Young University Students and Transmedia Narratives: A Participation Project in a Hiperconnected Society

This article presents a research carried out with young university students enrolled to the Degree of Social Education at the University of Valladolid. It is focused on the analysis of the design, creation and diffusion of transmedia narratives. After a brief introduction about the role that transmedia literacy and the culture of convergence can play in formal education institutions, connections between transmedia storytelling and educational innovations are established.

This study focuses on analyzing the process of creation of transmedia narration in two spheres: on the one hand, describing the mediated learning tools used in instructional design (guided participation); and, on the other hand, exploring their possibilities as a collective strategies to encourage digital literacy in the connected society (participatory appropriation). Methodological design mixes narrative research and digital ethnography.

Thirdly, this study presents the main results derived from students’ development and production of transmedia content. Finally, some conclusions are numbered where we defend the transmedia educational advantages to breed social and technological mediation processes that not only recognize students’ tacit knowledge which is engendered in the hiperconnected society but also, such as their possibilities empowerment.