Articles by Angelo Chianese

The main goal of the DATABENC project is to make the cultural heritage of the Campania Region available to a wider audience. This project aims at creating and promoting new economic, social and cultural opportunities, which can positively influence each other and enable further developments. DATABENC is based on the use of the most advanced ICT solutions and its main goal is to create real innovation in the Cultural Heritage field: the most important objective is to develop an infrastructure with a strong, well defined, territorial and cultural connotation which can generate well targeted measures. After introducing the project’s aims, the paper illustrates its operational program and intervention models: in particular, its application scenario (Cultural Heritage domain), and its scientific framework (Internet of Things). Finally, a preliminary application (OPS Cricket) will be presented.

This paper examines some methodological issues related to the implementation of open approaches in teaching cultural heritage computing and archaeological informatics. The main results of experiments conducted at the Neapolitan Universities of Federico II and L’Orientale are presented, aimed at improving the overall quality of the learning experience by didactical innovation with an attempt at identifying and defining the main features, critical aspects and best practices for further case studies. The research on cultural heritage e-learning strategies, presented by the authors in the previous ArcheoFOSS workshops, lead inter alia to the proposal of a e-learning SCORM module for Archaeological Informatics didactics, a MUVE 3D model for the communication of an archaeological stratification, a whole Master Course on Multimedia Environments for Cultural Heritage in Blended Learning, and to the proposal and prototypal implementation of cultural heritage distributed and federated interdisciplinary repositories. Lifelong learning literature shows that students need to have the possibility of personalizing their learning experiences and to integrate highly specialized contents with basic skills supports. Starting from this methodological background, a shared construction of teaching materials about basic open source informatics skills was tested, as a new step in the federated repository modular construction. Methodological aspects of the processes implemented and preliminary results of the e-learning materials trial are outlined in the perspective of further research and investigation.

Virtual Archaeology in Blended Learning. Experiments, methodologies and tools at the “Federico II” University of Naples. The rapid transformation of knowledge systems has changed methodologies and educational processes in a fast, continuous and substantial way. Among the various solutions, methodologies and technologies referred to by the term “e-learning”, this article focuses on experiments in “Blended Learning” in which lessons are integrated by online interaction. In particular, our experiment involved the preparation of a SCORM course of “Information Technology and Archaeology”, created using the IDEA (Instructional Designer Applications) software for Learning Objects, written, and implemented through the “Federico II” Campus platform, according to the paradigms of Computer Supported Collaborative Learn¬ing. Restructuring Virtual Archaeology didactical topics as Learning Objects led us to reflect deeply on the contents to convey and on their new organization, which had to be modular, combinable and granular in order to ensure the best re-usability in various educational contexts and the possibility to be customized according to the characteristics of students. The test covered different levels of classes (three-year degree, two-year degree, laboratory) for three academic years (2005/6-2007/2008). The number of students was limited to between ten and twenty per class in order to improve and control interaction and active participation by students. This paper describes and offers for discussion the main results of the experiment that was conducted, results of which were very encouraging in terms of: educational performance, construction of thematic e-communities, methodological innovation, preparation of re-mixable and re-usable didactical contents, testing of software/methodology IDEA available for free downloading and able to encourage and support dissemination of new teaching methods in archaeology, supporting and facilitating authors in the multimedia production workflow.