Transmedia Learning: A Paradigm for Transcending Stand-Alone Training and Education.

Twenty-first Century demands on training and education will extend the use of educational technology beyond current approaches and require that we move beyond stand-alone solutions toward more complete, memorable, and enduring learning experiences. One way to facilitate more memorable learning is to incorporate storytelling. While storytelling is a common component within stand-alone educational technology, there is also a need for a storytelling methodology that connects unique, stand-alone learning experiences with each other so that they become scalable, integral elements of one’s learning journey over time. The present paper introduces a new paradigm in training and education called transmedia learning and describes its application in several ways that are important to the I/ITSEC community. Transmedia learning is the scalable system of messages that represent a core experience that unfolds from the use of multiple media and emotionally engages learners by involving them personally in the story (Raybourn, 2012a,b; 2013). First, transmedia learning is defined and differentiated from how transmedia is used by the marketing and entertainment industry. Second, transmedia learning is presented in the context of scalable, cross-platform military training and education as described by the requirements of the Army Learning Model (ALM). Third, technologies for unobtrusive learner modeling, and methodologies for developing and tracking integrated, unified transmedia learning experiences are introduced. The present paper, the first in a series that will introduce the nascent research area of transmedia learning, provides strategies that can be used today to transcend stand-alone training and education to meet the demands of the next generation.