In this paper, we propose an approach to group and community digital storytelling based on the following pillars: (a) extensive periods dedicated to group forming; facilitating meaningful interactions and members synergies through organized group work activities, (b) cultivating an appreciative and inclusive culture that takes advantage of the individual differences, and (c) a process-oriented practice, informed by systems thinking, that listen to the individuals’ voices and needs as well as to the group-as-a-whole process. In this context, digital storytelling could help people and communities to re-author themselves in more empowering, meaningful, and life-promoting ways. In the first part of this work, we discuss the theoretical underpinnings of our approach, we describe the details of a first pilot offering, and we provide an initial narrative evaluation by the participants. In the second part, we engage in an evocative duoethnography of our practice to provide a narrative, performative, in-context, and dense description of our lived experience as designers and facilitators, and as human beings that we actively participated in the unfolding of our program. Implications for the transformative power of duoethnography are discussed.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has surpassed humans in a number of specialised intellectual activities—chess and Go being two of many examples. Amongst the many potential consequences of such a development, I focus on how we can utilise cutting edge AI to promote human learning. The purpose of this article is to explore how a specialised AI can be utilised in a manner that promotes human growth by acting as a tutor to our champions. A framework for using AI as a tutor of human champions based on Vygotsky’s theory of human learning is here presented. It is based on a philosophical analysis of AI capabilities, key aspects of Vygotsky’s theory of human learning, and existing research on intelligent tutoring systems. The main method employed is the theoretical development of a generalised framework for AI powered expert learning systems, using chess and Go as examples. In addition to this, data from public interviews with top professionals in the games of chess and Go are used to examine the feasibility and realism of using AI in such a manner. Basing the analysis on Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory of development, I explain how AI operates in the zone of proximal development of our champions and how even non-educational AI systems can perform certain scaffolding functions. I then argue that AI combined with basic modules from intelligent tutoring systems could perform even more scaffolding functions, but that the most interesting constellation right now is scaffolding by a group consisting of AI in combination with human peers and instructors.

The study investigates the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mobility decisions of international and domestic (Danish) students in Denmark employing a phenomonology research design. The study revealed that some of the study participants’ mobility decisions and future employment prospects were largely impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even those who had their internships abroad confirmed, uncertainties abound whether it will be done remotely or physically. Also, the switching from physical to online classes makes students-students and students-lectures interaction and relationship very challenging resulting in some cases, poor academic performance, loneliness, depression, and mental health problems. Besides, we discovered some positive endorsements towards the Danish government’s handling of the pandemic. Finally, the study proposed for a complete opening of the higher educational institutions and libraries in Denmark for physical teaching and learning to occur, with adherence to the safety protocols.

Friendship is a common and essential social relationship in daily life. Various works of literature have described friendship including how it is experienced in various contexts, yet limited studies have focused on the neighborhood context. This study aimed to investigate the relevance of neighborhood friendship and the characteristics of friendship that make it still relevant, especially in Indonesia. This study was conducted in two phases: 1) an online survey with an open-ended questionnaire and 2) in-depth interviews. A total of 222 participants completed the questionnaire and among those, 15 participants were interviewed to further understand the relevance of neighborhood friendship based on the emerging themes from the open-ended responses. This study found that neighborhood friendship is still relevant despite physical distance. Those relevancies are perceived in the three main characteristics of friendship: support, closeness, and history of relations. This study also found that the essence of friendship is not only discussed in a romantic view which highlights intimacy and closeness, but also in an instrumental view. However, support as an instrumental process may indicate the expressions of closeness, especially in close friendships. Furthermore, this study also suggests that although proximity characterized by physical interaction is crucial in the formation and maintenance of neighborhood friendship, physical distance and social mobility did not dissolve the relationship, due to the history of relations. In the neighborhood context, the history of relations bond people to a certain place and the social relationship formed in that particular place, stimulating certain feelings of belonging which encourage the maintenance of neighborhood friendship.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42087-022-00283-w.

The aim of this study was to examine how the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic affected the communality among university personnel and students. Herein, we report the findings from a northern Finnish university in which student (mean number of participants, n = 339) and staff (mean number of participants, n = 133) perceptions and experiences were surveyed. The data (gathered between March 2020 and June 2021 in 7 surveys) included responses to questions about satisfaction with remote and hybrid work and communality. In addition, as the focus of the analysis in this research, we collected the participants’ descriptions of their experiences and thoughts through open-ended questions. The sense of communality among the students, students and teachers, and staff differed, but the appreciation for flexible interactions and availability was similar between the groups. This study discusses the importance of retaining a sense of communality during and after abnormal times on the basis of the reported findings.