Seite 113 [113]
OCR
112] Digital Media and Storytelling in Higher Education Haigh and Miller (2018) see digital stories as valuable sources as they contain key information highlighted by narrators. In one of their projects, the authors organized a DST workshop on mental health. Participants had to use the concepts of dignity and respect to narrate the event in their life that was most significant to them. The researchers found that the result was forgiveness, reassurance, and mutual empowerment. The researchers held the second workshop for patients undergoing chemotherapy, asking them to provide insights into their expectations regarding communication with the staff. A wealth of information was revealed through the videos that could not have been elicited through other methods of data collection. Haigh (2017) highlighted in an earlier study that the analysis of digital stories as artifacts has taken health research to a higher level, as the narrator’s views are presented in a direct way and richly illustrated with images. Haigh considers this raw research data, with more data present in these 3-5 minute videos that focus on the essentials than in a multi-hour interview. At the same time, these videos are easily shared on social media, which can also contribute to the democratization of health care, as the direct exposure of individual experiences can move decision-makers and the whole system towards more optimal functioning. In many cases, only an inter-professional approach to health service development can help to improve services. In Jamissen and Moulton’s (2017) DST study, researchers were participant observers and took notes. Data were supplemented with audio recordings of workshop sessions and an interview with the facilitator. Researchers investigated communication and collaboration within the group: students from different disciplines discussed public health issues (e.g., prevention vs. treatment, what is a disease and what is health) while becoming more familiar with each other’s views and approaches. This knowledge sharing led to improved trust and acceptance of each other’s life situations. Students also learned how to communicate their views to others and understood that while they do not have to agree, it is important to know each other’s views. Personal and professional identities also developed through the interactions. Studies such as these show why it is important for marginalized social groups to create digital stories, as their videos help to humanize the narrators by showing that underrepresented people or those from minority groups who are generally portrayed negatively in mass media are also parents and working people with everyday problems similar to the members of the majority society. A DST workshop in Malaysia similarly articulated the life stories of a minority community. The participants in question were members of the homosexual community whose lifestyle represents a taboo in heteronormative Muslim societies. The aim of this project was elementary: to prevent extremely vulnerable individuals from being physically attacked because of their sexual orientation. The 10 anonymous videos were shown in an exhibition that was open exclusively to Malay Muslims, and after viewing the exhibition
