A Design Thinking Process for Digital Storytelling: An Example of Tipi Teachings in Virtual Reality
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Existing research in extended reality for education emphasizes learning outcomes rather than the process for developing their materials. Design thinking, a method in Research through Design, which often generates artefacts and systems, can help address this limitation. As such, this paper presents a process for developing 360° videos based on the six steps of the design thinking process with a new step for planning. The authors also propose a novel approach emphasizing co-creation and Indigenous Research Values throughout the process, showing respect, and minimizing misinterpretations, appropriations, and weak translations that often result from recording stories. Presented through an example titled ‘Tipi Teachings’, a digital story rooted in Indigenous Knowledge of Engineering, the authors demonstrate how design thinking and co-creation can be applied to digital storytelling, proposing a procedure which aims to provide guidance to future researchers utilizing digital storytelling, minimizing trial and error, and providing an opportunity for researchers to share and document lessons learned. While the proposed process was created within a Canadian Indigenous research context, and centers Indigenous storybasket values, these values require researchers to listen to and build relationships with the community, incorporating their core values, regardless of whether they directly align with the storybasket values, adjusting the process to their specific context. The decolonial design process aligned with design thinking also considers decolonization globally, rather than locally.
Source: Virtual Worlds
Authors: Naomi Paul, Angela Pincivero, Shi Cao
Institution: University of Waterloo
Language: English
Subfield: Speech and Hearing
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,207
OpenAlex ID: W7127276583