Black Digital Storytelling Students Showcase Final Projects Through Frame VR

On Dec. 2, 2025, students from Black Digital Storytelling (AAST 3353) showcased their final projects for the semester at the World Languages and Digital Humanities Studio. The course is taught by Chy'Na Nellon, assistant director of learning innovation and assessment and doctoral candidate in comparative literature and cultural studies. 

Black Digital Storytelling is an interdisciplinary, project-based course that brings together digital humanities, storytelling and digital design to explore Black histories, cultures and lived experiences through contemporary media. Students engage in critical frameworks from Black Studies and DH while developing hands-on technical skills that translate directly into professional contexts. 

Over the course of 16 weeks, students created two original digital stories, a podcast episode and a short film, using accessible yet industry-relevant platforms including Canva, Riverside.ai, FrameVR.io and mobile devices. The course centers on experimentation, iteration and collaborative learning while emphasizing process over perfection. 

Black Digital Storytelling is intentionally designed to bridge theory and practice, allowing students to critically analyze how Black narratives circulate in digital spaces while actively producing their own multimodal work. In doing so, students gain not only technical proficiency but also the language to articulate their skills in resumes, cover letters and interviews. 

Community building is central to the course. Through peer workshops, collaborative projects and shared critiques, students develop social networking, communication and team-based problem-solving skills that mirror real-world creative and professional environments. 

Student projects were composed of their selected digital storytelling assignments they had created during the semester they felt best represented what they had learned. Showcase attendees visited different stations where individual students discussed their chosen digital project, including why they had been selected for their final project. Students then guided attendees through their Frame VR spaces on web browsers and with VR headsets.  

"I created this course to get students to overcome common fears around creation in tech, as well as try a variety of different digital projects in a limited amount of time," Nellon said. "Students are always impressed by what they can achieve. They shock themselves, then I ask them, 'Now what if you pushed a little harder? This is amazing!' I want them to understand that there is no growth cap. Let's win!" 

On Jan. 29, Nellon will be leading a workshop on Frame VR at the World Languages and Digital Humanities Studio at 2 p.m. All interested U of A faculty, staff and students are welcome to attend. To learn more about this workshop, please reach out to the World Languages and Digital Humanities Studio at wldhs@uark.edu.