This article1 presents a reflection about the way in which recent advances in pedagogy and technology could be harnessed to increase the access to Cultural Heritage. This would happen by using it as a resource for mobile learning in seemingly unrelated areas, such as economics, engineering, science and languages. The 'long-tail effect' of such contextualized content driven social interactions would foster contact with and interest in primary sources, which may represent the entry point into the Cultural Heritage Cycle for some or a turning point for others.
The CH Cycle was proposed by Thurley [
This author goes on to claim that CH is currently reduced to the “cognitive assessment of conceptual thoughts assigned to past creative expressions” (p.767), which leads to the present gradual loss of connectivity with the original creators and a potential loss of inspirational vitality for future generations. He calls for a deeper understanding of CH as a recognition of the human desire for an escape from ‘everyday troubles’ and towards existential security. As such, he argues that CH represents crafted expressions of collective sorrow and hope. Such creativity moves beyond the surface level of human reactive responsiveness to life’s issues toward its intrinsic value, namely its uniqueness and immense potential. The knowledge and appreciation of such creativity is inherently empathic and can lead to a proactive engagement with it.
Therefore, it can be argued that a way to engage the new
generations with CH is by complementing attempts to
establish an implicit recognition and appreciation of the
aesthetic and significance of primary sources. A broader
identification with CH could facilitate reflection into the
very nature of human existence, struggle and survival, an
element that bonds previous, current and possibly future
generations. The question can therefore be asked: how
might the methodological and technological advances in
learning play a role in this process?
DIGITAL LIVING AND LEARNING
The way we interact with information and culture, and
relate to other people has changed significantly over the
past decade. The democratization of mobile technology and
the move away from desktop computers as the only way to
be online has transformed such interaction both
quantitatively and qualitatively. There is abundant data to
support the use and impact of these technologies. Evans [
Research is already being undertaken on how to apply the
potential that mobile technology has for topics within the
field of CH. For example, Kali et al. [
The proposal here would be to broaden the spectrum of types of interaction possible with the domain of CH to include a ‘bottom up’ layer of distributed pedagogic collaboration that would bring together people interested in developing other competences than those directly related to CH. The primary sources could be used for different types of learning, related to knowledge and competences in fields such as languages, science, economics, law, and engineering. A key part of such learning would be its collaborative component, where social networks and media would harness the interaction between students and with other related groups. For example, tools such as Twitter can be used to move questions, discussions, and reflections beyond a given student’s peer group and enable related domain experts and CH professionals to share their expertise in an open and unrestricted fashion. The results of such interaction would represent a valuable addition to the student’s work and would awaken or enhance his/her interest in CH.
There are many different educational theories about the way
in which online resources and social interaction can
potentiate learning (e.g., [
The direct results of this learning could take the form of Open Educational Resources (henceforth, OER) generated by students, improved and extended within open learning communities, which would remain online as additional complementary resources that can be linked to the actual artefacts. These would indirectly widen the audiences that come into contact with them. If, for instance, exercises are undertaken that focus on economical aspects of particular art works, then future students searching for examples of given economic theories might encounter these resources and, as a result of interacting with them, enter into or engage with the CH Cycle.
Furthermore, while searching for OER related to other disciplines, both the students who generate these resources and those who encounter them online subsequently, the broader educational context considered (e.g., the language being used by the creators or the socio-political context in which a given artefact was developed) could enable the students to reflect upon the original artists/architects. Such a process might help students recognise shared underlying values and uncover a sense of continuity of the past with the present (and future). If, for example, as part of engineering studies, the students understand part of a fabrication process, then they may begin to value the artisans’ work and thereby become concerned for how the given item can be cared for and preserved.
Some examples of this process can be considered to illustrate how this might work in practice, although research is still needed to refine these ideas. One example could be the development of second language competences. One or more primary sources related to the notion of families available online in museums could be selected from a given historical period. The goal of the learning activity would be to engage in some collaborative writing, in the language being studied, on the role and structure of the family in the given historical period and how those people would consider modern family dynamics.
Initially, the students could reflect on the task and the representations of the artefacts provided individually and begin to share notes collectively online. The activity description would also contain links to social networks where these types of objects are discussed and relevant hashtags that can be used by the students to ask questions on Twitter. As the students begin to develop their ideas, they would, thanks to the action and interaction on the social networks, also come into contact with people who are able to provide information and help on the subject. Subsequently, a search for other online resources that add to the understanding of the initial learning questions and the sub-questions that have arisen can be undertaken. As the work is being developed, an important part of the reflection process needs to enable the students to relate their lives and times to those behind the artefacts. It is conjectured by the authors that it is this process of historical empathy and identification that may sew the seeds of interest, because the primary sources will be seen in a new light, and thereby foster an entry point for the students into the CH Cycle. The results of the learning activity should remain available online as an OER for future language students to encounter, since arguably it may have the same effect on them. A more specific example might be a learning activity for economics students on business models present in the geographic communities along The Saint James Way as it passes across the north of Spain. The Way represents an important source of income for many small businesses in the area, so a collaborative study could be proposed on what business models have arisen there and how they can be harnessed to increase new jobs and revenue. Once again, the activity description can include links to Web sites (for example, 3,4) and hashtags on Twitter (for example, #CaminodeSantiago), and the students can begin to interact with the people who actually live/work there to ask relevant questions about their first-hand experience. As the work progresses, its results will be shared publically but will hopefully have specific relevance for the people from the area who have helped and volunteered information. Once again, a key part of this type of collaboration, from the CH Cycle perspective, is that the students begin to establish an ‘emotional rapport’ with these people, The Way, the communities in which they reside and their cultural context. Hence, a new genuine interest may begin to appear in the students which increases the likelihood that they will enter into the CH Cycle. 3http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres/rutas/grandes-rutas/caminosantiago/ 4http://www.re-create.pl/kursen/entrepreneurship.html A final example could be a learning activity for engineering students on the Roman occupation of the Iberian Peninsula and the way they built aqueducts, bridges, dams and reservoirs. A collaborative study could be undertaken on the technology, materials and techniques used at the time for these projects, focussing specifically on the question of why these Roman structures have lasted so long. The learning materials would contain links to relevant documentation, Web sites (for example, 5,6) and hashtags on Twitter (for example, #Roman #Engineering) that the students could use to gather information and make contact with relevant experts/interested people and organisations. If the study were undertaken online via the social networks, it might attract the attention of others who become interested and can share information. Once again, if the engineering students undertaking the work can begin to identify with the Roman engineers who undertook the projects, then they might be more inclined to remain interested in the artefacts and their agents once the project finishes.
However, a question remains to be answered, once the three examples above are considered: even if certain students begin to be more interested in the primary sources that they have studied, how can they actually become more proactively involved with them? Once again, this is a matter for further research. However, initial work suggests that they need to be provided with “what to do next” steps, “how to find out more”, “how to get involved”, etc., that represent a gradual pathway to establish a sociocultural connection with these primary sources and the context in which they once existed. Something that needs to be developed as part of future work would be a taxonomy that could map the conceptual space of involvement that exists for different type of CH so that this process could be undertaken systematically.
CONCLUSION In this article some early ideas have been laid out regarding the way in which new pedagogical and technological approaches to learning can be used to include CH primary sources within seemingly unrelated learning scenarios in order to enter into or engage with the CH Cycle. The potential for open online interaction and the long tail effect can greatly outweigh anything that could be achieved in face-to-face classrooms using standard teaching devices. This approach needs to be further explored but may provide a way to harness CH. However, as part of the learning process which students may embark upon because they need the relevant knowledge and skill set (language learning, economics, etc.), they could come into contact with CH, that may, in turn, open a window in their minds 5http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/a13 395/roman-concrete-how-it-lasted-2000-years17535354/?src=spr_FBPAGE&spr_id=1457_122448082 6http://blog.browntechnical.org/2014/01/did-you-know-that-someroman-roads.html and enable them to start to gain understanding, value, care, and enjoyment of the primary sources within CH. The ideas presented here represent very early work in this multidisciplinary research to continue. Collaboration with experts in different areas of CH will be of great value to the successful progress of this work.