Transcribathon for education

Transcribathon for education is an online learning tool developed by Europeana and the German company Facts and Files for the transcription of digital material from World War One, showcased in Europeana 1914-1918 thematic collection. The collection is a unique digital archive that combines records from cultural institutions with personal memorabilia gathered over the last six years within the Collection Days. These events invited citizens across Europe to bring personal records related to the First World War. The material submitted, ranging from letters, postcards, diaries, sketchbooks, etc, is predominantly handwritten and often hard to read. Thanks to the Transcribathon, the documents can be transcribed and annotated by students in their classrooms, promoting the following benefit.

1) Interacting with historical sources. the Transcribathon gives students, from secondary to university level, the opportunity to work directly on archived documents. They have tutorials in six different languages and can use the documents in various contexts (from history to civic classes).

2) Working collaboratively. Students can work either individually or in teams. A jury then awards points for the quantity and quality of the transcription and the presentation of the result. This competition factor allows students to measure their progress as a group and against participants from all over the world, and develop teamwork and communication skills.

3) Developing new skills. The Transcribathon also helps students improve their digital media capabilities by learning how to create digital records and to add metadata (for example, location) that will allow future researchers to get an easier access to these resources.

So far, over 35,000 documents have been collected and more than 8,000 completed. More documents on other topics or from other Europeana Collections will be added over time.