Culturally-Informed Digital Storytelling as a Digital Pedagogy for Multimodal Literacy: A Case Study in Upper Secondary Education

This study examines the use of culturally-informed digital storytelling as a form of digital pedagogy to support the development of multimodal literacy in upper secondary education. In contemporary learning environments, students are increasingly required to communicate meaning through the coordinated use of text, visuals, audio, and audiovisual elements. Adopting a qualitative case study design, the research was conducted with Grade 12 students who participated in a collaborative digital storytelling project within Indonesian language instruction. The learning process was organised through successive phases of narrative planning, multimedia production, and collective viewing accompanied by reflective discussion. Data were generated from classroom observations, analysis of student-produced digital artefacts, and semi-structured interviews with both students and teachers. The findings suggest that engaging learners in the creation of culturally grounded digital narratives contributes to the development of multimodal communication skills, supports cultural identity and meaning-making, and fosters student motivation and collaborative engagement. The study further highlights the pedagogical value of reflection and shared audience interaction within digital storytelling practices. Overall, the findings contribute to digital education research by illustrating how culturally responsive and reflective digital pedagogy can meaningfully support multimodal literacy development in upper secondary school contexts, particularly within Global South educational settings.