The effectiveness of digital storytelling in the classrooms: a comprehensive study

In recent years the use of new technologies in educational systems has increased worldwide as digital cameras, personal computers, scanners, and easy-to-use software have become available to educators to harness the digital world. The impact of new technologies in educational contexts has been mostly positive as new technologies have given educators the opportunity to enhance their knowledge, skills, and therefore enhance the standard of education. Researchers have found that student engagement, achievement and motivation are enhanced through integration of such technologies. However, education systems still face many challenges: one of these challenges is how to enhance student engagement to provide better educational outcomes. It has become increasingly important to use innovative pedagogical models to engage learners. Digital storytelling is one of the innovative pedagogical approaches that can engage students in deep and meaningful learning. This research project aimed to create a constructivist learning environment with digital storytelling. The research investigated the pedagogical aspects of digital storytelling and the impact of digital storytelling on student learning when teachers and students use digital stories. A multi-site case study was conducted in one Australian school at primary and secondary levels. In selected classrooms, students and teachers had the opportunity to engage in innovative learning experiences based on digital storytelling. In order to enhance the reliability and validity of the research, multiple methods of data collection and analysis were used. Data was collected with qualitative and quantitative methods. An evaluation rubric was used to collect quantitative data, while interviews and observation were used to collect qualitative data. Data collection was guided by a mixed methods research design in order to evaluate if and how digital storytelling enhances teaching and learning outcomes. The findings from this study suggest that digital storytelling is a powerful tool to integrate instructional messages with learning activities to create more engaging and exciting learning environments. It is a meaningful approach for creating a constructivist learning environment based on novel principles of teaching and learning. Thus, this approach has the potential to enhance student engagement and provide better educational outcomes for learners

The books in motion. Home book collections conducted from the anthropological perspective

Praca stanowi efekt refleksji nad zjawiskiem domowych biblioteczek w perspektywie antropologicznej i podejmuje próbę ich opisu oraz interpretacji w ramach teorii pamięci, semiotyki i antropologii rzeczy. Jednym z jej zamierzeń było sprawdzenie w jakim stopniu sytuuje się ono w obrębie takiego działania jak kolekcjonowanie, kojarzonego z definicjami powstałymi na gruncie historii, muzealnictwa czy historii sztuki. Natomiast głównym celem pracy jest odtworzenie wieloaspektowego spojrzenia na zbieranie książek wyłaniającego się z narracji rozmówców. Dwoma najważniejszymi wątkami rozważań są z jednej strony relacje tworzone za pomocą książki z samym sobą oraz z innymi ludźmi, z drugiej zaś uczestniczenie tej aktywności w procesie kształtowania i wyrażania tożsamości.Domowa biblioteczka w wyobrażeniach rozmówców łączy w sobie jej materialne i niematerialne aspekty. Książka może być równocześnie przedmiotem fizycznym, przedmiotem biograficznym, pamiątką po bliskiej osobie czy użytecznym narzędziem w pracy. Poprzez uwzględnienie jej pośrednictwa w różnego rodzaju relacjach między ludźmi, a także jej nietrwałości i potencjalnych możliwości utraty, z materiału empirycznego wyłania się dynamiczny obraz znaczeń nadawanych książce i domowej biblioteczce.The thesis is an outcome of the reflection over the phenomenon of home book collections conducted from the anthropological perspective. The author attempts to draw depiction and interpretation of this phenomenon in the framework of theory of memory, semiotics and anthropology of things.One of the premise of the research was to investigate the extent of its appearance in the field of collecting, an activity associated with definitions risen on the grounds of history, museum studies or history of art. However the main purpose for undertaking the research was the recreation of the multifaceted perception of book collecting that emerge from the interlocutors' narratives. Two major strands of the thesis are related to the issue of building intra- and interpersonal relations with the help of the book, as well as to the occurrence of this activity in the process of shaping and expressing one's own identity.The interlocutors' notions of the home book collections combine its material and non-material aspects. A book may be at the same time a physical subject, a biographical one, a souvenir from close ones, or an efficient working tool. The author considers a book's mediative function in various interpersonal relations as well as its transitory nature and loss potential. The empirical material reveals dynamic picture of meanings subscribed to the books and the home book collections

Ethnography of the city space : meanings of the sacred and heritage related to Grodzka Street in Kraków

This paper analyses and interprets field work material collected during ethnographic research on various understandings of heritage and the sacred associated with Grodzka Street in Kraków. The research was designed as part of the preparation for the exhibition "Maps of the city : Heritages and the sacred within Kraków's cityscape". This exhibition was organized by the HERILIGION project team and opened to public in 2017. The author reveals some ethnographic background of the exhibition drawing on anthropological exploration of a particular street. Grodzka Street, located in the heart of the Old Town in Kraków, is part of a UNESCO heritage site - a space loaded with various nationally and locally shaped understandings of heritage. Using selected examples of the street's sacred sites and tourist attractions, as well as narratives collected among Kraków's inhabitants, the author presents the city space as a multivocal palimpsest

Maps of the city : heritages and the sacred within Kraków's cityscape

Gdzie znajduje się dziś krakowskie sacrum? Czym może być miejskie genius loci? Jakie przybiera oblicza? Co w praktyce oznacza słowo „dziedzictwo” i czy związanie konkretnego miejsca z wyobrażeniem dziedzictwa przydaje mu sakralności? Czy z kolei religijne sacrum, kiedy jest łączone ze znanym zabytkiem, banalizuje się i zmienia w kolejną wartą zobaczenia atrakcję? Co wydarza się w przestrzeniach uznawanych za równocześnie święte i „odziedziczone”? Co do miasta wnoszą, ale i co mu zabierają przybysze i turyści? Gdzie w Krakowie sytuują się współcześni i historyczni mieszkańcy? Te i inne pytania były przedmiotem badań autorów książki. Tytułowe „mapy miasta” nawiązują do antropologicznych teorii przestrzeni, wskazując, że przestrzeń tworzona jest przede wszystkim poprzez interakcje z ludźmi. Publikacja stanowi opowieść o Krakowie i różnych ludzkich mapach oplatających dzisiejsze miasto i tworzących jego rozmaite warstwy. Książka nawiązuje do wystawy, która była prezentowana w Muzeum Etnograficznym w Krakowie od listopada 2017 do lutego 2018 r. Projekt powstał w ramach międzynarodowego Konsorcjum HERILIGION (The Heritagization of Religion and the Sacralization of Heritage in Contemporary Europe) http://heriligion.eu/ w obrębie programu HERA (Humanities in the European Research Area) Uses of the Past i jest finansowany przez sieć HERA, NCN, AHRC, FCT, DASTI, NWO oraz Komisję Europejską w programie Horyzont 2020 na podstawie umowy nr 649307.Where is the sacred located in Kraków today? What could be the city’s genius loci? What forms does it take? What does the word “heritage” mean in practice, and does linking a particular place to a vision of heritage make it sacred? Conversely, if the sacred is associated with a well-known monument, is it necessarily trivialised and turned into yet another sightseeing attraction? What happens in spaces which are considered both sacred and “inherited”? What do visitors and tourists bring to the city, but also what do they subtract from it? Where in the city can its modern and historical inhabitants be found? These and other questions were researched by the authors of this book. The eponymous “maps of the city” relate to anthropological theories of space, pointing that a space is primarily created through its interactions with people. The publication presents a story about Kraków and its various human maps, entwining the city and forming its various layers. The book draws on the exhibition that was presented at the Ethnographic Museum in Kraków between November 2017 and February 2018. The project is part of the international research consortium HERILIGION (The Heritagization of Religion and the Sacralization of Heritage in Contemporary Europe) http://heriligion.eu/ within the HERA (Humanities in the European Research Area) program Uses of the Past (2016–2019). This project is financially supported by the HERA, NCN, AHRC, FCT, DASTI, NWO. The project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 649307