Presentation at the 5th international digital storytelling conference in Ankara, Turkey, 8-10 of May 2013.

1. Veronica Barnes, Daniela Gachago & Eunice Ivala
Engaging the non-Engaging the non-
traditional studenttraditional student
through digitalthrough digital
narrativesnarratives
Cape Peninsula University of
Technology

2. Non – traditional student (NTS)
“…students who ‘are currently under-
represented [in HE] and that this
underrepresentation is a product of social
class and/or ethnicity“
(Select Committee on Education and Employment, 2001)

3. Student workers
Gender
Non – traditional student (NTS)
Age – usually
over 24 yrs
Socio-economic
background
Socio-economic
background
Ethnicity/ raceEthnicity/ race
First generation
in HE
Academic under
preparedness
juggling work, academic
& family roles
juggling work, academic
& family roles
Learning
difficulties
“Cinderella students”“Cinderella students”
English 2nd
languageEnglish 2nd
language

4. Pedagogies that engage NTSs
the challenges that students’ faced in their
studies?
the challenges that students’ faced in their
studies?
the challenges that students’ faced in their studies?the challenges that students’ faced in their studies?
Alternative curriculum and course
structures are needed at first year level to
provide a “non-remedial” approach to NTS.
recognize the capabilities that NTSs
bring with them into HE, and to build
on these skills – not bound by the
traditional assumptions
(CHE, 2007: 44,45)
Institutions and educators must provide flexibility and
choice in order to cater for the diverse student group.
(Laing & Robinson, 2011:184)

5. Context of study
• legacy as former
professional
vocational education.
This study: at a large University of Technology in
South Africa.
•attracts a large number of so-called ‘non-traditional’
students
• affordability in terms
of study fees

6. Methodology – research questions
the challenges that students’ faced
in their studies?
the challenges that students’ faced
in their studies?
What are the challenges that
students’ faced in their studies?
What made the students
interviewed ‘non traditional’?
How did the digital storytelling
practice help the students deal
with these challenges?

7. Project
Project:
- innovative practice of digital storytelling
- development of digital story on timber
- in groups
- very open brief
- reliance on resourcefulness of students
- qualitative: interviews with students & lecturer.
- Data analysis was done inductively
- guided by the literature

8. Context of study - demographics
Continuing underdevelop-
ment of design and
technology courses in under-
funded public schools.
Apartheid legacy: vast
majority of pupils in these
schools are still non-white,
lack of access to expensive
schools

9. Findings – are our students NTSs?

10. Findings – affinity for technology
Angela: it was something that I had been
dying to do - had been dying to do for so
long ...stop motion is just the coolest, so that
I found very cool. Ja, I think just the fact that
it’s something we weren’t familiar with - it
worked well.

11. Findings - collaboration
Michael: No there was just a plan, and we
followed through with it.
Michael: No there was just a plan, and we
followed through with it.
Interviewer: And you stuck to
the deadline?
Michael: Yes, ja. We were always checking
on each other. So we would kind of monitor
each other and keep each other on track all
the time as well as ourselves.

12. Findings - flexibility
Michael: This was a very nice project, when we got the
brief we sat down and we chatted and then everybody
just did what they had to do. So it wasn’t just sitting
down and drawing or sitting down and building
something. It was: we have to go get costumes, we
have to go shoot the movie. We have to go do the
editing. It was very nice.
Michael: Yes, ja.
Interviewer: So you liked the idea of
not being in the classroom but being
out and about?

13. Findings – creative identity
Angela: I think maybe that was the biggest
change over because we are all creative people
we just kind of might want to…give information,
communicate information in a better way or in a
more kind of interactive way. When someone’s
watching something they’re enjoying it and you
can create something fun out of it with
information that particularly isn’t very interesting
at all, which I think is quite nice…

14. Findings – challenging task
George: It wasn’t the fact that it was getting
harder and harder, it was the fact that we’d
never done it before. So we didn’t really know
how it was going to be done and any of that. But
then we did more research and like through the
research I got more excited for it and then when
we did it it was just - it was just so much fun ….
Angela: we don’t really deal with film throughout
the year. It was a new medium for us and I think
that’s also intriguing learning something that
you’re not comfortable with which I found very
interesting.
Angela: we don’t really deal with film throughout
the year. It was a new medium for us and I think
that’s also intriguing learning something that
you’re not comfortable with which I found very
interesting.

15. Findings
How DST affordances responded to elements of NTS

16. UDL is one approach
that would benefit all
students.
UDL is one approach
that would benefit all
students.
Create learning experiences that talk to
their NTS strengths, NOT mediate their
challenges.
Create learning experiences that talk to
their NTS strengths, NOT mediate their
challenges.
UDL aims to develop curricula & projects that give all
students equal opportunities to learn
UDL aims to develop curricula & projects that give all
students equal opportunities to learn
NTS profile is complex, nuanced and
may be changing.
NTS profile is complex, nuanced and
may be changing.
(Steven 2005)
Our students are non-traditional in their
context - learning activities should be designed
to engage all students, not just TS or NTSs.
Discussion & conclusions
(Roberts, 2011)Universal Design for LearningUniversal Design for Learning

17. Conclusions
• End to labeling NTSs
Further research:
• experimentation and creativity in the learning
design process.
• disrupt current teaching and learning practices
and design learning activities that are inclusive
and provide flexibility and choice for NTSs and
TS needs
Why did some of the
participants of this
study pass and some
fail?
Why did some of the
participants of this
study pass and some
fail?
How to transfer some
of these principles that
seem to engage NTSs
How to transfer some
of these principles that
seem to engage NTSs

18. Any questions?
• www.cput.ac.za/blogs/edutech
• http://www.cput.ac.za/blogs/edutech/digital-storytelling-
resources/
• YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/CPUTstories
• Email us at barnesv@cput.ac.za
or gachagod@cput.ac.za
Contact us