Using new media arts to enable project-based learning in technological education

Summarization: New Media Arts offer opportunities to establish an inclusive educational framework that enables teachers to design and implement project-based learning scenarios where students can engage in deep learning through the preparation, production and refinement of digital artworks resulting in the creation of animated digital stories. The paper presents a combination of New Media Arts with traditional media via eShadow, a dramatized digital storytelling platform inspired by the rich tradition of shadow theatre that enables game-like interventions combining several digital tools for the production of digital stories covering all five phases of filmmaking: scenario development, pre-production, production, post-production and distribution. eShadow can be used (a) to create digital shadow puppets, and (b) to set up, perform and record the scenes of the digital story (production phase). This way, digital story creation is wrapped around interesting game-like decisions, playful improvisations and creative learning. Using eShadow, an intensive project-based learning intervention was undertaken at the Professional Lyceum of Eleftherios Venizelos in Chania for the students of the specialization in 'Systems, Applications and Networks' of the Informatics sector where several courses related to the technical background of New Media Arts production are taught: Multimedia Applications, Graphical Programming, Structured Programming and Principles of Digital Technologies.Presented on