Introduction of Digital Storytelling in Preschool Education: a Case Study from Croatia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1344/der.2016.30.94-105Keywords:
Digital Storytelling in Mathematics, Preschool Education, ICT-supported Learning, Formal EducationAbstract
Our case study from Croatia showed the benefits of digital storytelling in a preschool as a basis for the formal ICT education. The statistical analysis revealed significant differences between children aged 6 – 7 who learned mathematics by traditional storytelling compared to those learning through digital storytelling. The experimental group that used digital storytelling showed significant improvement in their abilities to solve computational and mathematical problems, which suggests that this method was age-appropriate and versatile. Also, the observations of educators from both the experimental and the control group showed that children were more motivated by digital storytelling, succeeding to complete all stories with an incredible amount of engagement and enthusiasm. These findings indicate that interactive multimedia storytelling, compared to the traditional one, can be used as an effective tool for improving child’s mathematical and computer literacy skills in the preschool context in which ICT is being introduced for the first time.
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