Digital Narrative as an Educational Tool for Cultural Heritage Teaching

Introduction

The importance of teaching cultural heritage at all levels of education is now undeniable and is taken seriously in the planning of educational activities in many countries (López-Fernández et al., 2021; Potocnik, 2020; Goodarzparvari & Camejo, 2018). Emphasis is placed mainly on the student's contact with cultural heritage through the humanities lessons and especially the history lesson. Study heritage among all:

In the context of local history, contact with cultural goods and cultural heritage, tangible and intangible, is pedagogically important, as they are important learning tools for integration and application that make teaching less book-centered and livelier, giving meaning to learning (Mendes, 2009).

An important part of the teaching of local history aims at the student's contact with the folklore tradition and the sources from where the teacher can draw material that she/he will use in the development of the teaching plan. These are places such as folklore museums, folk art galleries, libraries, traditional settlements, etc. Lesson plans and assignments with educational material drawn from those areas are many and constantly increasing (Ferrara et al., 2013; Pinto & Ibañez-Etxeberria, 2018).

However, apart from the lessons that aim at the student's contact with the tangible cultural tradition, a corresponding interest must be given to the intangible cultural tradition. Fairy tales, folk legends and folk songs, still retain their aesthetic and pedagogical value, although they often seem outdated and foreign to the interests of students (Yalçınkaya 2015; Dagnino et al., 2017). In general, narration, which is a basic learning tool from infancy, is more difficult today to maintain its dynamics, under the influence of the image. Even historical narrative, as a key part of teaching history, seems to make it difficult for students. Having identified the problem, more and more often teachers across the spectrum of education are looking for ways of creating lesson plans, which will bring storytelling back to the center of the teaching, in a more modern way, even in lessons that are theoretically based on traditional teaching methods (Ramsey, 2017).

Despite the strong interest in educational plans for local history and the benefits it offers, this difficulty is easily accepted, due to the mentality of modern students and especially adolescents. Students today, being particularly familiar with digital technologies, often find that lessons in local history and tradition do not meet their interests (Akengin & Cendek, 2017). This reality is a challenge that the teacher can face with the help of technology and digital media. One such tool is digital storytelling. In matters of teaching local history with an emphasis on the promotion of folk tradition, tangible and intangible, there are many examples, where digital storytelling is at the heart of the educational process (Conrand, 2013).

Therefore, a need arises to implement teaching plans for the teaching of local history considering several challenges, like the reconnection of students with oral tradition and the fruitful use of technology based on the encouragement of students' initiative, cooperation, and creativity. Most researchers focus on the study of digital storytelling in subjects, like history, suggesting ways to use it didactically (Barsch, 2020; Ganino, 2015). However, there is no comprehensive research in the literature that focuses on the study of changing students' attitudes towards cultural tradition, when the course includes all three axes: intangible and tangible cultural heritage, local history, digital storytelling.