Storytelling has been used as a powerful methodology to design learning
activities. By producing their own stories, students learn while developing
artifacts, which can be shared with other peer learners generating a rich
collaborative learning environment based on constructivism. Digital media and
especially hypermedia have been successfully used to support storytelling in
learning contexts since it eases the collaborative authoring process and allows
for the creation of stories with parallel threads and multiple versions,
supporting various viewpoints of the same story. Inspired by the context of
learning the cultural heritage of the Armenian cross-stones or Khachkars, we
developed a tool in which students can create their own hyper-stories to
discuss their different aspects. The tool reflects the inherent attachment of
the Khachkars to a geographical location by offering a map on which learners
can present the location of the stones. We conducted a preliminary test for
answers to our research objectives on the effectiveness of a tool that raises
the interest and knowledge of the users in cultural heritage objects, which are
located in open-air settings. We also address the tool's usability when using a
mobile interface. The results indicate that there is a slight increase in the
interest and knowledge of users in objects associated with cultural and
historical heritage. The usability of the tool over mobile interfaces was
acceptable, although it is necessary to improve certain functionalities.