Abstract
The present study explores apps aimed at preserving historical memory and are presented as a resource for promoting social and civic competence. Its objectives are to identify these apps' primary characteristics, and to describe both their adaptation for the learning of content and the ways in which these resources deal with heritage and historical memory. The results present a small sample of apps that for the most part function as museum tour guides, that are very limited in terms of their educational adaptability, and that present heritage education in terms of emotionally charged symbolic and identity content in which historical memory is not addressed in an entirely satisfactory manner.
TopIntroduction
The GIPyPAC-EP research group of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) in Spain has for several years been engaged in an evaluation of Heritage Education programs that are implemented in both formal and informal settings. As part of its research, the group has developed a project called ARSMULEP, an acronym for “Apps, Redes Sociales, dispositivos móviles y Ubiquitous learning en Educación Patrimonial” (“Apps, Social Networks, mobile devices, and Ubiquitous Heritage Education”). In addition, the GIPyPAC-EP group has developed a project called “Evaluación de programas y evaluación de aprendizajes en los ámbitos no formal e informal de la Educación Patrimonial” (“Evaluation of heritage education programs and instruction in unstructured and informal settings”) (see Acknowledgments). These projects have analyzed educational functions and their possible use of spaces in the teaching and learning of heritage and history, as well as Heritage Educational Apps at the provincial, state, and international level. These studies are related to other studies that were already underway regarding mobile learning and heritage, as well as those involving mobile devices in education. However, in the case of the research described here, the focus is on the use of digital applications (apps) as tools for learning about historical memory, for the specific purpose of working on social and civic competence.
Most of the research conducted thus far regarding the educational evaluation of heritage apps has been conducted in either Spain (Gillate, Vicent, Gómez-Redondo & Marín-Cepeda, 2017; Ibáñez-Etxeberria & Kortabitarte, 2016; Luna, Rivero & Vicent, 2019) or the United Kingdom (Economou & Meintani), although there have been far more studies of heritage apps from the perspective of psychology, economics, tourism, and marketing. There has also been research that has specifically focused on heritage education regarding apps created by museums (López-Benito, Martínez-Gil & Santacana, 2014); apps that can be used in urban settings (Grevtsova, 2013); and apps that include a virtual reality component (Luna, Rivero & Ibánez-Etxeberría, 2019). In addition, there have been studies analyzing the relationship between apps used and digital competence (Ibáñez-Etxeberria, Kortabitarte, De Castro, & Gillate, 2019); and the use of apps within the classroom (Kortabitarte, Gillate, Luna & Ibáñez-Etxeberria, 2018).
However, no studies have been found regarding heritage education apps that deal with historical memory on the international level, and which could therefore serve as possible learning tools for the purpose of promoting democratic and critical citizenship. This is a fact that is related to Macdonald’s idea (Macdonald, 2013) regarding the need for a more exhaustive study of the different aspects of memory due to the boom that has arisen within this area in recent decades. It is within this context that the present exploratory study focuses on three key objectives:
- 1.
Defining the primary characteristics of currently available heritage education apps promoting historical memory.
- 2.
Describing the kind of learning promoted by such apps.
- 3.
Analyzing how “heritage” and “historical memory” are dealt with in such apps.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Social and Civic Competence: A set of knowledge, skills and attitudes that enable individuals to act in their immediate social environment in a critic, tolerant and democratic way, as well as to interact effectively in the public domain and to understand and interpret different social phenomena.
Heritage Education: A process of spreading awareness that seeks to connect individuals with the environment, using heritage as a resource for citizenship training and for identity building from both self and collective perspectives.
Learning: The process whereby individuals acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes through observation and experience.
Historical Memory: A set of recollections of people from social groups who have gone through traumatic or tragic events, that firstly led to historic concealment, but after is recovered and acknowledged as an important source for interpreting the past.
APP: Abbreviated form of the word “application”, related to a software programme designed to be installed in smartphones or tablets in order to perform a specific function for the user or, in some cases, for another application program.