VIA WWW.BULB-WEB.NL, school students in the Dune and Flowerbulb Region (Duin- en Bollenstreek) can explore and uncover the past, present and future of their region. The site offers them a treasure trove of information that is presented in maps, informative articles, animations, games, photos, film fragments and tasks. BULB is a cross-disciplinary website that can be utilized within the fields of geography, history and social studies, as well as for CKV (arts and culture-related subjects). The website was developed for a commission from the Erfgoedhuis Zuid-Holland (Heritage Centre for South Holland).
The website’s educational content is
based on the material and immaterial discoveries, facts, ideas and designs
that arose during the Geest en Grond (‘Soul and Soil’)
project or its follow-up. This material was structured and rewritten for
BULB, and includes short texts, photos, film fragments, drawings and animations.
The aim of the website is to make students aware of their own region’s
history and show them that they can actually do something with it in the
future.
The way in which they have to gather the information changes their outlook
on the region and they learn to see things that they previously did not
notice. That enables them to establish connections between aspects that
they might not so readily associate with one another. It therefore increases
their understanding of the region
The website comprises a search screen and a scoreboard. The search screen
presents maps from different layers in time, with which it is possible
to collate information about the region. The scoreboard is a matrix consisting
of seven ambitions (spatial demands) and six phenomena (qualities or characteristics)
that are decisive for the region. Each ambition is composed of items that
are paired with questions about a particular topic. These items and questions
can be found on the maps in the search screen. Answering these questions
scores the user points that are tracked on the scoreboard. When the user
has scored enough points, the significance of an ambition for the future
is elaborated in a project description, game and assignment.
The website’s structure makes it possible to cover one ambition
per lesson. The students can tackle an ambition independently and thereby
amass information about the relevant ambition. Once all the requisite
items have been found and sufficient points have been accumulated, the
student gains access to a box on the scoreboard. Here there is a project
description, a game or a task for which they must employ the found information
in a practical situation. The task can also be used as the basis for course
work or a project.
BULB is aimed at students in secondary education, from both lower and
upper forms, and for ability levels ranging from VMBO (pre-higher vocational
education) to VWO (pre-university education).