Digitised cultural heritage as data: emerging trends in its use in school-level computer science education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55630/mem.2026.55.019-030Keywords:
Digital Cultural Heritage, collections as dataAbstract
Decades of active digitisation of cultural heritage in galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM institutions) have led to the accumulation of vast amounts of openly accessible digital content. Research and education are the two fields in which this content is most frequently used. The strongest connections have been developed with the teaching of history, literature, art, and music, where digitised materials provide primary sources and rich illustrative resources. However, the contemporary trend of approaching digital collections as data makes this type of open content particularly suitable for incorporating authentic tasks related to data collection, cleaning, analysis, and visualisation. Such tasks are highly appropriate for projects that integrate diverse skills from computer science education and can be offered both as individual and group assignments.
The paper presents real-life examples from international practice of integrating cultural heritage into school-level computer science education, within the broader context of strengthening STEM competencies and project-based learning. These examples demonstrate that cultural heritage can successfully serve as a meaningful context for developing algorithmic thinking, data literacy, digital skills, and AI literacy in schools.
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