Addressing training Needs

The Coaching Circles provided a lot of insights about interests, fears, intents and past experiences of teachers engaged to the project. A score of potential OERs have also been indicated to be made available to colleagues.

The following main training needs emerged from the conversations:

• Learning to use digital technologies to interest and actively involve students in the study of history and cultural heritage, also through gamification techniques;

• Discovering new ideas, new sources of inspiration and new methods to implement digital projects in the cultural heritage sector. Many examples have emerged during coaching circles and can be used to generate OERs;

• Keeping up to date on the new opportunities offered by digital technologies for the cultural heritage sector;

• Being able to identify "just in time" technologies and digital resources that are simple to use in their projects;

• Acquiring basic knowledge on augmented and virtual reality technologies to be able to guide students' choices;

• Developing the soft skills necessary to accompany and not to guide students;

• Clarifing and sharing at the outset what is meant by "common European values".

The generative dialogues of the coaching circle also confirm a risk already highlighted in the original Italian editions of the competition: the tendency of teachers to focus their attention on the local cultural heritage. This is not a bad thing in itself, but it risks jeopardizing the project goal of increasing students' awareness of the profoundly cross-cultural nature of European reality.