Storylab – a collaborative project of digital storytelling between educations in journalism and media technology

Abstract

In this paper, we examine Storylab, an interdisciplinary learning project between the journalism programme at Stockholm University and engineering programme in Media technology at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, designed to combine journalistic storytelling with pervasive media technologies. The aim of the study is to identify drivers and barriers in a cross-curriculum partnership involving journalism and engineering students. The students teamed up in interdisciplinary groups in order to explore the future of digital storytelling, to find innovative design solutions, and to demonstrate practical applications combining journalism with media technology. The methods used are a survey and semi-structured interviews with the students. The analyses draw on research concerning the current main challenges for the media industry, journalists, and educators (Ramaker, Stoep &amp; Deuze 2015; Picha Edwardsson 2015; Salaverria 2011). The theoretical foundation also includes interdisciplinary studies, and collaborative learning (Klein &amp; Newell 1997; Wiersema 2002). The results show that the engineering students had significantly more positive attitudes towards the future of the media industry than their journalism peers. The students also believed that user friendly digital designs and cooperation with other professionals are the most important factors for a successful media business. We argue that it is crucial for a sustainable media landscape that journalists and engineers collaborate. We further contend that it is of vital importance that this cooperation is brought about already during the professional training. Consequently, educators need to address these challenges now, as they constrain the development of journalism in the future media landscape.QC 20161116</p