ILIAS culture: content and information management process.

But what exactly are we talking about?

E-LEARNING PLATFORM AND ONLINE TRAINING.

For us, the ILIAS Cultura project represents a shining example of how a learning management system like ILIAS can be adapted and enhanced to meet the specific needs of the cultural world. The project was born in collaboration with the University of Trento, and specifically with the Design and Research Lab (DR Lab), led by Professor Renato Troncon.

The underlying idea was simple yet ambitious: to build a tool that would allow museums to use ILIAS not only for internal training but also as a platform for narrating and promoting their cultural content. From the outset, the project focused on two areas of intervention: improving the user experience (UX) for content consumption and simplifying content creation by museum staff.

A NEW WAY TO EXPERIENCE CONTENT: VIDEO PLAYER AND H5P

One of the key developments was the video player, which was completely redesigned to offer a more intuitive and accessible experience. This new player, enhanced with interactive elements created using H5P, allows visitors to dynamically interact with narrative videos, guided tours, and multimedia content.

CREATING CONTENT WITHOUT KNOWING ILIAS: THE WIZARD

The second distinctive element of the project was the development of a wizard, a content creation assistant designed for those who work in museums but lack specific technical skills. Through a simple interface, users can choose what they want to create—a museum itinerary, a digital archive, a thematic collection—and the system automatically generates the appropriate structures, complete with containers, objects, and predefined settings. Knowledge of ILIAS's internal logic is not required; all you need is a clear objective.

This "objective-based," rather than "object-based," approach represents a true innovation in the use of LMS in the cultural sector. The idea is to put people and their needs at the center, not the platform.

FIELD TEST WITH THE TRENTO MUSEUM

Among the museums identified for the testing phase, we were able to actively collaborate with MUSE – the Science Museum of Trento, a particularly open institution to innovation. A highly detailed demo was created, which allowed us to concretely demonstrate the system's potential. Unfortunately, other museums initially involved were unable to participate, primarily due to resource and size constraints, but the interest shown confirms the project's direction.

A STARTING POINT FOR THE FUTURE

The system is already ready to be replicated or extended to other museums, and could represent a concrete opportunity to consolidate OC's presence in the world of digital culture. This is why we are also in discussions with the Triennale di Milano.

ILIAS Cultura is more than just a technical project: it demonstrates that technology, when designed together with those who will use it, can truly become a tool for accessing cultural heritage.