Virtual Museums , Cultural Heritage Education and 21 st Century skills

A wide variety of Virtual Museums (VMs) exist, which are different not only as to the contents, but also as to structure, objectives, implementation techniques, presentation methods, as well as interaction approaches. Nowadays the educational potential of VMs is widely acknowledged, although their actual use for educational purposes is still very limited (at least in formal educational contexts). This is what emerges from a survey conducted by the authors among Italian teachers and students, showing that the adoption of VMs in schools is still infrequent and not fully integrated in the standard educational practice. In the paper, after defining the concept of VMs and giving the results of a survey conducted by the authors witnessing the limited use of these tools in formal educational contexts, a reflection is conducted on their educational potential: VMs, besides addressing cultural heritage education, can often contribute to enhance some of the “transversal” 21st Century skills, referred to as “social, cultural skills and citizenship”, as well as communication, collaboration, digital literacy and creativity.