International Center University of Florida

This VE project will be a collaboration between undergraduate students at Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia, and Masters students at University of Florida. The course will join over a period of approximately six weeks in which students will build upon their shooting and editing skills and expand their theoretical foundations in the practice of storytelling in both fiction and non-fiction genres. Students will examine video storytelling across multiple media platforms, genres and cultures, as well as produce a short video and provide team-based peer-to-peer feedback. Using a constructivist approach, the collaborative modules are designed to allow students to find and create their own meaning in an asynchronous format requiring communication, analysis, and video production. Assignments will primarily be submitted in a shared Canvas module; however, students will have opportunities within each module to use the technology and platform of their choice to communicate and collaborate. Students will develop stories based on the topics addressed by GEF (Global Environmental Facility). We are seeking three specific objectives proposing this framework: an environmental awareness among students, a self-consciousness about the relevance of telling stories under this perspective and, last but not least, a cultural exchange based on different visions towards environmental challenges.

Click the image below to view videos of the faculty and students’ reflections on this virtual exchange experience as well as final projects completed in Spring 2022.

• Identify cultural and technical characteristics of video storytelling across cultures and genres 
• Understand interrelationships between media work, cultural contexts and audiences
• Develop cultural self-awareness and demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively with people from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds
• Increase technical and online communication skills with students of different cultures and languages
• Understand global perspectives on environmental issues and impact storytelling