History-enhanced ICT For Sustainability education: Learning together with Business Computing students

TL;DR

History can enrich ICT4S education by providing historical analogies that illuminate sustainability challenges and the pace of change. The authors piloted a History-integrated Sustainable Business and Computing unit at a UK university, using weekly 10–15 minute historian videos plus in-class discussions, and assessed impact through pre/post surveys and interviews. Findings show modest increases in perceived relevance to degree and career, and greater student interest among engaged participants, with qualitative feedback highlighting the value of local and computing history; however, the small sample and access issues limit generalizability. The work demonstrates a feasible, low-cost interdisciplinary approach to embedding ESD in computing curricula and offers concrete implementation guidance for broader adoption and scalability across larger computing programs.

Abstract

This research explores the use of History to enhance education in the field of ICT For Sustainability ICT4S in response to a challenge from the ICT4S 2023 conference. No previous studies were found in ICT4S but the literature on History and Education for Sustainable Development is reviewed. An ICT4S lecturer collaborated with History lecturers to add an historic parallel to each weeks teaching on a Sustainable Business and Computing unit for final year undergraduate BSc Business Computing students. A list of the topics and rationale is provided. Student perceptions were surveyed before and after the teaching and semi-structured interviews carried out. A majority of students saw relevance to their degree and career. There was an increase in the proportion of students with interest in History. The paper explores the lessons learned from the interdisciplinary collaboration, including topic choice, format and perceived value. The project has enhanced the way we approach our subjects as computing and history educators. We believe this is the first empirical, survey-based study of the use of history to enhance ICT4S education. The team will extend the research to a larger unit covering a wider range of computing degrees.