Curtin communications graduate Jerome Goerke has played a key role in trialling an innovative online, soap opera\u2013style series of short videos about commerce and trade in Germany.<\/p>\n
The videos were implemented as part of the German state-funded Digitale Narrationen als innovativer didaktischer Ansatz f\u00fcr eine \u00f6konomische Bildung im Handel <\/em>(DiN\u00f6B) program (\u2018Digital Narration as an Innovative Didactic Approach for Economic Education in Trade\u2019 program) at several commerce-focused educational institutions across Germany.<\/p>\n Students follow the story of four young characters based in the trendy Berlin suburb of Neuk\u00f6lln, who face unique economic or trade-related challenges. After watching each video, students are required to answer questions relating to the challenges the protagonists face, as part of their lesson plans.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the program was initiated by the government as a way to help institutions keep up with the times,\u201d explains Goerke, who was responsible for evaluating how students interacted with DiN\u00f6B at the bbw University of Applied Sciences in Berlin.<\/p>\n \u201cThe proliferation of content has forced creators and those who provide \u2018knowledge offerings\u2019 to supply compact, concise and attractive parcels of knowledge to ensure their message cuts through the digital noise. Chunked information, such as what is used in the episodic nature of the digital narratives developed in DiN\u00f6B, follows on from this trend.\u201d<\/p>\n A consortium of seven different German organisations helped develop the program, which resulted in the production of 17 sequential \u2018episodes\u2019 and their associated questions.<\/p>\n These episodes were developed in a way that the students could form an emotional connection with the characters, and then \u2018grow\u2019 with them as they progressed through the story.<\/p>\n The first few episodes addressed relatively simple trade-related concepts suited to first year bachelor students, but then increased in difficulty as the plot developed.<\/p>\n Now in its final stages, Goerke says the project has been well received by participants who have been impressed by DiN\u00f6B\u2019s innovative and digital approach.<\/p>\n \u201cAcross the board, students said they found the material more engaging than learning from a book, and the mix of listening, watching, thinking and interacting has stimulated them much more than traditional methods,\u201d Goerke explains.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat has also been insightful is that the students are not necessarily interested in the backstories of the characters, but they do become very attentive when one character is in the process of learning something from another character, such as calculation or market analysis techniques.\u201d<\/p>\n