CISH 2026
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Technology in History Education: Problem or Solution?

  • Date

    VI. Friday, 28.08.2026, 11:00-13:00/30

  • Location
    House 1 - T-1003
  • Theme
    B - Teaching History and Public History

Abstract

The integration of new technologies into history education has long sparked both enthusiasm and concern. From the introduction of radio broadcasts and educational television in the mid-20th century to the arrival of digital archives, interactive media, and, most recently, artificial intelligence, each technological shift has been met with promises of transformation of history education alongside warnings of potential risks. This panel will examine those debates, situating today’s discussions about digital platforms and generative AI within a longer history of technological innovation in the classroom. It will explore the tension between technology as both a problem and a solution in the teaching and learning of history. On one hand, technologies have expanded access to historical sources, enabled new modes of visualization, and fostered more interactive, collaborative, and inquiry-based approaches to learning about the past. They have offered innovative pedagogical tools with the potential to cultivate historical empathy, critical source analysis, and connections between past and present. On the other hand, technology introduces new challenges. Educators and scholars have consistently raised concerns: Don’t these tools encourage superficial engagement at the expense of critical analysis? How can teachers ensure reliability, contextual understanding, and the development of historical thinking and overcome the risk of superficial engagement through “edutainment,” inequities in access, and the pressure to prioritize technological novelty over pedagogical depth? By exploring both historical and contemporary perspectives, this panel aims to move beyond binary positions of “problem” or “solution” and instead interrogate the conditions under which technology enhances—or hinders—historical learning. Contributors will share research findings, case studies, and critical reflections on the role of technology in history education, asking what lessons past debates can offer for present challenges.

Convenor

  • Joanna Wojdon (University of Wrocław  )

Panelists

  • Meike Hensel-Grobe (University of Mainz)
  • Nicole Immig (Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen)
  • Anke John (Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena)
  • Marcel Spehr (Erfurt University of Applied Sciences)
  • Mare Oja (Tallinn University, Estonia)
  • Elias Stouraitis (Democritus University of Thrace)
  • Benedict Staack (Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena)

Papers

  • Beyond pixels: Didactical challenges in working with an AR-based Reconstruction of a lost medieval castle in the history classroom

    Meike Hensel-Grobe

  • “Merchants of Istanbul“ – An Educational Digital Game on the history of the Ottoman Balkans

    Nicole Immig

  • Interdisciplinary reflection on the use of educational portals in history lessons

    Anke John, Marcel Spehr, Benedict Staack

  • Digital Technology and History Education: options and choices. Examples from Estonia

    Mare Oja

  • The role of artificial intelligence in shaping historical imagination and thinking in the digital age

    Elias Stouraitis