Bringing the Past to Life in the Digital Era: A Bibliometric Analysis of Educational Technology Integration in History Education

Bringing the Past to Life in the Digital Era: A Bibliometric Analysis of Educational Technology Integration in History Education | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Systematic Review Bringing the Past to Life in the Digital Era: A Bibliometric Analysis of Educational Technology Integration in History Education Haris Firmansyah This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9665638/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Digital transformation has reshaped history education, yet the intellectual structure connecting educational technology and history education remains fragmented across disciplinary outlets. This bibliometric review systematically maps 161 Scopus-indexed documents published between 2006 and 2026 by employing an integrative analytical approach that combines performance analysis, science mapping, and thematic evaluation. The study utilises three complementary bibliometric instruments: Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny (R package) for performance metrics and thematic evolution, VOSviewer for network visualisation and clustering, and Microsoft Excel for metadata cleaning and tabular synthesis guided by an adapted PRISMA 2020 procedure. The analyses encompass annual production patterns, source productivity, author and institutional contributions, country-level productivity and citation impact, co-authorship networks, bibliographic coupling, keyword co-occurrence, thematic mapping, and thematic evolution. Findings indicate a modest annual growth rate of 5.65%, limited international co-authorship of 8.696%, and a clear divergence between publication volume and citation influence. Indonesia leads in document output (n = 19), whereas Spain (TC = 165), Canada (TC = 130), and Greece (TC = 125) command stronger citation impact. Five interconnected technology axes structure the field: e-learning systems, immersive technologies, game-based learning, digital heritage and museum environments, and AI-supported adaptive learning. Thematic evolution traces a paradigm shift from early digitisation (2006–2014), through interactive mobile learning (2015–2019), toward immersive and AI-oriented learning (2020–2026). The study proposes the Digital Historical Thinking Framework (DHTF) as a preliminary conceptual extension that complements TPACK by linking technology integration with sourcing, contextualisation, corroboration, perspective taking, and ethical judgment. Unlike previous bibliometric reviews that addressed educational technology and history education separately, this work consolidates both domains as an integrated research field while emphasising the need for empirical validation and broader database triangulation. Educational Philosophy and Theory artificial intelligence bibliometric analysis digital learning educational technology history education immersive technology Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9665638","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Systematic Review","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":637458100,"identity":"c2f7ca24-29cf-4eae-91a4-fd0df9ffb696","order_by":0,"name":"Haris Firmansyah","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABAElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACAyA+wGAjAeMfkGNgYGxgYGAjpCUNocWYKC0MDGlw/oHEBjCNR4s5+9mHB38kWOTrtp89/Jmn5k76htvNDQwfyg7j1GLZk25wmCdBwnLbmbw0aZ5jz3I33DnYwDjjHG4tBgfSGA4z/pAwMDuQY8bMw3Y4d8ONxAZm3jY8Ws4/YwA6DKjl/Bvjzzz/DqcbgLT8xaflRhrDAR6Qlhs5BtJAwxPAWhjxannGcBii5Y2Z5Ny+w4YzgX452HMuHY/D0pg//kioAzosx/jDm2+H5flutz988KPMGqcWFMDEAyIlQJFLLGD8AdUyCkbBKBgFowAZAAAir2F5fyAMzgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3083-5821","institution":"Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Haris","middleName":"","lastName":"Firmansyah","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-05-09 17:42:54","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":true,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9665638/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9665638/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":109061562,"identity":"cd0c4251-989c-470d-a27f-df356a95ce9f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-12 08:30:23","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1747190,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"1.ArtikelBiblio.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9665638/v1_covered_6f354a26-ccdf-472a-bc48-67e248a98139.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBringing the Past to Life in the Digital Era: A Bibliometric Analysis of Educational Technology Integration in History Education\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Univeristas Pendidikan Indonesia","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"artificial intelligence, bibliometric analysis, digital learning, educational technology, history education, immersive technology","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9665638/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9665638/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eDigital transformation has reshaped history education, yet the intellectual structure connecting educational technology and history education remains fragmented across disciplinary outlets. 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