Making a Point with PowerPoint – .PPT-based Interactive Stories
Submission Type
Paper
Start Date/Time (EDT)
19-7-2024 4:45 PM
End Date/Time (EDT)
19-7-2024 5:45 PM
Location
Algorithms & Imaginaries
Abstract
Technology and literature have always been closely intertwined. As Lister et al. (2009, p. 14) noted, the physical characteristics of technology are real, and the “nature and constitution of a technology encourages and constrains” its use in the production, distribution, and use of literary works.
Electronic literature is „digital(ly) born” (Hayles, 2008, p. 3), which implies that authors, publishers, and readers should have access to and understanding of the technology involved.
Electronic literature needs to be preserved, made accessible and available (see Montfort and Wardrip-Fruin, 2004), and to make the process of creating future literary works democratic, liberating, and autonomous, it should also rely on user-friendly technology. When it comes to the national literature of a smaller country like Croatia, the issue of accessibility of electronic literature also refers to the language barrier between the reader and the currently available works.
In this endeavour, programs and tools such as Twine and Quest may be of great importance, as well as presentational programs such as PowerPoint. As PowerPoint is an integral part of the Microsoft 365 package for schools, it is free for all teachers and students in Croatia who use it daily. Although PowerPoint is mainly used in academic circles and education as a presentational program to organise and visually enhance presentation materials, its many features allow users to create stimulating, interactive, and hypertextual literary works.
The aim of this paper is to acknowledge and emphasise the importance of accessibility of technology and user-friendly platforms and programs in making electronic literature accessible to young readers, as well as to illustrate the creative use of PowerPoint in creating interactive and hypertextual stories for children, as a part of the process of breaking the language barrier and introducing young readers to electronic literature.
Keywords: electronic children’s literature, hypertextual fiction, interactive stories, PowerPoint
Recommended Citation
Gabelica, Marina, "Making a Point with PowerPoint – .PPT-based Interactive Stories" (2024). ELO (un)linked 2024. 15.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/elo2024/algorithmsandimaginaries/schedule/15
Making a Point with PowerPoint – .PPT-based Interactive Stories
Algorithms & Imaginaries
Technology and literature have always been closely intertwined. As Lister et al. (2009, p. 14) noted, the physical characteristics of technology are real, and the “nature and constitution of a technology encourages and constrains” its use in the production, distribution, and use of literary works.
Electronic literature is „digital(ly) born” (Hayles, 2008, p. 3), which implies that authors, publishers, and readers should have access to and understanding of the technology involved.
Electronic literature needs to be preserved, made accessible and available (see Montfort and Wardrip-Fruin, 2004), and to make the process of creating future literary works democratic, liberating, and autonomous, it should also rely on user-friendly technology. When it comes to the national literature of a smaller country like Croatia, the issue of accessibility of electronic literature also refers to the language barrier between the reader and the currently available works.
In this endeavour, programs and tools such as Twine and Quest may be of great importance, as well as presentational programs such as PowerPoint. As PowerPoint is an integral part of the Microsoft 365 package for schools, it is free for all teachers and students in Croatia who use it daily. Although PowerPoint is mainly used in academic circles and education as a presentational program to organise and visually enhance presentation materials, its many features allow users to create stimulating, interactive, and hypertextual literary works.
The aim of this paper is to acknowledge and emphasise the importance of accessibility of technology and user-friendly platforms and programs in making electronic literature accessible to young readers, as well as to illustrate the creative use of PowerPoint in creating interactive and hypertextual stories for children, as a part of the process of breaking the language barrier and introducing young readers to electronic literature.
Keywords: electronic children’s literature, hypertextual fiction, interactive stories, PowerPoint
Bio
Marina Gabelica works as an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Zagreb, where she teaches courses in B.A., M.A., and PhD study programs in Children’s Literature, Electronic Children’s Literature and Media. She obtained her PhD at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, at the Doctoral Study of Literature, Performing Arts, Film and Culture. The focus of her research and professional work is in the area of children’s literature, electronic literature and film. She focuses on storytelling in different media and the simultaneous development of different literacies (reading, visual, film, digital and media literacy).