Digital Storytelling: Meaning-Making of Cultures and Intercultural Competence in a Collaborative Online International Learning Project

Tunde Szecsi; Marianela Rivera; Thomas Szende

doi:10.29333/ajqr/16283

Tunde Szecsi ¹ ^* , Marianela Rivera ², Thomas Szende ³

More Detail

AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 9, Issue 2, pp. 236-256

https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/16283

OPEN ACCESS 256 Views 359 Downloads

Download Full Text (PDF)

Abstract

The growing impact of globalization on communities underscores the importance of intercultural competence development in higher education. Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), a platform for global academic exchanges and cross-cultural engagement through digital storytelling, holds significant potential for enhancing intercultural competence. A COIL project focusing on the exploration of culture was designed and implemented in two courses, one in the United States and one in France. This case study examined how digital storytelling was used for students’ meaning-making process of culture and its impact on the emergence of their intercultural competence. We used content analysis of students’ digital stories about culture, their virtual conversations, and reflection papers to answer the research questions. The findings indicated that students used a variety of digital storytelling tools such as personal narratives, visual storytelling, reflective audio narration, and multimodal storytelling to represent their culture. With these tools, students demonstrated emergent outcomes of intercultural competence. This study supports the notion of creating authentic international learning communities in which students effectively use digital technologies to express and negotiate cultural representation. Implications for students, higher education professionals and administrators are offered.

Keywords: Digital storytelling, multimodality, intercultural competence, Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), meaning-making

References

Afrilyasanti, R., & Basthomi, Y. (2023). Supporting students' critical media literacy skills using digital storytelling through the Flipgrid application. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 42(1), 84-104.
Alalem, A. (2023). Digital storytelling for cultivating a participatory culture in first-year composition. Computers and Composition, 69, 102792-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compcom.2023.102792
Alonso, I., Molina, S., & Porto, M. D. (2013). Multimodal digital storytelling: Integrating information, emotion and social cognition. Review of Cognitive Linguistics, 11(2), 369–387. https://doi.org/10.1075/rcl.11.2.10alo
Austen, L., Pickering, N., & Judge, M. (2021). Student reflections on the pedagogy of transitions into higher education, through digital storytelling. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 45(3), 337–348. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2020.1762171
Asojo, A. O., Kartoshkina, Y., Jaiyeoba, B., & Amole, D. (2019). Multicultural learning and experiences in design through Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) framework. Journal of Teaching and Learning with Technology, 8(1), 5–16. https://doi.org/10.14434/jotlt.v8i1.26748
Barrett, M. (2013). Intercultural competence: A distinctive hallmark of interculturalism? In M. Barrett (Ed.), Interculturalism and multiculturalism: Similarities and differences (pp.147-168). Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing.
Beck, M. S., & Neil, J. A. (2020). Digital storytelling: A qualitative study exploring the benefits, challenges, and solutions. Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 39(3), 123–128. https://doi.org/10.1097/CIN.0000000000000667
Beljanski, M. and Bukvić, E. D. (2020). Comparative overview of the presence of intercultural education of teacher trainees in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/412
Boivin, N. (2021). Transmigrant and immigrant preschool visual response to intergenerational multimodal storytelling. Edukacja Międzykulturowa, 14(1), 67-81. https://doi.org/10.15804/em.2021.01.02
Borger, J. G. (2022). Getting to the CoRe of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL). Frontiers in Education (Lausanne), 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.987289
Chaisriya, K., Kaeophanuek, S., & Gilbert, L. (2023). The effects of integrating digital storytelling with metacognition strategies (DSTMC) learning model to enhance communication abilities. Contemporary Educational Technology, 15(2), ep416-. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/12986
Choo, Y. B., Abdullah, T., & Mohd Nawi, A. (2020). Digital storytelling vs. oral storytelling: An analysis of the art of telling stories now and then. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(5A), 46-50. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2020.081907
Creswell, J., & Poth, C. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. SAGE.
Cunsolo Willox, A., Harper, S. L., & Edge, V. L. (2013). Storytelling in a digital age: Digital storytelling as an emerging narrative method for preserving and promoting indigenous oral wisdom. Qualitative Research, 13(2), 127-147. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794112446105
Deardorff, D. K. (2006). Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 241-266. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315306287002
Deardorff, D.K. (2011). Assessing intercultural competence. New Directions for Institutional Research, 65-79. https://doi.org/10.1002/ir.381
Deardorff, D. K. (2012). Framework: Intercultural competence model. In Building cultural competence (pp. 45-52). Routledge. Denzin, N., & Lincoln, Y. (2005). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (3^rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Dervin, F., Moloney, R., & Simpson, A. (Eds.). (2020). Intercultural competence in the work of teachers: confronting ideologies and practices (1st ed.). Routledge.
Dorner, H. (2018). Exploring students’ conceptions of internationalised learning: Experiences from international online collaborative seminars. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 55(3), 304–313. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2016.1210530
Ergül Sönmez, E., & Urfali Dadandi, P. (2023). Does digital storytelling have an effect on writing outcomes? Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Technology, 11(2), 147–157.
Faulkner, J., & Curran, G. (2016). Personal stories and the visual turn: Exploring digital stories as identity representation. In M. Stocchetti (Ed.), Storytelling and education in the digital age, (pp.131-145). Peter Lang Publishing.
Girmen, P., Özkanal, Ü., & Dayan, G. (2019). Digital storytelling in the language arts classroom. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 7(1), 55-65
Gokcora, D. (2021). Benefits of Collaborative Online International Learning projects. Academia Letters. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL202
Goldingay, S., Epstein, S., & Taylor, D. (2018). Simulating social work practice online with digital storytelling: Challenges and opportunities. Social Work Education, 37(6), 790–803. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2018.1481203
Grant, N. S., & Bolin, B. L. (2016). Digital storytelling: A method for engaging students and increasing cultural competency. Journal of Effective Teaching, 16(3), 44-61.
Gunawardena, M., & Brown, B. (2021). Fostering values through authentic storytelling. Australian Journal of Teacher Education (Online), 46(6), 36-53.
Hammer, M. R., Bennett, M. J., & Wiseman, R. (2003). Measuring intercultural sensitivity: The intercultural development inventory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27(4), 421–443. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-1767(03)00032-4
Harjono, H. S., & Wiryotinoyo, M. (2021, August). Exploring the benefits of digital storytelling for enhancing teaching and learning. In The 3rd Green Development International Conference (GDIC 2020) (pp. 262-265). Atlantis Press.
Heinzmann, S., Künzle, R., Schallhart, N., & Müller, M. (2015). The effect of study abroad on intercultural competence: Results from a longitudinal quasi-experimental study. Frontiers (Boston, Mass.), 26(1), 187–208. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v26i1.366
Henrickson, L., Jephcote, W., & Comissiong, R. (2022). Soft skills, stories, and self-reflection: Applied digital storytelling for self-branding. Convergence, 28(6), 1577-1597. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565221091517
Hernandez, M. (2023, Dec. 1). The power of digital storytelling. ASCD. Vol. 81, No. 4. 59-64 https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/the-power-of-digital-storytelling
Humairoh, M. F. N. (2023). Building undergraduate students’ cultural identity through digital storytelling. Communication Teacher, 37(3), 235–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/17404622.2022.2127820
Ikenga, U. G., & Egbule, C. N. (2023). Roles and challenges of digital storytelling in promoting quality teaching in business education programmes in tertiary institutions in Delta State. African Journal of Management and Business Research, 10(1), 95-102.
Jamissen, G. (2008). Digital storytelling for learning and content production. Oslo University College.
Khorin, A., & Voronova, E. (2021). The role of visuals in the communication process. Filosofija, Sociologija, 32(1), 69–75. https://doi.org/10.6001/fil-soc.v32i1.4381
Kim, D., & Li, M. (2021). Digital storytelling: facilitating learning and identity development. Journal of Computers in Education (the Official Journal of the Global Chinese Society for Computers in Education), 8(1), 33–61. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40692-020-00170-9
King de Ramirez, C. (2021). Global Citizenship Education Through Collaborative Online International Learning in the Borderlands: A Case of the Arizona–Sonora Megaregion. Journal of Studies in International Education, 25(1), 83–99. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315319888886
Kortegast, C., & Davis, J. (2017). Theorizing the self: Digital storytelling, applying theory, and multimodal learning. College Teaching, 65(3), 106–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2016.1255584
Lee, L. (2020). Empowering beginning language learners’ voices through digital storytelling: An exploratory study. In F. Nami (Ed.), Digital storytelling in second and foreign language teaching (pp. 179-195). Peter Lang Publishing.
Li, X. (2019). Promoting intercultural competence in EFL classroom. Journal of Literature and Art Studies, 9(4). https://doi.org/10.17265/2159-5836/2019.04.008
Liu, Y. (2023). Overview of the impact of Collaborative Online International Learning on learners. In SHS Web of Conferences (Vol. 157). EDP Sciences.
Mackey, T. P., & Aird, S. M. (2022). Integrating metaliteracy into the design of a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) course in digital storytelling. Open Praxis, 13(4), 397–403. https://doi.org/10.55982/openpraxis.13.4.442
Marcillo-Gómez, M., & Desilus, B. (2016). Collaborative Online International Learning experience in practice opportunities and challenges. Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, 11(1), 30–35. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-27242016000100005
Matei, F. (2022). Intercultural competence – a key competence for higher education. Journal of Education Society & Multiculturalism, 3(2), 164-171. https://doi.org/10.2478/jesm-2022-0024
Miley, F. (2009). The storytelling project: innovating to engage students in their learning. Higher Education Research and Development, 28(4), 357–369. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360903046892
Naeem, M., Ozuem, W., Howell, K., & Ranfagni, S. (2023). A step-by-step process of thematic analysis to develop a conceptual model in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 22(11), 1-18.
Niculescu, R. M., & Bazgan, M. (2017). Intercultural competence as a component of the teachers’ competence profile. Revista Românească Pentru Educaţie Multidimensională, 9(3), 17–41. https://doi.org/10.18662/rrem/2017.0903.03
Nishio, T., Fujikake, C., & Osawa, M. (2020). Language learning motivation in Collaborative Online International Learning: an activity theory analysis. Journal of Virtual Exchange, 3 (SI-IVEC2019), 27–47. https://doi.org/10.21827/jve.3.35780
Novell, L., Norris, J., White, D., & Moules, N. (2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16, 1-13.
O'Dowd, R. (2020). A transnational model of virtual exchange for global citizenship education. Language Teaching, 53(4), 477-490. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444819000077
Özdemir, K., & Tuna, Y. E. (2023). A history lesson designed with the digital storytelling method: Kara Fatma example. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 11(4), 362–371. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.11n.4p.362
Papadopoulou K, Palaiologou N, Karanikola Z. Insights into teachers’ intercultural and global competence within multicultural educational settings. Education Sciences, 12(8):502. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12080502
Pate, A. (2019). Investigating the Potential of Drawing on “Unknown Knowns” to Use Digital Storytelling as a Pedagogical Tool in Media Education. MeCCSA 2019, Stirling, UK. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/03eae088ea845c2b13e82d08166625d3e0865ecf
Pahl, K. (2011). My family, my story: Representing identities in time and space through digital storytelling. Teachers College Record (1970), 113(13), 17–39. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146811111301302
Poe, J. (2022). Advancing global citizenship of underrepresented and hypersegregated U.S. students in higher education through virtual exchange. Journal of International Students, 12(S3), 38–56. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v12iS3.4634
Poletti, A. (2011). Coaxing an intimate public: Life narrative in digital storytelling. Continuum (Mount Lawley, W.A.), 25(1), 73–83. https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2010.506672
Pryshlyak, O., Поліщук, В., & Lupak, N. (2020). Impact of intercultural educational space on the formation of intercultural competence of future teachers at a pedagogical higher education institution. Acta Paedagogica Vilnensia, 45, 42-59. https://doi.org/10.15388/actpaed.45.3
Rahimi, M., & Yadollahi, S. (2017). Effects of offline vs. online digital storytelling on the development of EFL learners’ literacy skills. Cogent Education, 4(1), 1285531-. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2017.1285531
Ribeiro, S. P. M. (2016). Developing intercultural awareness using digital storytelling. Language and Intercultural Communication, 16(1), 69–82. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2015.1113752
Rizvic, S., Okanovic, V., Boskovic, D. (2020). Digital storytelling. In F. Liarokapis, A. Voulodimos, N. Doulamis, & A. Doulamis (Eds.), Visual computing for cultural heritage: Springer series on cultural computing (pp. 347-367). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37191-3_18
Robin, B. (2016). The power of digital storytelling to support teaching and learning. Digital education review, 30, 17–29. https://doi.org/10.1344/der.2016.30.17-29
Rubin, J. (2016). The collaborative online international learning network: online intercultural exchange in the State University of New York Network of Universities. In Online intercultural exchange (pp. 263-270). Routledge.
Rubin, J. (2017). Embedding Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) at higher education institutions. Internationalisation of Higher Education, 2, 27-44.
Sage, M., Singer, J. B., LaMarre, A., & Rice, C. (2018). Digital storytelling: Tools, techniques, and traditions. In L. Goldkind, L. Wolf, & P. P. Freddolino (Eds.), Digital social work (pp. 90-108). Oxford University Press.
Sepúlveda Larraguibel, Y., Edwards, M., Vasseur, R., & Elola, I. (2022). Perceived changes of identity construction through digital storytelling: A collective study abroad case study. Porta Linguarum: Revista internacional de didáctica de las lenguas extranjeras, (4), 193-214.
Sehrawat, S., Jones, C., Orlando, J., Bowers, T., & Rubins, A. (2017). Digital storytelling: A tool for social connectedness. Gerontechnology, 16(1), 56–61. https://doi.org/10.4017/gt.2017.16.1.006.00
Siljamäki, M. E., & Anttila, E. H. (2021). Developing future physical education teachers' intercultural competence: The potential of intertwinement of transformative, embodied, and critical Approaches. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 3, 765513. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2021.765513
Skouge, J. R., & Rao, K. (2009). Digital storytelling in teacher education: Creating transformations through narrative. Educational Perspectives, 42, 54-60.
Smeda, N., Dakich, E., & Sharda, N. (2014). The effectiveness of digital storytelling in the classrooms: A comprehensive study. Smart Learning Environments, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-014-0006-3
Stake, R. (1995). Case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Stork, M., Halpern, C., Levicky Townley, C., & Atha, M. L. (2022). Exploring the use of digital storytelling tools to support literacy. Journal of Literacy Innovation, 7(2).
Sunderland, N., Woods, G., & Dorsett, P. (2020). Making the invisible visible: Applying digital storytelling for immersive, transformative and anti-colonial learning. The British Journal of Social Work, 50(2), 483–505. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcz161
Tarchi, C. & Surian, A. (2022). Promoting intercultural competence in study abroad students. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 37(1), 123–140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-021-00554-0
Tan, K. H., Ngoi, S., Yunos, N., Alias, J., & Mat, N. (2024). Tales in tech: Understanding educational impact and challenges of digital storytelling. Conhecimento & Diversidade, 16(42), 617–642. https://doi.org/10.18316/rcd.v16i42.11779
Towndrow, P. A., & Kogut, G. (2020). Digital storytelling for educative purposes. Springer.
Vahed, A., & Levine, S. (2019). Collaborative Online International Learning: A pedagogical intervention to enrich students’ Learning. European Conference on E-Learning, 579–XVIII. https://doi.org/10.34190/EEL.19.053
Vahed, A. & Rodriguez, K. (2021). Enriching students’ engaged learning experiences through the collaborative online international learning project. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 58(5), 596–605. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2020.1792331
Wereszczyńska, K. (2018). Importance of and need for intercultural education according to students: Future teachers. Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology University of Bialystok Committee on Education Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences (I), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.2478/poljes-2018-0017
Williams, M., & Moser, T. (2019). The art of coding and thematic exploration in qualitative research. International Management Review, 15(1), 45-55.
Williams, T. R. (2009). The reflective model of intercultural competency: A multidimensional, qualitative approach to study abroad assessment. Frontiers (Boston, Mass.), 18(1), 289–306. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v18i1.267
Wimpenny, K., Finardi, K. R., Orsini-Jones, M., & Jacobs, L. (2022). Knowing, being, relating and expressing through third space global South-North COIL: Digital Inclusion and Equity in International Higher Education. Journal of Studies in International Education, 26(2), 279–296. https://doi.org/10.1177/10283153221094085

Citation

Szecsi, T., Rivera, M., & Szende, T. (2025). Digital Storytelling: Meaning-Making of Cultures and Intercultural Competence in a Collaborative Online International Learning Project. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 9(2), 236-256. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/16283

Szecsi, T., Rivera, M., and Szende, T. (2025). Digital Storytelling: Meaning-Making of Cultures and Intercultural Competence in a Collaborative Online International Learning Project. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 9(2), pp. 236-256. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/16283

Szecsi T, Rivera M, Szende T. Digital Storytelling: Meaning-Making of Cultures and Intercultural Competence in a Collaborative Online International Learning Project. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2025;9(2), 236-256. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/16283

Szecsi, Tunde, Marianela Rivera, and Thomas Szende. "Digital Storytelling: Meaning-Making of Cultures and Intercultural Competence in a Collaborative Online International Learning Project". American Journal of Qualitative Research 2025 9 no. 2 (2025): 236-256. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/16283

Szecsi, Tunde et al. "Digital Storytelling: Meaning-Making of Cultures and Intercultural Competence in a Collaborative Online International Learning Project". American Journal of Qualitative Research, vol. 9, no. 2, 2025, pp. 236-256. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/16283

Szecsi T, Rivera M, Szende T. Digital Storytelling: Meaning-Making of Cultures and Intercultural Competence in a Collaborative Online International Learning Project. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2025;9(2):236-56. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/16283