Digital Curator Training & Tool Box

<< Background >>New technologies and digital communication are transforming societies, lifestyles, and economic value chains. Over recent decades, digital technologies have progressively replaced traditional methods in the production and management of Cultural Heritage (CH)-related data. Today, cultural places utilise digital tools, though rarely designed or managed internally. In fact, the digital transformation of CH faces barriers due to a lack of professionals figures or robust skills. At the project's inception, Cultural and Creative Industries across Europe were severely affected by the Covid-19 crisis, and cultural institutions recognised the importance of leading their digital transformation. The DCbox project addressed the need for updated curricula in digital cultural heritage, particularly the challenge of shaping and promoting the role of the Digital Curator (DC). This role is pivotal for effective digital transformation, as DC enables cultural experiences, knowledge creation, and the use/reuse of cultural heritage. Similar needs were also addressed in the same timeframe by others and the strategic action of DCbox was confirmed by the European Year of Skills in 2023, with its contribution to the green and digital transitions. << Objectives >>The main goal of DCbox was to contribute to the construction of a quite new professional profile in the CH sector, equipped with a recognised, cross-cutting and high-level digital skillset. Dcbox aimed at: a) better defining the professional figure of ‘digital curator’, owning skills to engage a broader audience b) taking advantage by positive effects of digital transformation in CH and tackling negative ones brought by Covid on museum c) creating a network acting as a workspace for mutual learning and active experimentation in digitalisation. The project also dealt with distance learning tools for Higher Education (HE), considering that they have demonstrated a lack of digital robustness, particularly for work-based activities. Given the results obtained during the Dcbox implementation, achieved objectives are: 1) diffused awareness about the digital dimension in the museums 2) better training opportunities and enhanced skills for learners leading to set up, maintain, improve and promote a digital curated collection, embracing micro-credentials approach 3) stable collaborations between different public research institutions and organizations dealing with heritage services to promote the training of highly-s<< Implementation >>DCbox started officially on the 1st of December 2021. The M1 (Dec ’21) was entirely used to finalise all the administrative procedure: request and release of CUP for the Italian partners; early communications and exchanges among partners; signature and submission of the Grant Agreement; preparation of the Partnership Agreement. M2 (Jan ‘22) and M3 (Feb ‘22) were used for pre-emptive meetings among partners (especially between the Lead Partner and those accountable for R1/R2) and for the set-up of all the project management products. The Kick-off Meeting (KoM), originally planned to be held in presence in Ancona, was moved online due to the critical situation related to Covid-19 pandemic as international travels in several countries were still blocked or subject to quarantine. The KoM took place on the 23rd of February via Microsoft Teams. In this occasion, project partners had the chance to: introduce\better know each other; show the roadmap and deadlines; detail results, underline the distribution of tasks, responsibilities, expected goals and impacts; discuss about the management strategy and the relevant products; introduce the communication & dissemination strategy. During the KoM, the DCbox team management structure was also established. One different person in each unit for 3 main tasks in the project implementation was selected: Operations Managers (Steering Committee), Administrators and Communication & Dissemination staff. During the 30 months of the project, the composition of the delegates remained largely consistent; replacements, even temporary ones, were still guaranteed by each partner for all phases of the project, if a staff unit had left the institution or moved on to another task. Management-wise, the appointed Steering Committee (SC) was keep gathering in an average every 2,3 months with online or in presence meetings (3 time the partnership met in presence). At the end of the project, Dcbox partnership held 12 Technical Project Meeting (TPM), in addition to the Learning Teaching Training Activities (LTTA). Those online meetings, adequately recorded for the shape of completeness and for temporary absence of some partner, were used to keep the partnership updated over partner tasks; to provide inputs to the Progress & Financial Reports; to evaluate the quality of products and (if necessary) enact the change control approach; to approve next project stages and enact the conflict procedure in case of high-level risks. As for the activities’ implementation, all the partners started working after the KoM on the preparation of the project results (PR), although some preliminary meetings were organized by LP and UCO and CYI, as responsible of the first 2 results, to get ready to work. Although each PR was coordinated by a single partner with defined task subdivisions for each deliverable, the partnership's collective knowledge and experience ensured smooth project implementation. All partners contributed teachers, researchers, and technicians to complete the 5 PRs over the project's lifetime. Despite a two-month delay and some late activities, the original roadmap was largely followed. In particular, PR1 and PR2 (Digital Curation mapping & designing and the Learning modules) were mainly finalised within the first year and were finetuned thanks to the proficient discussion held during the LTTA. In fact, the partners not only prepared the PR1 expected deliverables but also prepare a whole report for the R1, that serves as white paper for identifying the professional profile of a Digital Curator and to lay the foundations for a theoretical and practice-based framework of creating a training profile for a Digital Curator. Moreover, they worked on the preparation of several contents for the Learning modules design, development and instantiation, that were analysed during the LTTA to verify the compliance with the project goals and their usability in the Learning Management System (LMS). The LTTA was an important moment of exchange and mutual learning, held in December 2022 and hosted by LUSO in Lisbon. The initial goal of this training was to empower every professor and researcher involved in the project to properly exploit the Virtual Education and Co-creation platform (PR3) to be used in the second half of the project for developing and hosting the digital learning experiences and prototypes. This goal was thus upgraded by a collaborative approach among all partners and the LTTA turned out in a design session of the PR3, to ensure a perfect alignment between the technical implementation and the needs of the academic partners and the students piloting the DCbox LMS. In addition, all the functionalities of the PR3 were discussed: the online LMS, the Virtual community Channel, the Co-creation channel and the VR/AR module, considering what was already implemented, what should be done and the priorities for alternative solutions. In this light, the implementation of the PR3 boosted also the outputs from the R1 and R2 and triggered the following PR4 and PR5. In fact, although a document “Virtual educators and co-creation toolbox: Definition of platform requirements” was already prepared, the effort in the PR3 long lasted all the project to obtain the larger impact in the learners by all the functionalities implemented there and ensure sustainability to the Toolbox. Going beyond what was expected in the AF, functionalities are fully depicted in the Handbook (D5.3). Since January 2023, after the uploading of the Learning Modules (PR2) in the PR3 Virtual Toolbox and the fine-tuning/bugs fixing of the LMS; some months were spent by the partnership dealing with the MOOC experience, conceived as the initial step in the learning experience for becoming a DC. The official piloting phase for the MOOC was 8 months (March 2023-October 2023), ensuring an easy commitment of learners in the piloting phase without interferences with their daily tasks. In these months Partners committed in several activities to warrant enrolling motivated and focused students: information sessions and diffusion of marketing/communication materials (flyer, posts in social media, posters in the learning areas of each unit), collaborations and partnerships with courses not initially foreseen, individual follow-up and local bootcamps. The strategy aimed to engage students in parallel activities, such as completing MOOCs while simultaneously initiating the prototyping phase or conducting prototypes alongside traineeships. This approach was designed to sustain interest among learners, teachers, and associated affiliated partners (including museums and cultural institutions), enabling the partnership to meet its target for participant engagement in the DCbox learning experience. For UNIVPM, whose students concluded early the MOOC path, the PR4 (Virtual experience prototypes) covered almost entirely the second year, while the most partners guided students to implement the prototypes after the completion of the MOOC, also extending their effort in the spring 2024. It is also important to underline that several students, not completing the whole path, participated in the DCBox learning experience: since December 2022, the Living Labs were kicked off in a Virtual Bootcamp. A further moment of comparison and collaboration for all the teachers and learners was the Hackathon, held in hybrid way in July 2023 in Ancona (https://univpm.sharepoint.com/:b:/r/sites/DCBoxEproject/Documenti condivisi/General/PROJECT MEETINGS/8. JULY23 MEETING 19TH-20TH/Agenda %26 Logistics/DCbox_Agenda_19th20thJULY23.pdf?csf=1&web=1&e=EY49gu). UNIVPM arranged a hackathon to present the collected results from the VLabs and share good practices, bringing together in blended mode all the students involved by each project HEI and further stakeholders. In the last months of the projects, mainly since October 2023, the project partners worked on the PR5: the tasks subdivisions by the AF were substantially conserved but the main effort of all PPs was deployed in the Handbook, resulting in a comprehensive and complete book, consisting of more than 250 pages, published by an open access publisher (Publica). Additionally, the PR5 pursued the goal of having traineeship in the museums and tutoring from associated partners, also collaborating in the evaluation of the effectiveness of learning experience and quality and success of the outcomes. Besides the proofs of the traineeship, only for reporting purposes and covered by privacy issues, qualitative and quantitative data were included in the handbook as well as in the document Training & Report (D5.1). In November 2023, UNIVPM organized the first Multiplier Event at the local level, while in the last months (April and May 2024) UCO, LUSO, CYP and UNI worked arrange 1 local multiplier event in each respective country in order to put forward the achieved results to the local and national audience and trigger a fruitful discussion on their usefulness and sustainability. The final global multiplier event was instead organised by UNIMED in Rome in May 2024, reaching out to policy-makers and cultural institutions art EU level. This is also testified by the venue: Accademia di Belle Arti (ABA Roma) in Rome, which hosted the event and disseminated it among several stakeholders. The event gave the chance to network and discuss the future of DCbox: see the agenda (https://univpm.sharepoint.com/:b:/r/sites/DCBoxEproject/Documenti condivisi/General/MULTIPLIER EVENTS/FINAL MULTIPLIER/Unfolding Digital Curation_Agenda DEF.pdf?csf=1&web=1&e=ZVlnAu). The patronage of ICOM Italia, the confirmation of links with other Erasmus KA220 companion projects, such as Invisible project (https://www.invisible-eplus.com/), the presence of its representatives and of people working in Fondazione Scuola Patrimonio and DicoLAB, the concrete commitment of ABA Roma as associated partner but also about the launch of the UNIMED Subnetwork about Art studies, bringing together UNIVPM, ABA and UNIMED, testified the impact of the project activities as well as the sustainability of the actions. The day before the Final event, partners gather also for the Final Meeting, useful to review the project plan and making sure that all objectives have been achieved, deliverables produced and activities planned during the inception phase have been correctly implemented; to discuss the quality of all the results produced: evaluate the impact; discussing and approve the reporting documents. << Results >>7 different partners (4 Universities, 1 research centre, 1 academic network, and 1 IT private enterprise) from 5 different EU Mediterranean countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Serbia and Cyprus) joined their forces, created and implemented in the last 30 months the project “DCbox – Digital Curator Training & Tool Box”. The development of the project and the timely obtainment of results was guaranteed by an innovative and collaborative methodology, articulated in deliverables related to the Project Results (PR). PR1 - DC MAPPING & DESIGNING A critical mapping and clustering of recognised skillset \ regulation state of the art across Europe, based on an in-depth analysis and collection of best practices among digital cultural heritage tools and strategies for museums and cultural institutions. Given that the AF did not include a minimum number of best practices and training programs, partners employed two distinct approaches in data collection for the two types of desk analysis: they extensively gathered data on good practices while focusing on a more detailed selection of formal education programs for training. Significant outputs are: Report on Higher-Education Programs (D1.1): providing a comprehensive analysis of Digital Cultural Heritage and Digital Curator programs across partner countries and related regions. It included detailed information such as qualifications awarded, key aspects, curriculum descriptions, learning outcomes, and occupational profiles of graduates. Analysis and collection of DCH best practices and strategies (D1.2): identifying and categorizing 203 best practices in Digital Cultural Heritage, detailing technical specifications useful for clustering them, locations, periods, consortia involved, target groups, and identification (broken down in description; background and objectives); and sources (links, bibliography etc.) Interactive georeferenced map (D1.3): resulting from customized data collection templates that facilitated integration with Geographic Information Systems Preliminary DC Roadmap (D1.4): outlining effective learning pathways for professional profiles working in Digital Cultural Heritage, this roadmap assessed international perspectives, paving the way for certification. The work entailed not only the creation of the 4 planned Deliverables but also their review, collation, and consolidation into a single document titled Report R1, paving the way for the learning experience but also for intercepting the needs of stakeholders and communities to gain advantages by the digital transformation of cultural heritage. PR2 LEARNING MODULES Since the AF, the PR2 envisioned a career-based learning module based on a formal/nonformal education format (e.g. MOOC, virtual and real time lessons, virtual collaborative rooms etc.) for Digital Curator professionals (DCH curricula). Significant outputs are: Methodology for the learning modules and LAB (D2.1): grounded on the analysis of the skills and competencies required in the DCH scenario and following a crucial design phase Digital Curation Curriculum (D2.2): starting from D2.1, a MOOC comprising 8 learning modules across 4 areas was designed and implemented, with a total of 42 video lessons. In addition to traditional online learning modules – which include video lessons, supplementary materials such as booklets, and self-assessment tools like quizzes – the partners designed practical activities related to the theoretical content of each module/area. This work-based component was reserved for students in the piloting phase, allowing learners to apply the concepts learned throughout the course, with support from tutors who reviewed their final outputs. All the didactic materials, learning outcomes and objectives are clearly listed in the D2.2. Content wises the MOOC “Supporting the Digital Transformation of Museums. The DCBox approach” overcome what AF foresaw, although the themes are compliant with the original ones. FIRST Area “Digital Transformation of Cultural Heritage”, is focused on the role of the digital curator, exploring important terms such as Digital Cultural Heritage, and how museums are adapting to the digital age, offering online visits and virtual solutions. The SECOND Area “Advanced 3D Digitization”, explores the process of creating digital twins and 3d reconstructions of heritage to learn about the techniques and tools used to collect, process, optimize and manage data to create 3D models of cultural heritage objects. THIRD Area “Policy and Digital Data Preservation”, focuses on the legal and policy frameworks that exist to protect digital heritage: the European and international standards and the techniques and tools used to catalogue digital files. FOURTH Area “Digital Access: Universal Design and Virtual Experiences” is about communication skills and strategies for disseminating cultural heritage to a broad and diverse audience. Here the students explore website design, XR , and artificial intelligence, and discover how they can be used to promote digital heritage. Learning Modules (D2.3): the teaching materials are released as Open Educational Resources in LMS developed for the project, accessible at https://moodle.dcbox.eu/. Although the online course is open, the modules are given with a consequential order, according to the learning strategy. PR3 VIRTUAL EDUCATION AND CO-CREATION TOOLBOX A virtual space for education, designing, prototyping, rousing creativity and increasing knowledge of students, trainers, mentors and institutions. Significant outputs are as follows: Creation of DCbox Platform: it was created through a public website (based on WordPress) and a Learning Management System (LMS) based on Moodle. This choice, summarised in the D3.1 Definition of Platform requirement, enabled to integrate the D1.4 Digital Curation Map and to incorporate all the Deliverables: D3.2 Virtual community Channel, D3.3. Co-creation Channel and D3.4 VR/AR Module. Management of Learning Groups: within the LMS, DCbox teachers and tutors supported 2 parallel groups of learners, one for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) “official and qualified” students (who were then involved also in the Virtual Living Labs on prototypes and the piloting activities) and another one composed by anyone interested outside the consortium. Only the “official and qualified” HEI students were requested to participate to practical activities during the MOOC and were tutored, while the self-enrolled learner can take the course at their own pace. This can give greater sustainability to the MOOC for self-enrolled learners. Currently, more than 200 users enrolled in the MOOC. Certifications and Open Badges: initially, a certificate of accomplishment was issued through the LMS; subsequently, the DCbox consortium opted to enhance offerings by providing an OPEN BADGE, utilizing Moodle functionalities to serve as an issuer. Development of Virtual Community: an actionable map was created for virtual community development, complemented by a form for proposing best practice PR4 VIRTUAL EXPERIENCES PROTOTYPES Significant outputs are: Prototyping and testing: VE prototypes were co-designed and tested by students through creative living labs focused on 5 different aspects of cultural heritage curation and assessing skills on 5 complementary technologies: Digital Library, Gaming, Immersive experience, Mobile geolocated app and Digital Storytelling. Virtual experiences prototypes were co-created and tested inside the DCbox consortium and also in collaboration with associated partners, producing 17 different prototypes: to appreciate the quality and various functionalities, please refer to the Youtube DCbox playlists (https://www.youtube.com/@dcboxproject/playlists). Living LABs: Each living LAB, led by an academic partner, was able to experiment digital tools for accessing, understanding and sharing cultural contents according to heritage features (architectures, archaeological sites, museums, collections, galleries and so on). The prototypes are key output of the project DCbox and a main feature of the learning path. In fact, on the one side, thanks to MOOC (PR2) the partnership as well as involved students have a solid theoretical knowledge base to build the innovative learning LABs, on the other side, the learning living LABs and the Virtual Prototypes fed the TOOLBOX (PR3), while learning activities hosted inside the platform stress and test its potentials. In this light, additional and co-created prototypes were developed in the VR Module and are browsable https://moodle.dcbox.eu/course/view.php?id=23 ( logging in as guest). In this case 14 Virtual Visit of Ancona’s heritage are boosted by graphical lectures, made by students. PR5 HANDS-ON AND EVALUATION TOOL Significant outputs are: Digital Curator tool-box: in which learning outcomes were tracked and evaluated (via the KPI definition/assessment), also reporting the hands-on experiences carried out during trainees co-tutored by universities and museums. To ensure replicability to the DCbox learning experience, the PPs duly reported all the activities, challenges and lesson learned about the student participation in the MOOC, the prototyping activity carried out during the Living Labs and about the traineeship. In addition, the D5.1 DCbox training & report, also summarizes numbers and feedback by the LMS Self-enrolled learners. In a glimpse the report encompasses feedback by almost 200 learners and tutors, beside 25 teachers and non-academic tutors (directors and museums staff). Handbook: This strong commitment, which successfully generalized the issues, innovations, and achievements within a scientific narrative, also led to the creation of the D5.3 Handbook. It is a 256 pages book with a strong articulation in which the main sections foresaw by the AF were also accompanied by a essay section. It reports an introductory section useful to set the DCBox in a larger frame and also to explain needs analysis and activities, an overview of Digital Curator roles and training programs in Europe, the Platform User Manual with technical details and usage advice; the training Curriculum, its learning objectives and outcomes plus a module synthesis linked to the open-source platform, graphics, pictures and interviews from the training and living lab, results, challenges, and future prospects of DCBox; guidelines and KPIs for learning outcomes. Thus, it incorporates the D5.2 KPI for evaluating learning outcomes / learning performances. The book was also double peer-reviewed by experts external to the partnership and already accepted by an Open Access publisher, PUBLICA Sharing Knowledge, that assigned the ISBN. These results were the outcome of a multifaceted activity plan, whose benefit demonstrated to positively affect not only Universities’ students and staff (teachers, researchers, technicians), who strongly improved their skills and knowledge on digital curation and digital tools for cultural heritage, but also museums and cultural institutions, ICT enterprises, public administrations and other organizations working in the field of culture promotion, as testified by the feedbacks and participation to the multiplier events.