The role of digital technologies in the modernization of history education in Ukraine

Abstract

The large-scale digitalization of the education system in Ukraine has accelerated due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the full-scale armed invasion of 2022, and, as a result, there has been a need for technological updating of humanitarian subjects, especially history. Digital technologies change not only the technical aspect of learning, but also the content, methods and logic of teaching history. The main goal of the study is to theoretically substantiate the functions of digital technologies in the modernization of historical education in Ukraine by analyzing specific tools and practices of their application, identifying pedagogical advantages and limitations, as well as establishing the conceptual foundations of technologically oriented learning taking into account the characteristics of the discipline. To achieve this topic, an interdisciplinary approach was used, combining pedagogical analysis, comparative analysis of educational models and a systematic review of scientific literature. During the study, a structural and functional analysis of the assessment of the impact of digital tools on achieving pedagogical goals in the study of history was conducted. The study found that digital tools, especially platforms for distance learning, interactive map systems, digitized archival databases and gamification components, significantly expand students' access to primary sources, increase interest in learning and develop the ability to critically evaluate information. At the same time, it was found that the introduction of digital tools without appropriate methodological support can lead to the simplification of complex narratives and the weakening of students' ability to independent analytical thinking. The armed conflict in Ukraine accelerated the process of digitizing cultural heritage and created a new group of educational resources - digital archives of testimonies and AR-reconstructions of damaged monuments, which provide students with direct access to the events of their own history. Modernization of historical education in Ukraine through digitization is a systemic process that requires a scientifically sound curriculum, a balance between new tools and classical rules of professional work with sources, chronology and argumentation.