Transmedia Indiana is a Ball State University immersive learning initiative project created by Assistant Professor of Journalism Brad King and Journalism Graphics Sequence Coordinator Jennifer Palilonis. Transmedia Indiana placed students in project-based classes where they worked in partnership with professors to build practical learning experiences. Throughout the course, 30 students worked to create a 45,000-word interactive story similar to the The Da Vinci Code. Using Indiana’s rich history as a backdrop, readers experienced a story created for tablet computers that combined podcasts, video, picture slideshows, sound effects and websites.

Readers had the opportunity to interact with several websites that detailed the actual history of Indiana, the historic town of New Harmony, the Working Men’s Institute and the Golden Troupe. In April, the entire project culminated at the Indiana State Museum, where the group has a 1,500-square foot display that showcases the fictional story, the factual history of Indiana and the project.

I worked with the audio-visual team to create and record voice-overs and audio files to be embedded in a tablet-based eBook. We recorded 17 pod-casts as two different seasons of a fictional radio show  (called “Insider’s Hour”) starring myself as “Hans Knight”. I, as well as 12 other voice actors, helped create a total of 50 audio files, totaling 75 minutes.

Click ‘Series 1’ to hear the first season of the pod-cast, “Insider’s Hour.”

Click ‘Series 2’ to hear the second and final season of the pod-cast, “Insider’s Hour.”