Transferring Analogue Teaching to Digital Delivery: Blended Learning Across an International Network for Socio-cultural Sustainability

Abstract

Sustainability of cultural heritage is pivotal for any society to transfer the wisdom, knowledge, customs, and traditions to the next generation. In most countries oral tradition including folk tales, folk songs and ballads appear to fade away due to the advancement of technology and shift of interest, thus creating a void in the values and one’s own heritage to pass down to the future generations. Folklore of a community preserves the oral traditions of yesteryears giving insights into linguistic and cultural aspects. This paper presents the results of a hybrid mode adopted virtually and onsite on a typological study of folktales of more than 20 countries across the world on analogue and digital teaching approaches. The project commenced virtually and concluded in hybrid mode after a period of intensive research from May to September 2022 aimed to focus on socio-cultural sustainability, tracing back to the oral traditions that made a society adhere to different norms and traditions. The significance of folk tales as cultural heritage, their common and unique features across cultures and how awareness could be created for the next generations through a blended approach were highlighted during outcomes of the study.