Digital Stories, Real Impact: Drama and Storytelling for Media Literacy and Screen Balance
Introduction
In a world shaped by screens and stories, educators need tools to guide students critically and creatively. This course blends drama, storytelling and digital media to foster media literacy, empower student voice and promote healthy screen habits through engaging, real-world learning experiences.
Description
This course explores the intersection of media literacy, digital storytelling and drama-based pedagogy as powerful tools for contemporary education. In an era of algorithm-driven content and increasing screen exposure, educators are challenged to support learners in critically interpreting media while maintaining healthy digital habits. Participants will engage in experiential workshops that combine storytelling techniques, improvisation, role-play and collaborative creation of digital narratives. The course introduces key concepts such as misinformation, bias, emotional manipulation and persuasive design, while also addressing digital wellbeing and screen balance. Through hands-on activities, participants will design and produce short digital stories that promote critical thinking and responsible media use. The course emphasises practical classroom application, equipping educators with adaptable strategies for diverse learners and educational contexts, in line with Erasmus+ priorities on digital competence, inclusion and wellbeing.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
-
Understand key concepts of media literacy, including misinformation, bias and digital influence
-
Analyse and critically evaluate media messages and digital content
-
Apply drama and storytelling techniques to explore media narratives and perspectives
-
Design and implement digital storytelling activities in educational settings
-
Foster students’ critical thinking, creativity and active participation
-
Promote digital wellbeing and support balanced screen use among learners
-
Use accessible digital tools for creating and editing educational media content
-
Adapt course methodologies to different age groups and learning environments
-
Develop lesson plans integrating media literacy and storytelling
-
Reflect on their own digital habits and teaching practices
Methodology and Assessment
The course follows an experiential, learner-centred approach combining drama-based learning, collaborative tasks and project-based digital storytelling. Participants engage in reflection, peer feedback and hands-on creation. Assessment is continuous and formative, based on participation, group work, reflective journals and the final digital storytelling project.
Materials, Digital Tools & Other Learning Resources
Participants will use a range of accessible tools such as Canva, CapCut and Adobe Express for digital storytelling. Additional resources include sample media texts, storytelling templates, drama activity guides, reflection journals and lesson planning frameworks adaptable to various educational contexts.
Preparation
After registration participants will receive pre-course questionnaire which will be used by the trainer to learn about participants’ teaching backgrounds and to assess their exact needs. Before the beginning of the course a basic reading list will be suggested to participants to prepare for the training. Participants will also be asked to prepare a presentation about themselves, their professional context and their culture which will be presented during the course. Participants will receive information about the country they are going to visit in order to prepare them for their cultural experience.
Follow up
After the course participants will be asked to share what they have learned with the rest of the staff in their schools. Further books and articles to deepen the topic and contacts with some other practitioners all over Europe and in the world will be suggested by the trainer. The methods shared and explored and the bibliography given will allow the participants to complete and improve their educational path.
Certificate
Each participant will get a course attendance certificate and on request we will complete the Europass Mobility Document.
Accommodation
We do not directly offer accommodation and subsistence and participants are responsible for organizing it by themselves.
Paperwork
We also provide all the support with paperwork you might need for your Erasmus+ project documentation such as mobility agreement and registration letter.
Fee: 560 €
Cancelation policy
Free cancellation up to 30 days before the start. After that, the reservation is not refundable. Changes in name and profile of the participant are possible any time before the start of the course (replacement participants from the same school/org are accepted at any time). In case the school/org doesn't find a replacement, we will still offer a place at any of our confirmed courses later in the year without any additional costs but we can not guarantee that every course session will be confirmed and the school/org will only be offered to choose from already confirmed course sessions. In case it will not be possible for the participant to attend the course or for us to organize the course due to extraordinary circumstances (classified as such by the European Commission) which present themselves in the period of less than 30 days before the start of the course and we don’t manage to find an alternative solution, we will keep 50 % of the payment and refund the remaining balance of 50% to the payer’s bank account.
Draft Programme - 35 didactic hours
Day 1
-
Welcome and introduction
-
Outline of the programme
-
Cultural exchange
-
Warm ups and icebreakers
-
Course expectations and needs analysis, setting up a collaborative learning environment and creating an educational contract
-
Introduction to media literacy
Day 2
-
Media landscapes
-
Media influence & misinformation
-
Analysing media messages
-
Identifying bias and framing
Day 3
-
Elements of storytelling
-
Narrative structures
-
Storytelling as a tool for media literacy
-
Exploring bias and narrative framing
Day 4
-
Screen balance & digital wellbeing
-
Digital habits, awareness, emotional impact
-
Persuasive technology
-
Awareness stories
Day 5
-
Creating digital stories for impact
-
Developing storyboards and identifying messages
-
Script development
-
Filming techniques with smartphones
Day 6
-
Editing workshop
-
Finalising digital stories and screening
-
Structured feedback using media literacy criteria
Day 7
-
Design of personal plan for implementation of drama and storytelling for media literacy
-
Presentation of outputs(personal implementation plans)
-
Group reflection, feedback and discussion
-
Dissemination strategy and European dimension
-
Validation of the learning outcomes
-
Evaluation of the course
-
Closing session