Additional digital contents in history and geography textbooks for secondary schools

Abstract

For centuries, books have been the primary medium for organizing and transmitting information in a stable and unalterable form. The advent of information and communication technologies (ICT) has radically transformed this scenario, introducing dynamic, interactive, and constantly evolving digital environments. The education sector has been deeply affected by this shift: the traditional textbook, once static, has evolved into a multimedia and flexible resource, adapting to new educational needs. This transformation is part of a broader pedagogical change that has redefined the role of teaching materials, making them more interactive, customizable, and experience-based. Within this framework, the present working paper explores the digital transformation of textbooks, focusing specifically on content related to migration and migrants. This analysis is part of a broader investigation into how these topics are represented in history and geography textbooks for Italian secondary schools, started in 2011. A key innovation in this phase of the research is the analysis of integrated digital content (IDC) found in the selected textbooks through a specific analytical grid. The aim is to assess current digital offerings from educational publishers and explore their inclusivity and educational functions. The IDC analysis is structured into four main dimensions: accessibility of the digital textbook, types of digital resources, operational tools, and educational functions. The latter is further divided into five categories: linguistic, cognitive, mnemonic, integrative, and knowledgeconstructing relationships.