Abstract:

In this paper we investigate how Information and Communication Technology ICT tools can contribute to improve educational matters. We try to bring some answers to the question whether or not Information and Communication Technology ICT can provide any added value to cultural heritage teaching and learning. In this paper we focus on patrimonial old manuscripts teaching in Moroccan universities and the facilities offered by the high education ministry. The purpose of the use of ICT within our universities is often unclear: no meaningful educational tasks are given. Moroccan universities now already have a good infrastructure: WAN networks, access to scientific databases.
Digital curation taken in the sense of cultural management of digital information (digital objects as well as metadata) have been our main interest in recent years. Research have been made about this as well as surveys. We made an evaluation of opinions and user needs within the scholarly community in a Moroccan university related to digitization of Cultural objects mainly manuscripts. Now the main focus is to make the university stakeholders understand the necessary change to be done at that level and accept for an integration of digital libraries for manuscripts in the digital infrastructure (as they are the only cultural objet most studied in our universities, we are still waiting for archeology teaching as a discipline).
By evaluating of the educational matters related to cultural heritage and history we should see the emergence of new educational programs. It is obvious that we have here a special case in digital curation teaching in a developing country. We call for a greater synergy between these efforts in order to capitalize on this infrastructure and make greater access to scholars to these resources. In return the more the university will invest on digital curation the more interest in studying it will be. Moreover the university would have had a great importance in safeguarding heritage at national level.
The university investment in e-research has been so far an offer of resources while it should go further. It goes without saying that it won’t be possible if the university does not have a roadmap for a sustainable project in the sense that data should be preserved in order not to compromise its readability and usefulness.