On immersive education at the Congress of National Remembrance

On the first day of the Congress of National Remembrance, taking place on 13-15 April this year at the PGE National Stadium in Warsaw, the New Technology Division held a discussion panel devoted to the issue of education in the age of technological revolution. Specialists from various fields, participating in the panel entitled “Immersive historical education – towards new educational paths”, reflected on current challenges and developments in virtual reality.

Director of the Division, Magdalena Hajduk, summarised the findings of the report published by the Institute of National Remembrance and pointed to the activities undertaken to use new technologies in memorial, scientific and, above all, educational activities. Professor Jan Pomorski emphasised the revolutionary significance of the fact that at the Institute of National Remembrance the history spoke with the help of new technologies. Other speakers pointed out the importance of inter-institutional cooperation and the need to support teachers. In a short period of time, new technologies have become a new cognitive tool in education, and the knowledge on how to use them started to be seen as a new auxiliary science of history (Krzysztof Zieliński). The pandemic has contributed to the acceleration of the dissemination of new technologies in education, as mentioned, among others, by Professor Marlena Plebańska. However, a significant impact was also made by the support from the state which, as reported by Monika Trocka from GovTech, allocated a record amount of PLN 200 million through the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage for the “Laboratory of the Future” project, thanks to which authorised schools in Poland can already use 3d printers.

Along with invaluable opportunities, new technologies also bring risks. The participants of the discussion were aware of this, and Andrzej Horoch’s statement can serve as a starting point for the next discussion panel, focusing on potential dangers: “The Internet is a kind of mirror (…) of humanity, it is a cross-section of everything, and we can find good and bad things in it. It is the same with technology. The opportunities may become threats. We get a beautiful creative tool that can be used to look back into history, but we are aware that it can also be used for something completely different (…) That is why it is so important to (…) teach young people how to deal with the digital world.”