Educational transmedia: bodies, mediations, and learning

Abstract

The migration to a virtual mode of the Basic Design Studio of the School of Architecture, Design, and Urbanism of the National University of the Littoral, in Santa Fe, Argentina, motivated by the mandatory COVID-19 pandemic quarantine, established a collective challenge in which new means and relationships were tested among educational actors, re-signifying learning and teaching practices. In this article, we propose a critical glance at the processes developed at the Studio during the first quarter of 2020, which promoted multiple forms of expression and communication, typical of our hybrid culture. The interface-space of the didactic dispositive has articulated the links between the various dimensions of an augmented context, enabling the transit of subjects, representations, and discourses for the unfolding of a transmedia narrative strategy. A convergent grammar provided integration of different languages and platforms that carried out several content contributions and offered alternative experiences. A multitude of words, actions, and productions actualized the presence of a mediated, polyphonic, and dialogical body that was configured in an ambiance of trust and affectivity. Such development favored multidirectional exchanges and the active participation of students and professors in the collaborative construction of knowledge. We reflect on the discoveries, limits, and prospects of an academic experience as rich as unexpected.