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1. Inventory and quantitative assessment of geosites and geodiversity sites of the Tinghir-Dades-Imilchil area (Morocco)

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgeop.2025.02.004  

   El_Ouali, Mohamed; Kabiri, Lahcen; Essafraoui, Badre; Bammou, Mohamed Ben; Lahssaine, Ismail Ait; Messaoudi, Badre; Martindale, Rowan (March 2025, International Journal of Geoheritage and Parks)

   The Tinghir-Dades-Imilchil area is a geosite of high scientific, educational, and touristic values in the Draa-Tafilalet Region, Southeast Morocco. It has a rich geodiversity, including mountain ranges, plains, deserts, plateaus, and coasts, offering geomorphological and panoramic views, oases, lacks, and unique geological features (e.g., structural geology, sedimentology, petrogra-phy, paleontology, and hydrogeology). This paper focuses on the inventory and quantitative as-sessment of 25 sites of geological interest using the global methodology based on scientific value (SV), potential educational use (PEU) and potential touristic use (PTU), and degradation risk (DR) of each site. Indeed, SV is very high for 15 sites, high for 9 sites, and moderate for 1 site; PEU is very high for 21 sites and high for 4 sites; PTU is very high for 8 sites and high for 17 sites; and DR is high for 10 sites and moderate for 15 sites. Thus, 15 geosites (sites with very high SV values) and 10 geodiversity sites (sites with very high PEU or PTU values) are identified. These sites show highly significant scientific, educational, and touristic potentialities that should be valued and protected from degradation. Our work fits in well with the National Program of the Geology of Morocco-2030 strategy and the UNESCO directives, which aim at the inventory, awareness, valorization, and preservation of geological heritage. In addition, identi-fying and valuing these sites will help increase the area's attractiveness, preserve the environ-ment, and protect and enhance the region's geological history by introducing the geoheritage concept into its local and regional development plans. Suggested recommendations for their valorization and preservation constitute a valuable tool for local stakeholders to program their future sustainable actions and to improve the living conditions of the local population by creating new employment opportunities. 

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2. Thirty-Two Years of Integrating Archaeology and Heritage Management in Belize: A Brief History of the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance (BVAR) Project’s Engagement with the Public

   https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage3030040  

   Hoggarth, Julie A.; Awe, Jaime J.; Ebert, Claire E.; Guerra, Rafael A.; Beardall, Antonio; Watkins, Tia B.; Walden, John P. (September 2020, Heritage)

   null (Ed.)

   Since its inception in 1988, the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance (BVAR) Project has had two major foci, that of cultural heritage management and archaeological research. While research has concentrated on excavation and survey, the heritage management focus of the project has included the preservation of ancient monuments, the integration of archaeology and tourism development, and cultural heritage education. In this paper, we provide a brief overview on the history of scientific investigations by the BVAR Project, highlighting the project’s dual heritage management and research goals. This background offers the basis in which to discuss the successes and challenges of the project’s efforts in cultural heritage management and public engagement, particularly in early conservation efforts, in its training and educational efforts, and its ongoing outreach activity. We emphasize the need to train Belizeans as professional archaeologists and conservators, to serve as the next generation of advocates for Belize’s heritage management. We offer some ideas on how research projects can make significant contributions to heritage education and preservation in the developing world. 

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3. A framework for leveraging 3D heritage preservation and Indigenous place-based learning in the Arctic

   https://doi.org/10.1080/1088937X.2025.2471764  

   McEwen, Lily; Csoba_DeHass, Medeia (March 2025, Polar Geography)

   Place-based learning has a rich literature in Arctic Indigenous education, and it continues to be a central principle of decolonizing classrooms and educational praxis. 3D heritage preservation for education has primarily focused on the digitization of European cultural heritage sites and objects to create immersive educational experiences for classroom and public use. Using 3D technologies for the preservation and perpetuation of Arctic and Subarctic Indigenous heritage has also been gaining ground and shifting the focus to questions of ethical use of technologies, Indigenous Data Governance, and collaborating with Indigenous communities. Looking at collaborations with Arctic and Subarctic Indigenous communities on projects that use 3D and associated technologies for heritage preservation and perpetuation helps better understand place-based educational opportunities using emerging technologies. In this paper, we explore how 3D and related technologies can contribute to place-based learning and educational goals of Arctic Indigenous communities through digital knowledge repatriation. 

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4. “Whose story is being told?”: Local history, cultural heritage, and digital maps.

   Alexander, C; Brown, K; Weinburgh, M; Valverde, E (April 2023, Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education Conference Proceedings)

   Langran, E (Ed.)

   A critical outcome in social studies education is identity development, and an important component of this process is students establishing a sense of place in their communities, nation, and world. Using data from a southwestern city in the United States, researchers investigated the intersection of local history, identity development, and cultural heritage resources using GIS technology. The instructional unit in which students participated utilized a variety of geospatial technologies which facilitated the visualization of geographic concepts, field-based data collection of geocoded places, and creation of a digitally-mediated cultural heritage map, which allowed students to create a narrative around their cultural identity. The study followed an interpretive case study design. Based on the findings from this study, important implications emerged, which are valuable for both future research in this area, as well as for teachers who wish to replicate this pedagogical approach in their own teaching practice. The implications include the flexibility of geospatial technologies for addressing content-area concepts at all levels of the instructional unit, the potential of geospatial technologies for supporting student cultural identity development, and the value of school-university partnerships in promoting innovative teaching strategies in a high school classroom. 

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5. Building on rural ingenuity: Incorporating Appalachian heritage, storytelling, and computational thinking into middle school project-based learning [Roundtable]

   Coenraad, Merijke; Iwatani, Emi (April 2024, Digital Promise Resource Repository)

   We report on eleven middle school project-based learning units designed by fifteen Central Appalachian teachers, following our research practice partnership’s first week-long computational thinking curriculum design institute. We investigate whether and how these planned units offer opportunities for students to practice computational thinking while engaging with the region’s rich heritage of innovation, community connections and storytelling. We find that all, or the vast majority of unit plans, incorporate computational thinking, heritage/community and storytelling in compelling ways. We discuss implications for our partner community, for rural education, and for the field of computational thinking education research. 

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