1,720,983 research outputs found
The Use of Serious Games as an Educational and Dissemination Tool for Archaeological Heritage
No full textIn the last decades, digital technologies have pervaded every aspect of the production of archaeological knowledge and they have been massively used to communicate the past. This contribution analyses the potential and benefits of serious games as they appear a promising tool for engaging the users in active learning of cultural contents, for attracting new audiences and promoting knowledge and awareness around archaeological heritage. Moreover, the need for multidisciplinary collaborations between archaeologists and developers and the necessity of assessment studies on learning levels to implement their effectiveness will be highlighted
10 years of ‘archaeogaming’: an Italian perspective
No full textArchaeogaming is a term coined in 2013 by Andrew Reinhard. It emerged from a grassroots movement in digital archaeology aimed at exploring the use of gaming technologies for studying the past and archaeological representation through video games’ narrative and interactive potential. This research explores the reception of archaeogaming theory in Italy over the 2013-2023, stressing the positive impact of public archaeology in addressing academic misconceptions towards gaming. The shift in perspective led to more projects mixing archaeology and video games and an organic collaboration between academic archaeology and other disciplines. Although archaeogaming is a new area of research in Italy, some trends have already emerged. These reveal both successful elements and missed opportunities. Acknowledging both aspects seems crucial to calibrate future projects on original archaeogaming theory, including co-creating, exploring, and promoting knowledge in the digital space
Gestire la geografia della complessità, dai dati alle storie: il progetto ‘percorsi biografici’ tra archeologia pubblica e rigenerazione urbana
Get PDFPercorsi BioGrafici is a project conducted by the Archaeological Department of the University of Siena in collaboration with the Municipality of Monforte San Giorgio (Messina, Italy). The project examines Monforte through time, starting from an intensive survey of the modern town and the mapping of all the building units. The method relies on a contextual approach, the use of modern technology (a GIS and a wiki platform) to register the data, and a community-based archaeological practice to foster social and economic sustainability and shared knowledge. The whole dataset was gathered in a non-invasive manner, combined with archive material, oral sources and the works of local historians. The resulting set of fresh information was circulated both through city tours and by artistic and urban regeneration projects, developed together with artists and architects. Using open source software (QGIS and Mediawiki) and a free storytelling platform (izi.TRAVEL) has allowed the local administration and community to take part in the research process
Gamifying Cultural Heritage. Education, Tourism Development, and Territory Promotion
No full textIn recent years, communication and digital technologies have widely affected the cultural heritage sector, offering incredible opportunities to enhance the experiential value of heritage assets and improve cultural activities. Furthermore, another trend has gained significant attention: increasing users’ engagement
through gamification. Several studies have shown the efficacy of gamification for learning achievements, and gaming is also emerging as a useful tool for touristic objectives such as marketing, dynamic engagement with users, and audience development. This chapter aims at presenting two Italian game projects for mobile devices, created to enhance and promote the cultural offer of two peculiar territories. Game design choices, objectives, and outcomes will be discussed to highlight the benefits and limits of these
tools and point out the changing practices of cultural institutions and local administrations, which are showing an increasing interest in the exploitation of video games, considering them as strategic marketing tools to promote cultural heritage and tourism
What if “Lara Croft” Becomes a Video Game Designer? When Archaeologists “Dig” Serious Games
No full textOver the last decades, video games have become a pervasive part of society. Today they represent one of the biggest sectors in the entertainment industry and their market share continues to increase. Archaeological content has been often used as a triggering subject but archaeologically inspired interactive entertainment titles are often an outlet for some of the worst kinds of pseudo-archaeological ideas (e.g. Tomb Raider series). Given the significant numbers of the video gaming industry, an evident fascination with the past by designers and consumers of games, and a marked risk of archaeology misconception, I suggest archaeologists should engage more with this medium and especially in SGs becoming the domain experts who select the educational contents and provide scientific validity and reliability. The paper focuses on the Italian experience in the last years where archaeological SGs are finally getting more academic recognition and underlines the positive effects of this approach in terms of educational goals for both kids and adults, widespread accurate knowledge for a wider and more diversified public, and eventually touristic outcomes. These are all aspects that the most recent and significant European conventions and documents concerning cultural heritage sustainable development stressed. Archaeological sites and museums can be greatly benefited by the use of SGs as much as archaeologists: as active agents in this process, they can inject a measure of ethical archaeology in the game industry and reach groups of people that, traditionally, have been relatively untouched by previous public education and outreach
Gioco e storydoing: strumenti didattici per l’insegnamento della storia nella scuola primaria
No full textToday’s children, the so-called digital natives, live in a time when technology affects not only habits but also ways of learning. Schools do not always manage to keep up with the pace and, above all, for subjects such as History, whose content is often abstract and far removed from everyday life, this can be a major obstacle. Using game and storydoing practices can be an effective support to teaching and a useful expedient to involve children in learning. In this article, we present two different experiences that are based on this type of approach: a gamification laboratory and an educational video game (serious game). In both cases, interest in History is stimulated by game and identification; in doing so, children are transformed from passive storekeepers of knowledge into active players in the intellectual adventure of learning.I bambini di oggi, i cosiddetti nativi digitali, vivono in un’epoca in cui la tecnologia e la moltitudine di stimoli esterni a cui sono sottoposti condizionano non solo le abitudini, ma anche il modo di apprendere. Risulta quindi sempre più difficile coinvolgerli nelle attività didattiche, soprattutto in relazione a materie come la Storia, i cui contenuti sono spesso astratti e lontani dalla quotidianità che vivono. Utilizzare le pratiche proprie del gioco e dello storydoing può essere un sostegno efficace alla didattica e un espediente utile per coinvolgere i bambini nell’apprendimento. In questo articolo presentiamo due diverse esperienze che si basano su questo tipo di approccio: un laboratorio di gamification e un videogioco educativo (serious game). In entrambi i casi l’interesse per la Storia viene stimolato mediante il gioco e l’immedesimazione; così facendo i bambini si trasformano da immagazzinatori passivi di nozioni in protagonisti attivi dell’avventura intellettuale dell’apprendimento
Percorsi bioGrafici: un progetto di archeologia pubblica del contemporaneo a Monforte San Giorgio (ME)
No full textPercorsi bioGrafici is a Public Archaeology project carried out jointly by the Municipality of Monforte San Giorgio and the Department of History and Cultural Heritage of the University of Siena, and aimed to an archaeological assessment of the historical complexity of an “average” small town in contemporary Sicily. The project is intended to understand – and above all to make the local heritage community understand – when, how and why this small town of Sicily, like many others in Southern Italy and in the Mediterranean, has assumed its current conformation. Starting from this basis, specific activities were designed and implemented with the cooperation of the local community: a) participatory archaeology activities, involving schools, cultural associations and individual citizens; b) realization of thematic routes, usable also through mobile phone apps; c) re-qualification of specific elements of the urban fabric; d) regeneration of the relationship between men and things in the urban space, with the aim of inducing virtuous behaviors and best practices of respect and protection of one’s living space and relationship
Uomini e cose a Vignale: bilancio di un decennio di archeologia pubblica, condivisa e (forse) sostenibile
No full textUomini e Cose a Vignale (Peoples and Things at Vignale) is a community archaeology project based in the territory of Riotorto, a rural neighbourhood of the Municipality of Piombino, in Tuscany. Since 2004, the University of Siena carried out the excavation of a Roman villa and mansio and established deep connections with the surrounding area. Thanks to the direct involvement of local stakeholders – intended both as members of the resident community (i.e. schools, cultural associations, companies and laypeople) and of bystanders (i.e. tourists) – the project developed specific traits that may be considered innovative, especially in terms of economic management largely based on crowdfunding and crowdsourcing strategies. Introducing some of these traits and presenting a recent evaluation of the project, the aim of this paper is to critically address the social, intellectual and economic sustainability of Uomini e Cose a Vignale over time
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