Golem, from prague to cyberspace: the use of cscl in cultural education for diasporas

In this paper we describe and theorize about a computer-supported and mediated educational research project which encourages cultural production and sustainability. We first describe the CD-Golem project which was developed in light of the perceived needs of a Diaspora community's attempts to impart its youth with a sense of belonging and continuity. Next we characterize Cultural Education and discuss the theoretical rationale of our approach in the context of current theories of identity and cultural construction, multicultural education and computer-supported collaborative learning. We conclude by reviewing briefly and evaluating critically some of the lessons we have learned in our first years of activity.