Academic literacy becomes more meaningful and purposeful when embedded contextually in a discipline as opposed to being presented as a loose-standing intervention Storytelling and gamification to make learning fun and meaningful within the discipline of public relations Academic literacy becomes more meaningful and purposeful when embedded contextually in a discipline as opposed to being presented as a loose-standing intervention (Gunn et al., 2011; Boughey & McKenna, 2016) Using storytelling to capture students’ attention in an accessible manner, a relatable multi-media story of a public relations intern told. Students are introduced to the story of Lerato. She faces the trials and tribulations of the public relations workplace for the first time. Students help her write a proposal for a glamorous fashion week opening night. Students also help Lerato learn more about brainstorming, mind mapping, and free writing. These skills are applied to writing a draft proposal for a fashion show under the tutor’s guidance. The problem-based story of Lerato comprises scaffolded micro-learning episodes alongside game-based learning incentives such as a leaderboard and bonus points, making learning a fun adventure in a learning community. As such, gamification stimulates socially motivated learning and is an effective engagement approach (Whitton & Langan, 2019; Hunsinger, 2021). Another fun, gamebased design element is the presence of an animated virtual study buddy, Lwazi, who reads online text out loud to students while they navigate the learning application. A digital Humanities and Open Education resource for the public good Widening access to the game for the public good is made possible by registering the academic literacy platform as an Open Education Resource under a Creative Commons license. This enables anyone around the globe to re-use elements of the game. Having completed a Digital Humanities Open Education Resource project alongside 25 projects from other local universities, the project team members are certified as Digital Humanities Champions. Acknowledgement of generous funding This project is made possible with funding received from the University Teaching Innovation Fund. In addition, funding was also received from the Digital Humanities Open Education Resource project. Interdisciplinary expertise of the project team A multi-disciplinary project team brings together a mix of expertise across the university to enhance the success thereof while also widening the areas where the project may be replicated or expanded. The team comprises Professor Corne Meintjes, Vice-Dean: Teaching and Learning; Professor Maritha Pritchard, Strategic Communication; Dr Graham Dampier, Head III Academic Development Centre; Dr Hemali Joshi, Director, CAT; Dr Arno Louw, Senior Specialist (Instructional Design), CAT; and Mr Roberto Mabada, Strategic Communication. Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century | Showcasing UJ Teaching Innovation Projects 2024 66
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