The town of Jelling and its surrounding is home to a significant collection of Viking age monuments, including two runestones, two mounds, a palisade and more, all dated to the time around the reign of Harald Bluetooth the king who united Denmark. These monuments were in 1994 added to the UNESCO world heritage list, and formed the context of the 2020 Spica course.
The course had the heading: Harald Bluetooth and Bluetooth – Cultural heritage, digitalization and sustainability. During the course, the students explored the dissemination of knowledge, and especially historical knowledge, to children. This was done in light of topics such as technology, creativity, sustainability and localities. Place-based- and challenge-based approaches to learning helped the students explore these topics. During the intensive week, a variety of activities were employed, such as field excursions, museum visits, discussions with experts, use of different kinds of source materials, and in-class discussions. The Spica intensive course provided an in-depth and student active learning experience.
SPICA 