Alejandra is a third-year PhD student from Mexico. Her research focuses on a transdisciplinary approach to soil health, integrating ecological and sociological knowledge. She was motivated to undertake the micro-credential because one aspect of her PhD project involves creating a digital platform on soil health to facilitate knowledge exchange. She wanted to learn more about digital storytelling, develop new communication skills and explore how storytelling could be used to share the stories of soil and the people who work with it. Ultimately, her goal was to use digital storytelling to support the outputs of her PhD research.
Skill development with practical application
Alejandra spoke candidly about the online micro-credential and the valuable skills she developed throughout the course.
Reflecting on her experience, she said she “enjoyed the module because Jenny was a brilliant guide and teacher”.
Speaking about the online learning environment, Alejandra explained that the course gave participants the time and space to develop the stories they wanted to tell. She added:
“I learned patience from her mode of teaching, and I gained a valuable skill in learning how to use the WeVideo platform. I also very much enjoyed sharing the process with my classmates and hearing their stories.”
When considering how the skills apply to her PhD, Alejandra explained that she created a three-minute digital story exploring the different routes she took to reach her fieldwork locations. She described how much she enjoyed writing the story, collecting photographs and sounds, and assembling the final piece. Using her own photographs alongside sounds from a BBC repository, the project became a valuable starting point for developing ideas that will later form part of her PhD’s digital platform.
“Helped me to articulate my experiences”
For Alejandra, one unexpected outcome of the micro-credential was the personal impact it had.
“On a personal level, it helped me to articulate in words, images and sounds some of the most exciting experiences during my PhD so far, which is the preparation for doing fieldwork.”
She continued:
“I wasn’t expecting to be inspired to create other personal narratives, but it is something that I would like to explore after completing the micro-credential.”
Looking ahead, Alejandra plans to apply the techniques she learned throughout the course to her future work. Reflecting on Dr Jenny O’Connor’s teaching, she said:
“She inspired the group and combined knowledge with allowing time for us to learn, finish and share our projects, offering calm and brilliant guidance.”
Offering encouragement to future participants, Alejandra said:
“I would highly recommend taking the Digital Storytelling micro-credential. It is a great experience to learn how to develop an idea, write, assemble different elements and complete a wonderful project by the end of the course.”
She concluded:
“I thank Jenny and all my classmates who collaborated to create a very creative, safe and nourishing environment for the micro-credential.”
Digital Storytelling is now accepting applications, with the next intake closing on 27 August. Click here to apply.
