Welcome to the Teaching History with
Technology Newsletter -- Jan. 15, 2006

The THWT Newsletter offers resources, lesson plans, and tech tips to help history and social studies teachers incorporate technology effectively into their courses.

The THWT newsletter is produced by Tom Daccord, veteran history teacher, academic technology specialist for the Humanities, webmaster of Best of History Web Sites and Teaching Literature & Writing With Technology, and President of the Center for Teaching History With Technology. A "laptop teacher" who has instructed in a computer environment for the last sixyears, Mr. Daccord has been featured in the Boston Globe ("Making Tech Connect" December 29, 2003) for his contributions to teaching with technology.

editor's note: Due to time constraints, I will be publishing the THWT newsletter quarterly instead of monthly for the forseeable future. --T.D.

Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement (Elementary, Middle School, High School)
In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (January 16, 2006), Best of History Web Sites offers an updated annotated list of helpful teaching resources and lesson plans on Martin Luther King, Jr, and the Civil Rights movement. Visit: http://www.besthistorysites.net/USHistory_CivilRights.shtml

New Lessons from SCORE H-SS databases
The Schools of California Online Resources for Educators (SCORE) is a terrific resource for history and social studies teachers and students alike. You'll find annotated lists of lesson plans -- all rated and arranged by grade level and content area. Here are the most recent additions to their database:

Plato and The Republic
http://www.crf-usa.org/bria/bria19_4c.htm
"Nearly 2,400 years ago, the Greek philosopher Plato explored the meaning of justice. He concluded that a truly just society was one where a wise philosopher-king ruled and every person knew his or her place. Read an excerpt from Plato's Republic and evaluate whether his criticism of democracy still holds today. Standard 10.1.2."

Exploration: 1492 and 1620
http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/crossroads
/sec4/Unit_2/Unit_II.html
"Rather than dwell on a chronology of explorers and accomplishments, this activity has been designed to emphasize in-depth research of a few explorers and to use this research to infer the exploration policies of the countries involved. The countries and explorers included are: Spain: Cortes, Pizarro, DeSoto, Coronado; France: Verrazano, de Champlain, Marquette and Joliet; England/Netherlands: Hudson, Gilbert, Frobisher. Standards 5.2.1, 5.2.2, 5.2.3, 7.11.1, and 7.11.2"

Fourteenth Amendment and the "Second Bill of Rights"
http://www.crf-usa.org/bria/bria7_4.htm
"As a practical matter today, the Bill of Rights protects Americans from both national and state governments. Examine how a series of court cases from 1925 through 1972 transformed the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment into our "second bill of rights". Scholar Richard Cortner believes that this bill of rights more significant to the liberty of the average American than the original document authored by Madison and ratified by the states in 1791. Do you agree? Create a list of the most important rights that should be protected worldwide. Standards 8.11.5 and 12.5.3"

Harvard's Open Collections Program: "Women Working, 1800-1930"
http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/ww/
The Open Collections Program of Harvard University Library announces the completion of its
first on-line collection, "Women Working, 1800-1930". This free collection contains approximately 500,000 digitized pages and images of selected rare and historical books, institutional papers, personal papers, diaries, and photographs from Harvard's network of libraries, archives, and museums. The second Open Collection, entitled "Emigration and Immigration, 1789-1930" will be available in Spring 2006, and a third Open Collection on contagion and infectious disease between ca. 1700 and 1930 is also forthcoming.

Gilder Lehrman Institute History Now Issue on Abraham Lincoln
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has launched the latest issue of its quarterly online journal, History Now at: http://www.historynow.org .The issue is focused on the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. The issue features articles by eminent historians, lesson plans, links to related websites, bibliographies, and many other resources. Articles by historians in the issue include, “The Emancipation Proclamation: Bill of Lading or Ticket to Freedom?” by Allen Guelzo, Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era and Professor of History, Gettysburg College; “Lincoln and Whitman” by David Reynolds, Distinguished Professor of English and American Studies, Baruch College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York; “Lincoln's Civil Religion” by George C. Rable, Charles Summersell Chair in Southern History, University of Alabama; “Lincoln at Cooper Union” by Harold Holzer, independent scholar and Co-Chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission; and “Lincoln and Abolition” by Douglas Wilson, Co-Director, Lincoln Studies Center, Knox College. In a special feature section, illustrations and political cartoons selected primarily from the Gilder Lehrman Collection depict “Lincoln in the Media” and provide a view of what the public saw during the Civil War era. Lesson plans in the issue are written by history teachers from New York, New Jersey, and Texas.

HNN Podcasts: Bill Clinton's Legacy
http://hnn.us/articles/18502.html
In an attempt to put Clinton'spresidency into historical perspective Hofstra University hosted a three-day conference featuring scholars and administration officials on Nov. 10, 11, and 12, 2005. You can click on the History News Network Podcast links to hear HNN's interviews with many of the participants.

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Winter Previews
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/schedule.html
In the coming months, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE looks at some of America's most iconic figures -- a founding father and mother, a notorious outlaw, a renowned playwright. The series also ventures overseas, exploring international events that touched the lives of countless Americans. Featured programs include:

Monday, January 23, 2006 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings)
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: JOHN & ABIGAIL ADAMS
See a preview of the film and learn more:
http://www.pbs.org/amex/adams

Monday, January 30
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: THE NUREMBERG TRIALS

Monday, February 6
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: JESSE JAMES

Monday, February 27
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: HIJACKED!

Monday, March 27
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: EUGENE O'NEILL

Podcasts: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Stories (and Video!) to Go
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/podcasts.html

 

Ripples of Genocide: Journey Through Eastern Congo
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/congojournal/
This interactive site from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum focuses on conflict in the eastern Congo and features contributions from four people who visited the region in 2003 and 2004. For teachers there are resources, links, and a discussion forum. Included in the virtual journal are photographs, audio, and a report on the current situation.

Invicta History & Politics Website
http://www.igshistoryonline.co.uk/index.html
This British school history website has teaching and learning resources useful to students and teachers alike. It includes dozens of PowerPoint, Word and Excel resources as well as an interactive games zone and and examples of students work and history events.Resources cover key UK stages (including GCSE and A Level), and the interactive quizzes are a fun way to revise the topics covered in lessons. There are interactive quizzes on many topics, including: Ancien Regime, Industrial Revolution, 20th century Russia and Germany, World War I, World War II, the Cold War, Slave Trade, Waterloo.

History Interactive Games from www.mrnussbaum.com
http://mrnussbaum.com
mrnussbaum.com offers dozens of interactive games specifically designed to pinpoint one or several essential concepts taught in elementary years, and dozens of interactive research sites on topics such as the Civil War, American Revolution, Insects, Lewis and Clark, World Biomes, and much more. This site is developed by a third grade teacher at the Gifted and Talented Center of White Oaks Elementary School (Fairfax County Public Schools, VA) and former computer and technology teacher. These are great interactive research tools for kids in grades 4-8 on the Civil War and the American Revolution. Students can do research on these two topics simply by clicking on the (flash) maps. There are also interactive word searches, quizzes, and crosswords. The site has many other history pages also. mrnussbaum.com also offers many different kinds of teacher tools such as QuizMaker on mrnussbaum.com premium, worksheet generators, and others With mrnussbaum.com premium scores are recorded in gradebook form and teachers can make customizable quizzes and tests.

Tuskegee Airmen Inc., National Web
http://www.tuskegeeairmen.org/pages/1/index.htm
The national website for this non-profit organization, its goals are to perpetuate the activities and achievements of those Americans who were assigned to the Tuskegee Institute Army Air Corps Program, America's first black military airmen, during the period from January 1941 through September 1948. Check out the History section for plenty of information on who Tuskegee Airmen were and their experiences.

Calendars Through the Ages
http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/
Calendars Through the Ages gives visitors an overview of the development of varied cultural calendars of and major sections cover calendar astronomy, history, and definitions. The origins of the week and the names of the days are explored in the "Week" section and there is a timeline of interesting calendar facts. View a timeline of interesting calendar facts and learn about our seven-day week.

Library of Congress: Third Reich Collection
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/catalog.html
The Third Reich Collection consistes of more than 450 presentation albums, scrapbooks and groups of photographs related to the Third Reich in Germany (1933-1945) described through group records, with some links to selected digitized items. Images in the collection portray Nazi
leaders; political events after World War I and the rise of the Nazi Party; the 1936 Olympics; World War II scenes; art and architecture; and industries. To search for these materials, go to the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog , select the blue button labeled: "Search the Catalog," and then type into the search blank "Third Reich Collection."

The Library of Economics and Liberty
http://www.econlib.org/index.html
The Library of Economics and Liberty is “dedicated to advancing the study of economics,
markets, and liberty.” The site’s features include news columns, editions of classics in the fields of political theory and economics, and a number of annotated bibliographies. For those looking
for some contemporary perspectives on related issues, they need look no further than the Library’s homepage. Visitors can read reflections on “licit globalization” from Ibsen Martinez and a piece titled “Why is Economics so Boring?” from Boston College’s Donald Cox. For a bit of fun, visitors can also view a list of upcoming birthdays of notable economists such as Gunnar
Myrdal and others.

Antietam on the Web
http://aotw.org/exhibit.php?exhibit_id=417
Antietam on the Web, now in its tenth year, offers an in-depth online reference and interactive community centered on the American Civil War battle at Sharpsburg in 1862. Highlights from the contents include: complete texts for each of the 315 post-battle Official Reports written by commanding officers on both sides; a set of 13 highly detailed battle maps covering the action at Sharpsburg with links to units described; profiles of about 1060 individuals present, including all of the known officers in command positions, many having in-depth biographical information, and with photographs of more than 400 of them; pages for all of the 435 Regiments, 132 Batteries, and 42 other units on the Campaign, as well as the Brigade, Division, and Army Corps organizations containing them; a collection of two dozen special articles, exhibits, and eyewitness accounts illuminating the events of September 1862; and the newest addition: a Gallery of photographs and other images both contemporary to the Battle and those offering modern views of the battlefield and some of the objects of War.

Asia for Educators
http://www.open2.net/renaissance2/index.html
Asia for Educators Online features classroom materials and teaching guides on Asia for use by faculty and students in world history, culture, geography, art, and literature at the undergraduate and pre-college levels. Search for content by subject area, document type, or time period. AFE Online also features several multimedia and image-based units on various Asia-related topics, as well as maps, timelines, primary source readings, and a searchable database of recommended teaching materials from other publishers. AFE Online is an initiative of the East Asian Curriculum Project and the Project on Asia in the Core Curriculum at Columbia University.

Armenica.org: History of Armenia
http://www.armenica.org
This site-in-progress contains the complete history of Armenia, covering the period between 800 B.C. and 2004, including the background, implementation and the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide. It includes maps, a chronology, a search function and a developing "persons" database.

All Hands on Deck: Learning Adventures Aboard “Old Ironsides"
http://www.allhandsondeck.org
The USS Constitution Museum has made its award-winning K-12 curriculum, All Hands on Deck: Learning Adventures Aboard “Old Ironsides,” available for download from the Web at no cost. The curriculum, previously available only as a workbook, uses one of the United States' most colorful and beloved icons to teach a range of subjects. All materials are free to download at http://www.allhandsondeck.org/; more than 12,000 educators have requested All Hands on Deck in the hard-copy version.

EduBlogging Assessment Guides
It can be a formidable challenge to grade a blog. Blog posts are by nature informal and personal and don't always lend themselves easily to a formal grading rubric. Thus, some teachers choose not to assess blog posts in any specific, formal manner and may instead evaluate them informally as part of a participation grade.
Nonetheless, some teachers and organizations have attempted to formalize the blog assessment process. Emerson college has created a PDF document entitled "Assessing Student Weblogs" and also offers other edublogging guides. The tool helps the teacher assess the content, theme, emotion and academic quality of student writing as well as reveal common threads within a group.
http://www.emerson.edu/itg/index.cfm?doc_id=1308
Scroll down to the PDF documents

The Emerson rubric is inspired by Bernie Dodge, known for his development of the "WebQuest" model for internet-based research activities. He has a rich and useful list of resources for blogs. Among the topics: Protocols, Policies, Etiquette; Blogs by K-12 Students; Blogs by Educators; Blogs About EduBlogging; Example Class or Project Blogs.
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec700/BL/resources.htm?
enc=UTF -8&search=browse&id=bdodge&sort=&dir=&pos
=&category=147360&date=0&keyword=

Quick Tips for InfoTrac's PowerSearch
PowerSearch enables you to search several InfoTrac databases at the same time.
How to Cross-Search the Databases:
1. Select the Databases you would like to search
**recommendations: General Reference Center Gold, Expanded Academic ASAP, Gale Virtual Reference Library and possibly Student Edition

2. Click "Submit" button
**consider coming back later and trying the specialized databases (click "change databases"): Biography, K-12 Edition

Tips for Basic Search:
Subject= higher relevancy, but potentially fewer "hits"
Keyword=lesser relevancy than Subject, but more hits
Full Text=many hits, but less relevancy

(click "more search options" for option to limit to full-text documents)

Tips for Analyzing Results
Note various tabs, especially: Magazines & Journals, News,
Note that below each result is link to full-text
Note that to the right of each result is brief definition of source

THWT/BOHWS Revisions and Expansion
Both The Center for Teaching History with Technology and Best of History Web Sites are undergoing significant updates and expansion. The newest BOHWS categories are 20th Century: China and Tibet and 20th Century: Terrorism
and 9/11 . More categories will appear later this winter. Also, I have recently launched THWT Edublogger (Teaching Humanities With Technology blog ) that features news, views, and tutorials on teaching History, Social Studies, English, Language Arts, and Classics with technology.