Category: Digital History

Prompt: Write a blog post in response to our class on digital history.

During the week of 10/26 we explored digital means that can be used to diversify our lesson material.  Of particular interest in this class was the use of websites and engines designed to show trends over time.  Such websites include the following: GapMinder, NGram Viewer, and the NYTimes Chronicle.  The trends that these programs are capable of showing are of use to us as educators because it allows show some of the material we would otherwise lecture about.  For example it is one thing to say that the use of various racially charged words spiked during times of strife; however, by using utilizing NGram Viewer to search the collection of digitized literature available through Google it is possible to show this.

I can see these sites being of particular use in an social studies inquiry class because of their ability to coalesce data into an easy to understand format for the students to digest.  An example of this would be if a student wished to examine the origins of certain controversies.  By searching the language of various forms of literature (books, newspapers, magazines and journals) NGram Viewer and NYTimes Chronicle give the students access to what seemed to be hot topics from various periods in our history.

Personally, I greatly enjoyed the use of these tools in class and am going to incorporate them where I can in my various placements.

Despite the amazing things that technology can bring to the classroom we must be wary of its ability to take control of the classroom.  Technology can make things easier but its use needs to be regimented so that it supplements not instructs.  Like I said before, being able to show what you are talking about is a great idea.  That is what technology should be for the classroom.

Image Credit: Hets Virtual Plaza

Prompt: Write a blog post in response to our class on digital history.

This week in class we discussed digital history. We have been focusing a lot on how we can use modern technology within the classroom in order to teach history. This particular week, we looked into resources that reveal historical trends. Technological tools can be a powerful source in teaching history to our students. Not only do they provide an alternative visual, but they are also often times hands-on, allowing students to interact with the tool and discover trends on their own agenda. I think that there are many benefits in allowing students to use different technological tools. First of all, provided with the proper resources, students can use these tools individually, instead of one visual up on the board. These days there are excellent hands-on tools that students can interact with on their own. Therefore, instead of the teacher showing students what they want their students to get out of the graph or visual, students can come to their own conclusions and create their own ideas about what they see. In the GapMinder for teachers page, we watched a video about students exploring a GapMinder graph called “Wealth & Health of Nations.” These students reflect on their own conclusions and conjunctions about what the graph is revealing to them.

I am a firm supporter in emphasizing trends throughout history when we teach history. It is a crucial aspect of looking at stories of the world. It helps students to make connections and to see the bigger picture. History doesn’t only need to be viewed and taught by time periods. It can also be taught by specific topics and factors that we can explore throughout time. Sources like gapminder, Google nGram Viewer, and New York Times’ “Chronicle” allow students to explore trends throughout time. Chronicle is an excellent source that shows how often a specific word was mentioned in New York Times newspapers throughout American history. For example, the frequency of which the word feminism was mentioned spiked during the1910’s and the Women’s Suffrage Movement, and then was barely mentioned again until the 1970’s. This can help students to infer a lot about feminism in American history. However, I think that this is a limited source because it only refers to the frequency of words in this one newspaper, therefore Ngram Viewer is a good alternative, featuring all written literature.

All of these tools provide teachers with alternative sources. Teachers nowadays are no longer limited to their own sources and ideas, as these tools are created and shared online. Furthermore, technology also opens up the doors for professional collaboration. The internet is now an ever-updating source of useful tools shared by fellow teachers. The possibilities for teachers now seem to be endless as they share and benefit from each other’s sources and ideas.

Photo: January 15, 2012

Alan Levine. It’s Cool Here