Technological advancements have provided heritage with new learning environments via the use of virtual and augmented reality, which can foster the accessibility and understanding of culture and propose new ways of interacting with heritage. Therefore, in this study, a systematic evaluation is carried out of n=197 heritage education programs listed in the database of the Observatorio de Educación patrimonial en España (OEPE) (the Spanish Heritage Education Observatory–SHEO) which, in their descriptions, integrate the use of virtual environments and/or augmented reality to promote learning on the part of the user. The objectives of this study are: (1) to analyse the state of the art, (2) to evaluate the quality of their educational designs via the “analysis and assessment sequential method for heritage education programs” (SAEPEP-OEPE) and (3) to identify variables which can be improved or which have a significant influence on the quality of the programs. Highlights of the results include: (a) the increasing implementation of these technologies in heritage education programs, with the greater presence of virtual resources than of learning environments, (b) the low level of the scope of educational quality in their designs, particularly their assessment, and (c) the inclusion of advanced technologies slightly decreases the specificity of the educational design.

España es uno de los países con mayor volumen de patrimonio reconocido internacionalmente y cuenta con una ingente cantidad de bienes culturales declarados conforme a la normativa estatal y autonómica. Gestionar todo ese patrimonio para lograr que sus propietarios simbólicos lo entiendan y sientan como suyo, lo conozcan, comprendan y valoren, pasa necesariamente por una actuación educativa que debe ser ordenada, estable y sostenida en el tiempo, además de estar sólidamente fundamentada. De este modo, la educación patrimonial se concibe como una disciplina clave en la gestión del patrimonio,capaz de conseguir que sus propietarios simbólicos lo quieran custodiar y transmitir, pero además lo hagan de manera respetuosa no sólo hacia el patrimonio sino también hacia las sociedades que lo han custodiado y legado a lo largo de nuestra historia.En educación patrimonial, España se sitúa como un país de referencia internacional, en tanto cuenta con dos potentes instrumentos, de corte institucional, que se están impulsando desde el propio Gobierno, a través de órganos que coordinan al Estado y a las CCAA: el Plan Nacional de Educación y Patrimonio, por una parte y el Observatorio de Educación Patrimonial en España, por otra. Conoceremos detalladamente ambos instrumentos, accediendo a datos relevantes derivados de algunas de las investigaciones que se sustentan en ellos. Existe un tercer instrumento que concebimos como una estrategia de planificación futura, como es el currículum, que justifica la presencia y alcance del patrimonio en la enseñanza formal, de modo que conviene planificar convenientemente su enfoque educativo en relación con las diferentes etapas y niveles de concreción curricular.

Research on heritage education has progressed remarkably and a large number of studies point to a greater presence of active methodologies and the use of resources and primary sources in the classroom. At this point it seems important to investigate the perceptions and experiences of future history and social science teachers. Thus, this paper studies the value that 506 Spanish and English teachers in initial training place on heritage and its presence in the teaching-learning process of history, as well as their views on the existing connections between methodological perceptions and the use of cultural heritage in the classroom. It is a non-experimental descriptive and quantitative study with data collected through questionnaire. This questionnaire was built ad hoc to analyze the opinions and perceptions of teachers in initial training about history education in Secondary Education. The results show that teachers in initial training value highly or very highly the use of cultural heritage in Secondary Education to promote active methodologies, the critical teaching of history, and the development of historical skills. Teachers in training in Spain value more highly the use of heritage than English teachers. While English teachers in training value more highly the resolution of problems through historical documentary sources, Spanish teachers rate the emotional and motivational aspects higher.

The study analyses data obtained from the implementation of public programmes that utilise mobile devices at archaeological sites. The work documents that the two main uses for such devices are augmented reality (AR) and geocaching games involving GPS equipment. The paper notes the educational opportunities presented by the use of these devices. The work concludes that the programmes achieve good general results, are well rated by users, raise interest and are motivating. However, published ratings are limited and very descriptive, and evaluation standards are poor.

El presente trabajo realiza un análisis de la situación de la educación patrimonial basada en las tecnologías de la información y comunicación (TIC) en España, presentando una síntesis de la legislación referente a la enseñanza del patrimonio para, posteriormente y a partir de la labor de revisión, caracterización y puesta en valor realizada por el Observatorio de Educación Patrimonial en España, definir una relación de variables estructurantes y presentar una selección de casos significativa de las tendencias actuales de cara a definir las perspectivas de futuro de la aplicación de las TIC para educación patrimonial en España.