“Culture Heritage and Gamification in Education” is related to the utilization of cultural heritage in education, by integrating the strategy of gamification in the modern school. As technology influences and is influenced by culture, and in this context, dialogue between them is more relevant and imperative than ever. The integration of this strategy is dictated by both pedagogical and socio-economic reasons, which stem from the influence of science and technology in the modern world. The digitization of cultural heritage and its integration into various subjects in school should go with an integrated approach to cultural heritage that, instead of isolating it from everyday life, encourages interaction between it and civil society.
The term Gamification refers to the use or integration of mechanisms or features of electronic games in activities that are not exclusively related to the game. The technique that initially appeared in the business world gradually made its appearance in education as well. It is a process that uses techniques and methods that we encounter in games in order to increase the participation and commitment of learning subjects towards the learning process that is evolving.
According to research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology entitled “Moving learning games forward” (Klopfer, Osterweil, & Salen, 2009) which examines the principles of gaming and how they can be applied in education, the dynamics of games in Education stems from their impact in three areas: cognitive, emotional and social. The elements that make up the concept of Gamification are the plot, the reward, the status, the community, and the challenge. Taking into account the need to create a balanced relationship between heritage and economic and technological development, and the need to implement awareness-raising, education and training activities of the school community, our project aims to contribute to the awareness of cultural heritage through modern strategies and tools that promote the digital skills of tomorrow’s citizens. The project aims to bring together educators, members of organizations and young people in order to highlight a best practice that will be used in the field of education and to train participants in new methods and digital skills. It will take place transnationally, as partnerships can enable organizations to identify and collaborate with target groups, gain expertise and access to additional and complementary resources, and deliver high quality results.
This proposal highlights the positive effects of heritage investment in many areas of development and public policy, including social cohesion and the information society (eg through the digitization of collections or gamification). The above will be achieved through the creation and dissemination of digital version and digital application for mobile phones and tablets with integrated cultural heritage sites (objects, sites, ancient theaters, virtual tours) and educational activities in the form of play. The application will be utilized through a pilot implementation in the school community in various subjects and in non-formal education.
During the pilot implementation, there will be support for teachers and members of youth organizations in the methodology of utilization of cultural heritage in education through the gamification strategy. Participants will become familiar with the social content of learning and will act as multipliers in their schools and organizations.
Project activities include: online cooperation, two short-term Learning Teaching Training Activities, and three multiplier events for the two intellectual products. The target group is: a) about 60 teachers of Secondary Education from the participating schools who with voluntary participation will be trained and will pilot the tool / digital application that will promote the integration of cultural heritage in the teaching process through various subjects and strategy of gamification b) 60 young people, members of organizations.