Time travel as a method takes the local history of a place as its starting point in order to discuss contemporary issues. Often arranged in the form of a role-play or dramatization of a historical event with a pre-written scenario which includes alternative endings, participants are invited to actively participate and thereafter reflect on contemporary issues. During Covid-19, museums that have worked for many years with time travel methods, roleplaying games and other pedagogical programs targeting school children, have started to consider whether the method can be packaged into a digital service or product. In this project, heritage institutions accustomed to time travel methods and roleplaying games will experimentally develop digital variants. The project also aims at using digital solutions in order to transform the usually exclusively local time travel into a transnational experience. The target groups are 1) school children partaking in the activities developed, 2) the teachers with which we collaborate in the development process, and 3) other museums and schools throughout Europe who can learn and be inspired by our partnership and its results. The core project group consists of six project partners from Sweden, Finland and Estonia, including museums, a heritage research and development centre, a children culture network, and a school. The project also has associate partners from Swedish and Finnish universities with expert knowledge in digital didactics and heritage learning. The development of the digital methods will be done in close co-operation with teachers and students in the respective countries. Our first objective is to explore existing digital platforms in order to see what advantages and disadvantages the different tools have for time travel methodology and other pedagogical programs at museums. We will examine what new opportunities arise with digital solutions and how they can take time travel or other educational programs at museums, to the next level. We are particularly interested in creating a transnational time travel event. This demands developing tailor made programs suitable for digital tools, as well as pilot testing and evaluating them in collaboration with schools. Our second objective is to reach an overview of the needs and experience level within the sector. In order to do so we will carry out a broad survey within the museum sector in the countries involved about the needs for digital solutions in pedagogical programs aimed at school children, focusing on what challenges have been identified and what innovative solutions are already in use. The answers to the survey will be complemented with qualitative interviews with a selection of key individuals. The report based on this survey will also be of use for other museums in Europe developing digital pedagogical tools. Our third objective is to develop a context-dependent handbook and toolkit which will lead to greater knowledge within the sector as to how to develop digital methods for pedagogical programs. It will also include best cases that can serve as an inspiration, and incorporate all the lessons learned within the project. The handbook will be spread online and we will also share our experiences in multiplier events in Sweden, Finland and Estonia. In summary, the expected results are new and advanced pedagogical programs incorporating digital tools including a transnational time travel, as well as knowledge production in the form of reports, a scientific publication and a handbook/toolkit for museum professionals and teachers. The expected impact to the target group of school children will be improved pedagogical programs using digital means to enhance the experience, which will stimulate co-creation and creativity among the participants. This will have a positive impact upon the children’s creativity, intercultural understanding and awareness of historical processes. The use of digital means will also increase the students’ digital competences. As digital means will make it easier for a broader segment of society to participate without traveling long distances, it will make such pedagogical programs available for schools far away from museums. The expected impacts for teachers are an increased capacity to carry out pedagogical and sustainable programs together with museums and/or other heritage organisations, and a larger awareness of the value of these programs for the school children. The expected impact for other museums and schools is that these kinds of pioneering pedagogical programs will serve as an inspiration when developing new activities. As a result, we will have produced advanced pedagogical programs that we will continue to use and develop, which will have a long-term impact upon how we use time travel, roleplaying and other pedagogical programs in the future. We also see this project as a possibility to deepen our cooperation in order to develop the time travel method in the future.
The project partners wanted to experiment, develop, pilot and evaluate a series of digital tools for stimulating co-creation and active participation connected to Time Travels and roleplay in an heritage education context. With the help of digital tools we wanted to explore new ways to meet school children during and after the pandemic. An important aspect was to connect school children from the different partner countries in a joint Transnational Time Travel, where many of the developed methods and lessons learned during the project were applied. We wanted to increase the knowledge among school children on each other's pasts, presents and futures, to emphasize European connections. We also aimed to reach teachers with our activities, to make teachers better equipped to collaborate with heritage institutions. Finally, we aimed to spread the insights that we have acquired on digital pedagogy broadly within the museum sector. Therefore, we produced a book published Open Access, where we use all the lessons learned to help inform others in the museum sector, including a survey, interviews and a research overview carried out within the project. Thus, we achieved an overview of the needs and experience level within the sector.
The main reason for applying for this project was that all partners had a hard or even impossible time to reach out to our target groups during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Although some tools for heritage institutions, such as guided tours and lectures, were quite easy to adapt in the digital format, the partners in the project had a long history of working with more physical learning methods such as role playing and drama. In these kinds of methods the physical and emotional experience are of essence, aspects of learning that we found harder to translate with digital tools. The aim in this project was to get the possibility to explore and pilot new learning opportunities where Time Travels and roleplay in heritage learning could be adapted to the restrictions that the pandemic put on society. We wanted to use new digital tools that became more common in the museum sector due to the Covid19 restrictions, and apply them in a more innovative way for enhanced learning, inclusion and participation.