
COURSE SCHEDULE
| WEEKLY SUBJECTS | ASSIGNMENTS / PROJECTS (DUE) |
|---|---|
| Week 1 — What Is a Digital Story? Jan 13 & Jan 15 |
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| Week 2 — Narrative Traditions I Jan 20 & Jan 22 |
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| Week 3 — Narrative Traditions II Jan 27 & Jan 29 |
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| Week 4 — Diagrammatic Storytelling Feb 3 & Feb 5 |
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| Week 5 — Visual Narrative I Feb 10 & Feb 12 |
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| Week 6 — Visual Narrative II Feb 17 & Feb 19 |
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| Week 7 — Cinema Language Feb 24 & Feb 26 |
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| Week 8 — Video Stories Mar 3 & Mar 5 |
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| Week 9 — Audio Stories Mar 10 & Mar 12 |
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| Spring Break Mar 16–20 |
No class meetings this week. |
| Week 10 — Hypertext and Hypermedia Mar 24 & Mar 26 |
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| Week 11 — Symbol, Index & Icon Mar 31 & Apr 2 |
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| Week 12 — Playable Stories Apr 7 & Apr 9 |
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| Week 13 — Network Stories Apr 14 & Apr 16 |
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| Week 14 — Workshop / Production Apr 21 & Apr 23 |
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| Week 15 — Final Project Apr 28 & Apr 30 |
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General Project Guidelines
- Multimedia projects should address narrative and design issues raised in this course
- Design and content must be your own work, unless otherwise stated.
- You may use AI image and text generation, as long as you state that in your sources
- All images not your own or significantly altered by you must be clearly labeled with ownership and copyright information
- Multimedia projects should be checked thoroughly for errors. There is no excuse for sloppy writing and such mistakes will count against you.
Assessment and Final Grades
Both attendance and participation will be monitored and deficiencies in either/both will result in lower final grades. Participation means being attentive in class, joining in discussions, engaging in informal critiques and completing all in-class and outside assignments.
You are allowed 3 class absences. Each class absence after that will result in a 3-point deduction from the final cumulative points. It is your responsibility to make sure I check your attendance if you arrive after the start of class. Frequent late arrivals, leaving early, or other forms of lack of attendance will also deduct points from the cumulative total.Absent students remain responsible for all course matters during their absence(s). Opportunities to make up missed work may not be available.
Final grades are determined from the cumulative points earned, plus or minus any deductions or additions for attendance or participation. No curving, averaging, or other manipulations are utilized. No other assessment or extra credit opportunities are planned. Incompletes are not available. Final grades are based on the following scale:
| A | 93-100 |
| A- | 90-92 |
| B+ | 87-89 |
| B | 83-86 |
| B- | 80-82 |
| C+ | 77-79 |
| C | 73-76 |
| C- | 70-72 |
| D | no Ds in the DTC program |
| F | 0-69 |
Submission of Late Work
All work must be submitted as and when required. If you are sick or have an emergency, you must make contact with me (best to use Slack) and arrange a time to submit work.
AI Use Policy
Students are encouraged to use AI tools to amplify their strengths and enhance their learning. In this digital storytelling course, AI tools can serve as creative collaborators for exploring narrative ideas, perspectives, and multimodal forms — including text, image, sound, voice, and interactive media.
AI may be used to support:
- Learning and research (always fact-checked for accuracy)
- Brainstorming story ideas, themes, worlds, and narrative structures
- Role-playing and perspective-taking (e.g., testing character voices, points of view, or narrative situations)
- Drafting and revising story outlines, scripts, and narrative arcs
- Generating images, voices, sound, and music for digital storytelling projects
- Exploring tone, mood, pacing, and multimodal combinations of text, image, and sound
- Planning and structuring digital storytelling projects across platforms and media
However, in this course, stories and narrative intentions will begin with you. Much of the creative process will involve writing, sketching, storyboarding, prototyping, revising, and reflecting. These steps are designed to slow the process down and help you develop a clear narrative voice and point of view before relying on AI tools.
AI should be used as a support for thinking, imagining, and experimenting — not as a shortcut that replaces narrative responsibility or authorial intent.
AI tools — including generative text, image, voice, sound, and music systems — are powerful storytelling partners, but they cannot replace the slower, deeper practices of writing, revising, listening, reflecting, and shaping meaning through narrative choice.
The University Syllabus
Students are responsible for reading and understanding all university-wide policies and resources pertaining to all courses (for instance: accommodations, crisis resources, policies on discrimination or harassment), which can be found in the university syllabus: https://syllabus.wsu.edu/university-syllabus/