MyStory: Digital Storytelling Toolbox for Diversity Training in Schools Erasmus Project

Project Title

MyStory: Digital Storytelling Toolbox for Diversity Training in Schools

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Migrants’ issues; Integration of refugees; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

The MYSTY Project provided a means for teachers to share and embed innovative teaching practice to enhance awareness of cultural diversity. At the same time it increased pupils’ cultural awareness and expression and enhanced their social and civic competence. MYSTY also supported teacher and pupil digital competence.

MYSTY involved the collection, editing and uploading of digital stories to the MYSTY Digital Storytelling Toolbox website. These stories focussed on ‘food’, ‘family’ and ‘festival’ and acted as a platform for diversity awareness and digital upskilling. Teachers were trained in the use of digital media for storytelling and pupils conducted and led on their collection and editing. The MYSTY Project was driven by the principle that innovative teaching resources form part of broader pedagogic strategies that can actively help tackle issues of diversity. It facilitated actions that addressed issues of diversity common across the EU as highlighted in the Paris Declaration, 2015. The importance of enhancing social, civic and intercultural competences, critical thinking and media literacy as well as fostering the education of disadvantaged children and young people were at the heart of the Paris Declaration and MYSTY’s aim and objectives were closely aligned with many of the recommendations made in the declaration. With a network of teachers, media and education academics, and technicians, the main objective was to create an online resource called the MYSTY Digital Storytelling Toolbox. In order to achieve this overall objective, there were three sub-objectives:

Obj1: Develop Curriculum Integration Methodologies to support school use of the Toolbox
Obj2: Create a Pupil Guide for Digital Storytelling to facilitate the creation of digital stories
Obj3: Produce a Collection of Themed Digital Stories for use in school and community settings

MYSTY sought to bring the participating organisations together to develop and share practice, in order to produce resources that other schools can use. This enabled teachers across the EU to develop a shared understanding of the key issues, which help them in their practice. The Consortium consisted of eight Partners, bringing together a balanced mix of high education institutions, schools and NGOs from the UK, Austria, Hungary and Italy. All had expertise in the development of skills for teachers with the aim of creating intercultural and digital learning for pupils in European schools. Coming from different national experiences of migration they made a varied and committed Consortium.The methodology was based on a balanced collaborative approach with different Partners taking responsibility for and leading on different outputs and activities to maximise each Partners’ individual expertise as well as reinforcing the shared EU added value principle. MYSTY had three key impacts:

1) Participants (pupils and teachers) were encouraged to reappraise their attitude towards minority groups within their peer group. It enabled them to reassess prejudice, re-calibrate their views and attitudes towards minority groups and re-educate them in diversity matters.

2) Teachers embraced new/ digital media technologies and pupils realised the educational potential for technologies associated primarily for leisure, so affording a connection for effective and fun learning.
3) MYSTY enabled minority groups to share and spread their migration experience to other communities, groups, schools and civic organisations.

The long term potential of MYSTY is assured by the Partners’ commitment to maintain the MYSTY website for a three year period subsequent to the official Project end date. Maintenance/ technical support will be the responsibility of UOG. As other schools and organisations will be encouraged to use and add to the MYSTY Digital Storytelling Toolbox the resource should be continuously updated with new digital stories.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 223093,12 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE LBG & Country: UK

Project Partners

• Istituto Magistrale Statale “Regina Margherita”
• Rogers Személyközpontú Oktatásért Alapítvány
• BG Georgigasse (Graz International Bilingual School)
• UNIVERSITAET GRAZ
• St Edward’s School
• Baross Gábor Általános Iskola Tanulóiért Alapítvány
• CENTRO PER LO SVILUPPO CREATIVO DANILO DOLCI