Curriculum Design for Digital Cultural Innovation: Competency-Based Project Learning with Google Earth and Temple Video Creation

This study presents a curriculum design for digital cultural innovation, focusing on competency-based project learning that integrates Google Earth with temple legend video creation. The curriculum aligns with Taiwan’s 12-Year Basic Education Curriculum Guidelines, emphasizing the development of students' "core competencies" by shifting from traditional knowledge transmission to practical skill-building in real-life contexts. Through project learning theories such as constructivism and cooperative learning, the course enhances students' abilities to analyze, synthesize, and solve problems in real-world settings. This learning model combines Taiwan’s rich religious folklore and cultural history with digital tools, enabling students to create temple legend videos and use Google Earth to map geographical locations. The combination of digital media and cultural content not only deepens students' understanding of local history and religious traditions but also cultivates their digital literacy, storytelling abilities, and collaborative skills. Through this interdisciplinary learning, students explore the connections between religious folklore and its representation in everyday life. Student feedback indicates that the course significantly improved their digital skills, deepened their understanding of Taiwanese culture, and fostered collaboration and creativity. The use of Google Earth added an immersive experience to learning, making geographic and cultural knowledge more accessible and engaging. The project also provided students with valuable experience in video production, digital storytelling, and cultural research, preparing them to face future challenges in the digital age.