Empowering Indonesia Through Digital Storytelling

From May 11-18, 2024, The Global Empowerment Project: English for All in Indonesia brought together 14 passionate undergraduate students from The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) and three dedicated Department of English Language Education colleagues – Dr. Ju Seong Lee, Dr. Tim Taylor, and Dr. April Liu – to participate in a digital storytelling teaching impact project in Indonesia. This initiative combined education, cultural exchange, and community engagement to promote English language learning and empower local communities.

Below are the digital storybooks created by the Education University students:

At the heart of the project was Digital Storytelling as a creative language teaching approach. The undergraduate students worked in teams to create five innovative digital storybooks using Book Creator, a versatile online platform that enabled the team to design learning resources that were aligned to the local curriculum, relevant to the students’ lives, and – above all – engaging and immersive.

The ebooks were crafted to integrate target language elements such as common phrases, sentence structures, and vocabulary, alongside colorful visuals, hand-drawn or AI-generated illustrations, and audio recordings. Additionally, they served as a launching pad to introduce students to the rich and diverse food cultures of Hong Kong, Spain, Myanmar, Nepal, and other regions, blending language learning with cultural exploration.

During their stay in Indonesia, the Education University students had the opportunity to use their Digital Storybook creations to teach local students. The reception was warm and enthusiastic. After teaching them, the students donated their books to three local schools. These resources directly benefited over 2,000 students, who embraced them as enjoyable tools to enhance both English proficiency and cultural awareness. Teachers and students both found the storybooks to be educational and culturally enriching. The integrated activities sparked meaningful conversations and made language learning more fun and memorable. The whole Digital Storytelling experience helped to strengthen students’ language skills as well as helping students and teachers develop a deeper appreciation for global traditions and cuisines.

An important highlight of the project was the partnership with Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) on a community-driven initiative to support a local coffee shop. The Education University team helped the business enhance its global presence by creating video adverting and social media content. The experience allowed team members to demonstrate the power of education and collaboration in driving sustainable community development.

(classroom teaching with digital storybooks)