Although digital technologies are an integral part of children's everyday lives, their educational potential remains largely underutilized. In many cases, these tools are employed primarily for entertainment rather than as a means to foster active learning, critical thinking, or creativity. This gap highlights the need for pedagogical strategies that meaningfully integrate digital tools into the learning process—particularly in subjects like history, where interactivity and engagement can significantly enhance students' understanding and motivation.

This paper presents the activities and initial outcomes of the history subject team operating within the National Centre for Digital Transformation of Education (NCDTV), established in 2024 as a central expert institution under a national project supporting the systemic digital transformation of education in the Slovak Republic. It maps the first year of the project, including preliminary findings and the effects of inquiry-based strategies combined with digital tools on student learning, motivation, and participation in history lessons. The paper also reflects on the broader context of history education in Slovakia. Special attention is given to the teaching materials developed during the pilot year, including their impact on students’ learning and the perceptions of secondary school teachers regarding their meaningfulness and usability. Those include a set of detailed, digitally enhanced lesson plans, focusing primarily on an inquiry-based approach combined with collaborative activities using online platforms, digital timelines, interactive presentations, the use of AI, and many other tools. These resources were designed to support historical inquiry, source analysis, and student-led exploration of historical topics. The active learning methods applied during the pilot phase aimed to encourage students to engage with history in a more authentic and analytical way.

The methodology of the research presented in this paper relies on data triangulation, combining both quantitative and qualitative feedback collected during the first phase of the project. It involves feedback from over 160 secondary school teachers across different regions of Slovakia. Findings suggest that both teachers and students not only appreciate the digitally enhanced and inquiry-driven materials—primarily based on active learning methods—but also observe a significant improvement in learning outcomes across several categories, which are further discussed in the paper.

The preliminary results presented here serve not only as valuable feedback for the project team but also as an indicator of the potential impact of digital transformation in non-technologically oriented subjects such as history. Moreover, current findings will shape the next phase of the project by refining the teaching materials, expanding teacher training, and conducting longitudinal studies to assess the sustained impact of digital tools on student learning and engagement.

Keywords: Technology, digital innovation, secondary education, teaching history, inquiry-based education.