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How can we discover the culture found in our local cemeteries?
How are students motivated to know more about history of their own city? In Spain, students visited an ancient cemetery in their city. They have investigated which people are buried there and what these people meant for the city. They found information on the internet and learners also talked to descendants and members of the community. All obtained information has been incorporated into an app that the learners have developed. The app acts as a mobile guide for cemetery visitors. It shows not only written information, but also short videos. Under the supervision of teachers, students set out to produce ad-hoc artwork and artistic performances for every point of the itinerary. Getting to know the lives and achievements of a diverse mix of local artists including playwrights, poets, architects, sculptors inspired students to create a raft of dance improvisations, videos, visual poems, audio productions and artwork further enriching the itinerary experience.
The app is available in English and Spanish. Learners presented their app to the local authorities, but also to Dutch teachers, and it is now being used by tourists visiting the city’s cemetery. This app gives tourists more information about the history of the city. This assignment shows how learning about languages, history and ICT can be combined in a fun and instructive way for students.
Learning objectives
An interesting topic (funerary art, symbols), learning scenario (cemetery) and strong external stakeholder involvement (local authorities, experts) are key features to increase the relevance of projects for students. Symbols offered both so it was a fantastic opportunity not to be missed.
- Test new methods to strengthen knowledge about cultural heritage and bring it closer to new audiences (Youth)
- Develop cultural and creative works (mobility of information and products).
- Explore the potential of cemeteries as new learning scenarios.
- Develop transversal competences (eg. Digital competence, collaborative problem solving)
Available partnership opportunities
Here are some partnership opportunities you should consider in your development:
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Local Government |
To ask them for further information about the cemetery |
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Local Organisations |
They can know non-official data from the cemetery |
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Neighbors and families |
Ask for further information about the cemetery and share the results with the classmates |
RRI principles
One of the key aspects of OSOS is the inclusion of RRI — Responsible Research and Innovation — principles (more information at RRI-Tools.eu). This is how this Accelerator fits into the RRI model:
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Governance |
Different stakeholders can share responsability with students to know more about the cemetery. Students can be in permanent contact with them during the whole project. I.e.: students will be in permanent contact with stakeholders, like local administration, scientists, politicians or history associations to know their experience and knowledge about the cemetery; on the other hand, students will be able to get back to stakeholders to inform them about the progress of their research. |
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Public Engagement |
Families and neighbours will be contacted by students, in order to know deeper about some graves and the history of the cemetery. Their experience and knowledge about the people buried in the cemetery will be included to the project. I.e.: although the public administration may have official information about the cemetery, students will contact families and neighbors to learn about their knowledge and expertise, including their feedback it in the project results. |
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Gender equality |
A cemetery is a diverse place where we can find graves of men and women. Students could study the cementery from a gender perspective and also interview men and women about it to know their different points of view. I.e.: students will look for both male and female graves, and interview both men and women in the city. |
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Science Education |
Science is addressed in this project with a transdisciplinary approach, including concepts from technology/ICT, mathematics, geography or history, among others. I.e.: students could use ICT-based mapping tools to point out a summary of their work, and other technologies (like content platforms or mobile apps) to disseminate the final results of their project. |
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Ethics |
Students should align their research to the social values of Science while identifying the best sources to get new information and sharing responsibility with them. They will interview neighbours and families and reflect their conclusions with all stakeholders involved in the project. I.e.: the research conducted by students will be disseminated to all stakeholders involved in the project, including families and neighbours to whom students will reflect their conclusions. Students can debate about data privacy, study the legislation regarding this issue or discuss the ethical impact of their work. |
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Open Access |
Several tools could be used to disseminate the conclusions of students' work, like public weblogs, mobile apps or newspaper articles. All these materials should be free to use by any person interested in the topic. I.e.: students can develop their own blog for the project, where they can share their resources, materials and progress publicly. |
Recommended resources
Resources needed (human and material):
- Transportation to the cemetery
- Internet to look for information and/or disseminate the findings (for instance through a blog)
- Smartphone or cameras should help getting new resources to complement the findings.
- A free platform that allows you to create your own mobile guides
- Video/Sound editing software
- Experts (eg. Local historian, cemetery guides, descendants)
Organization in charge of this Accelerator
This Accelerator has been developed by Ivan Diego Rodríguez from VALNALÓN (Ciudad Industrial del Valle del Nalón S.A.U.), whose aim is to design and develop a strategy to regenerate, promote and boost of businesses in the Nalón Basin in Langreo, Asturias (Spain).
Ivan Diego Rodriguez, [email protected]
VALNALÓN
Ciudad Industrial del Valle del Nalón S.A.U. C/ Hornos Altos s/n, 33930 Langreo, Asturias (Spain)
Phone: +34 985 692 227
http://www.valnalon.com/
Students age group: 12 - 15, 15 - 18
Subject domain: ICT, Technology
# of students participating: 0
Updated on: 17.06.2018
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