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Digital history is an emerging and rapidly changing academic field. The purpose of the Digital History Project is to educate scholars and the public about the state of the discipline by providing access to: interviews with scholars about topics related to digital history; presentations and essays about the field by noted scholars; syllabi and student projects from courses in digital history; reviews of major online projects and of tools which may be of use to digital historians; indices of peer-reviewed scholarship and digital projects; a directory of historians practicing digital history; and a clearinghouse of current events and news items of interest. Partners The site is made available through the generous support of the John and Catherine Angle Fund. It received production assistance from the New Media Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This site is maintained by Douglas Seefeldt, Assistant Professor of History & Faculty Fellow, Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, and William G. Thomas, III, John and Catherine Angle Chair in the Humanities and Professor of History, both of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Great description of the merits of using a wiki in a classroom.

Women's History Sources is a collaborative blog that serves as a current awareness tool for anyone who is interested in primary sources at archives, historic sites and museums, and libraries. Some of the types of sources that the blog covers: * New exhibits in archives, libraries, and museums * New digital collections (artifacts, diaries, oral histories, photos, etc.) * Featured objects/documents from other blogs and websites * "In the News" - stories that feature original documents or artifacts. * "On this Day" - digital resources that are related to an event on a specific date. * Recent books that include letters, diaries, photographs, etc. Audience 1. Archivists, Librarians, and Museum curators/personnel 2. Historians 3. College students 4. K-12 Teachers 5. General public with an interest in women's history Geographic Coverage Although the initial emphasis has been on women in United States history, the blog will become international in scope as the list of contributors grows. Contributors The blog will include archivists, historians, librarians, and museum professionals. Please contact Ken Middleton (ken.middlet@gmail.com) if you are interested in being a blog contributor.

"What is Digital History? Digital history is an approach to examining and representing the past that takes advantage of new communication technologies such as computers and the Web. It draws on essential features of the digital realm, such as databases, hypertextualization, and networks, to create and share historical knowledge. Digital history complements other forms of history-indeed, it draws its strength and methodological rigor from this age-old form of human understanding while using the latest technology."

Talking History, based at the University at Albany, State University of New York, is a production, distribution, and instructional center for all forms of "aural" history. Our mission is to provide teachers, students, researchers and the general public with as broad and outstanding a collection of audio documentaries, speeches, debates, oral histories, conference sessions, commentaries, archival audio sources, and other aural history resources as is available anywhere.

"AUTHOR: ISSIE LAPOWSKY. ISSIE LAPOWSKY DATE OF PUBLICATION: 05.04.15. 05.04.15 TIME OF PUBLICATION: 7:00 AM. 7:00 AM INSIDE THE SCHOOL SILICON VALLEY THINKS WILL SAVE EDUCATION Click to Open Overlay Gallery Students in the youngest class at the Fort Mason AltSchool help their teacher, Jennifer Aguilar, compile a list of what they know and what they want to know about butterflies. CHRISTIE HEMM KLOK/WIRED SO YOU'RE A parent, thinking about sending your 7-year-old to this rogue startup of a school you heard about from your friend's neighbor's sister. It's prospective parent information day, and you make the trek to San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood. You walk up to the second floor of the school, file into a glass-walled conference room overlooking a classroom, and take a seat alongside dozens of other parents who, like you, feel that public schools-with their endless bubble-filled tests, 38-kid classrooms, and antiquated approach to learning-just aren't cutting it. At the same time, you're thinking: this school is kind of weird. On one side of the glass is a cheery little scene, with two teachers leading two different middle school lessons on opposite ends of the room. But on the other side is something altogether unusual: an airy and open office with vaulted ceilings, sunlight streaming onto low-slung couches, and rows of hoodie-wearing employees typing away on their computers while munching on free snacks from the kitchen. And while you can't quite be sure, you think that might be a robot on wheels roaming about. Then there's the guy who's standing at the front of the conference room, the school's founder. Dressed in the San Francisco standard issue t-shirt and jeans, he's unlike any school administrator you've ever met. But the more he talks about how this school uses technology to enhance and individualize education, the more you start to like what he has to say. And so, if you are truly fed up with the school stat

Colonization is a strategy game where players take on the role of settles and build towns in a new land. A useful game for history lessons. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/History

"Picturing the 1930s," a new educational web site created by the Smithsonian American Art Museum in collaboration with the University of Virginia, allows teachers and students to explore the 1930s through paintings, artist memorabilia, historical documents, newsreels, period photographs, music, and video. Using PrimaryAccess, a web-based teaching tool developed at the university's Curry Center for Technology and Teacher Education, visitors can select images, write text, and record narration in the style of a documentary filmmaker. They can then screen their video in a virtual theater. PrimaryAccess is the first online tool that allows students to combine their own text, historical images from primary sources, and audio narration to create short online documentary films linked to social studies standards of learning, said Glen Bull, co-director of the Curry Center. Since the first version was developed in collaboration with U.Va.'s Center for Digital History and piloted in a local elementary school in 2005, more than 9,000 users worldwide have created more than 20,000 short movies. In creating digital documentaries, students embed facts and events in a narrative context that can enhance their retention and understanding of the material, said Curry research scientist Bill Ferster, who developed the application with Bull. Besides increasing their knowledge about the period, "Picturing the 1930s" enhances students' visual literacy skills, Ferster noted, adding that PrimaryAccess "offers teachers another tool to bring history alive."

project censored article on former Indiana gov Mitch Daniels now president of Purdue's effort to root out Zinn's work from being used by teachers.  article notes contrast of Ziinn's treatment of US imperialism compared with a standard history text used in Indiana that devotes all of two paragraphs to the US war with Mexico that ended with Mexico "ceding" i(n the euphemistic curricular language) almost 1/2 it's territory to the US--while not mentioning any dissent about this war.  In contrast, Zinn's people's history devotes a whole chapter to the conflict. 

Video lesson producer (since 2007) and former Social Studies teacher, Keith Hughes, has produced a new series of videos for students of U.S. History and Government. The new series provides one minute overviews of big topics in history and government. See his other videos, as well.

So some thoughts on how to affect change in a timely, and yet, deliberate fashion. * Know why you are changing... and know what you are giving up by making this change. Every change creates winners and losers, so be sure to think through what you gain and what you lose (thanks to Neil Postman for that framework.) which leads to... * Always ask "What is the worst consequence of your best idea?" Do it for two reasons - one, because if you can't live with that consequence, don't do what you planned, but two, because the process of thinking this through will help you (and your team) mitigate the problems and you won't be as surprised when the thing you didn't think of comes up. * Research like crazy. Who has tried what you are doing? Who has tried something close to what you're doing? Who is talking about it? Who is writing about it? Who says the idea is already crazy? There aren't many truly new ideas in education, so figure out the history of your idea and learn from who has come before you. * Get lots of opinions - Come up with a smart, sensible, honest way to explain your idea and then listen. Listen a lot. Listen to the folks who don't like the idea, and ask them why. * Be honest - Don't oversell, don't overpromise, and don't pretend that the idea is perfect. * Build consensus - If only a few people are on-board with the idea, it won't work. But consensus doesn't mean taking something from everyone and sticking it onto the original idea until what you have is the worst of committee-based decisions. It means listening for the truths in what other people are telling you and being willing to make substantive change when it makes sense. * Know when to move forward. Don't let ideas die in committee because the team gets hung up on the final 5% of an idea. * Set realistic expectations for initial success, and then set up a plan to get there. If it's a tech idea -- get the tech right. (Nothing worse than getting everyone excited about a n

So some thoughts on how to affect change in a timely, and yet, deliberate fashion. * Know why you are changing... and know what you are giving up by making this change. Every change creates winners and losers, so be sure to think through what you gain and what you lose (thanks to Neil Postman for that framework.) which leads to... * Always ask "What is the worst consequence of your best idea?" Do it for two reasons - one, because if you can't live with that consequence, don't do what you planned, but two, because the process of thinking this through will help you (and your team) mitigate the problems and you won't be as surprised when the thing you didn't think of comes up. * Research like crazy. Who has tried what you are doing? Who has tried something close to what you're doing? Who is talking about it? Who is writing about it? Who says the idea is already crazy? There aren't many truly new ideas in education, so figure out the history of your idea and learn from who has come before you. * Get lots of opinions - Come up with a smart, sensible, honest way to explain your idea and then listen. Listen a lot. Listen to the folks who don't like the idea, and ask them why. * Be honest - Don't oversell, don't overpromise, and don't pretend that the idea is perfect. * Build consensus - If only a few people are on-board with the idea, it won't work. But consensus doesn't mean taking something from everyone and sticking it onto the original idea until what you have is the worst of committee-based decisions. It means listening for the truths in what other people are telling you and being willing to make substantive change when it makes sense. * Know when to move forward. Don't let ideas die in committee because the team gets hung up on the final 5% of an idea. * Set realistic expectations for initial success, and then set up a plan to get there. If it's a tech idea -- get the tech right. (Nothing worse than getting everyone excited about a n

On why MOOCs are flawed

Bill Gates' backed project teaches high school history with a number of academic subjects, especially science.

Yes, it's great. I use this in my Theory of Knowledge teaching. Great for showing the inter connectedness of knowledge.

The history of teaching is littered with ideas that have come and gone. In their day each was the new bright hope, set to transform what we do as teachers and how our students learn. Each new idea had its supporters and detractors and each in turn was replaced by an alternative or simply disappeared from view. Those who have experienced this ebb and flow of ideas have learned to approach the shiny and the new with caution and yet we have all encountered ideas that are so compelling it is difficult to ignore. How might we approach new ideas and innovative practices in ways that ensure our students benefit?

870,000 vintage pictures of New York City

Over 870,000 vintage photographs from New York City's history.