Seedlings and culture tables: Telling essential stories through new technologies for teaching and learning

San José State University's MPH program has had a cultural competency course for over 30 years. Initially developed by students and drawing from a sentient approach to teaching and learning, the course has several signature features that have remained central and treasured since its 1990 debut. One is a set of short stories written by all class members, collected into a book, printed and then given back to the class, called Seedlings. This low-tech, high-intensity assignment has become a rite of passage as MPH students write and then share stories of celebrations that reflect their cultures, the cultural contexts within which they learned about health, and times when they have felt different. Another core element is the Culture Table – a table-top gathering of artifacts that represent each student's cultural background, presented each week by individual students and then combined for a collective culture table at the end of the semester. Similarly low-tech in original design, the culture tables provide a deep and personal view of the lived experience of culture to complement a serious and critical set of reading and writing assignments. Stimulated first by our online program and then the explosion of technology-enabled teaching tools, these core assignments have been transformed for the 21st century -– stretching the senses, broadening their reach, and deepening critical reflection and praxis among students and a broader group of participants. This presentation will demonstrate what is possible when timeless stories are told through emerging technologies, and the profound impact on student learning.