Applying War Heritage in the National World War II History Course for College Students in China: An Exploration of Digitization Strategies

Abstract

Digital media is increasingly being used in formal education. In China, in order to reduce the negative emotions and behaviors of college students in World War Two (WWII) history courses, digitized resources of war heritage are being applied to improve their learning experience. However, their effectiveness remains unconfirmed. Therefore, the purposes of this study are to: (1) test whether the transformation of war heritage into digital resources can help to improve the learning experience of college students; (2) explore the pivotal factors that affect the learning experience of college students; and (3) provide suggestions for improving the digital teaching resources regarding war heritage. The results of the questionnaire survey show that the participants have a positive view of digital teaching resources. In addition, low-interactive digital media can achieve higher learning effects. The multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis also reveals that creativity in teaching and helping to form students’ values regarding cherishing peace are the foci with respect to improving the learning experience. On this basis, suggestions for improving the digital teaching resources regarding WWII heritage are proposed in this study, as follows: (a) to improve the quality of multisensory experiences in digital teaching media regarding war heritage; (b) to reduce the difficulties with human–computer interaction regarding digital teaching media; (c) to strengthen the correlation between digital resources and the teaching aims; and (d) to build a vision for peace and sustainable development through the narrative of digital media.