Research Paper One

Using Technology to Teach History Page 1 of 11

Research Paper One

Using Technology to Teach History

Written by: Kelly Wade

Educ 504: Computers and Technology

October 11, 2004

Kelly Wade Educ 504October 11, 2004

Using Technology to Teach History Page 1 of 11

Teaching with technology brings the classroom alive for the students. Today’s resources are so much more valuable then the yesteryears. The days of books, paper, and pencils are over. Welcome to the new age of technology in the classroom. Using technology in the classroom is taking teaching to the next level. It can be used in every subject area from Math, Science, English, History, and even to the areas of Art and Music. Technology integration is the new wave of the future. One area of interest of mine is using technology to teach History. History comes to life when it is taught using the various forms of technology. There are many forms of technology used in the field of education to teach history. The forms of technology that this paper will focus on are as follows, Power Point, Smart Board, Overhead Projections, Audio Visual Aids, Internet, and E-mail.

Using the computer in the classroom is a smart interactive media, which can be used endlessly and benefits both teacher and student. One area of technology, which does this to no avail, is Power Point. Power Point is the new overhead projector with benefits. The benefits are incredible with this new form of media presentation. Power Point is a relatively new concept in the field of education as a form of presentation. It is used widely throughout schools and colleges, even now as young as pre-school are using Power Point. Power Point is a simple tool to use; which once mastered by the presenter, the possibilities are endless. Power Point brings action, music and sound effects to presentations. One of my favorite websites to download free sound clips is With Power Point, the entire presentation can be printed off for students to take with them. Hyperlinks can be added to the slides, which connect the Internet to the presentation. Interlinking video presentations and video slides are a snap with this new media tool. Teachers can download free backgrounds, video clips, animation, artwork, music, and sound effects effortlessly and easily. One of my favorite websites teachers can download free clip art from is Also is a wonderful website for teachers to download new backgrounds for Power Point slides and this website is also free.

Using Power Point to teach history is effortless and easy once the teacher masters it. The history will come alive for the students once sound and animation are added to the slides. No more sleepy students when Power Point is used in the classroom.

Another form of media, which helps in the classroom, is Smart Board. Smart Board is an awesome product to use as a teacher. Smart Board is an electronic white board, which is getting great reviews from teachers everywhere. Here I have listed some testimonials from others about using this new device from the website, The testimonials are as follows,

Dr. Mary Ann Bell, Assistant Professor of Library Science at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas addresses the question: "Why do I like interactive whiteboards so much?"

For full text, go to

The interactive electronic whiteboard is great for demonstrations....
The interactive electronic whiteboard is a colorful tool. Research indicates that students respond to displays where color is employed...
The board can accommodate different learning styles...
All ages of students respond favorably to board use...
Distance learning is an excellent setting for interactive whiteboard use...
One-computer classrooms can maximize the use of limited computer access...
The interactive whiteboard is an excellent tool for the constructivist educator...
The boards are clean and attractive tools...
Students with limited motor skills can enjoy board use...
It is interactive...
It can interface well with other peripherals....
The board is great for meetings are lessons where the participants need printed copies...
It is a kid magnet! ...

Two more testimonials are as follows,

Atherley School in Southampton, England describes how electronic whiteboards can benefit teaching and learning. Full text at

The teacher at the front of the class and the whole class engaged together...
It gives the teacher instant access to a vast array of electronic resources...
It enables seamless links to be made between the technology and the subject material...
Teachers are rethinking their approach to teaching...
The flexibility and the scope for imaginative lesson planning is huge...
Pages can automatically be saved and can be printed, emailed or even pasted into a website...
The flipchart files can be updated or merged with other Windows applications...

Mary Ann Bell of Baylor University conducted a study of teachers' use and perceptions regarding the interactive electronic whiteboard as an instructional tool, on the following:

Ease of use
Effectiveness of board as a teaching tool
Students' responses to the Board
Preference of whiteboard to alternative presentation methods
Value of interactive quality of board
Open-ended questions about notable successes with board, & what they liked best /least about the board

The Smart Board was a product invented in 1987, which has become over time, a powerful teaching tool. The definition of Smart Board was taken from the website: Smart Board is an interactive whiteboard, which can be a powerful tool for teaching, presenting, and collaborating. The computer image is projected onto the board, where you can simply touch the touch-sensitive surface to control applications. Using pens from the pen tray, you can easily take notes and highlight valuable information. Teachers can use Smart Board to Simplify, Create, Focus, Interact, and Capture.

Simplify- Use familiar, easy-to-use tools to work naturally at the board.
Create- Draw diagrams, write notes, and illustrate ideas.
Focus- Use electronic ink to highlight important information.
Interact- Control any computer application simply by touching the board.
Capture- Save, prints, or email notes.

Teachers who are viewing this information can clearly see by definition and through testimonials alone that Smart Board is the new wave of the future. Smart Board is a product, which should replace old projection screens and overheads and propel classrooms into the new interactive future.

Another media form of technology, which is used in classroom teaching for years, is the overhead projector. The overhead projector has been used in classrooms to display charts, facts, and notes. Taken from the website of the explanation of the overhead projector is as follows: An overhead projector is a display system that is used to display images to an audience. They typically consist of a large box containing a very bright lamp and a fan to cool it, on top of which is a large lens that collimates the light. Above the box, typically on a long arm, is a mirror that redirects the light forward instead of up. Transparencies are placed on top of the lens for display. The light from the lamp travels though the transparency and into the mirror where it is shone forward onto a screen for display. The mirror allows both the presenter and the audience to see the image at the same time, the presenter looking down as if writing, the audience looking forward at the screen. Transparencies are very effective when the presentation is not too long and the overheads can be varied. Use transparencies as a teaching aid and not as a source, keep them short and to the point. Use them to stress key points in a presentation.

The definition of an overhead is pretty straightforward. Teachers use this form of media presentation because it is readily available, inexpensive, and used in the past for years. History teachers can use overheads to present lessons, take notes, and draw on overhead transparencies. Kids have responded well to overheads in the past but it sure is no Power Point or Smart Board. Until schools have bigger budgets and funds available to buy the new technology, teachers will have to make due with what is available, like overhead projectors.

Another form of technology that is used in teaching, which is an oldie but a goodie, is the use of audio visual aids, such as television and movies. Using television and movies to teach history brings the subject alive for the student. Books and resource materials are wonderful tools, yet using television and movies to teach with brings audiovisual stimulus to the classroom. All students learn differently through various stimulations. What works for one student doesn’t mean it will work for all. Good teachers use various forms of media to teach with, which keeps their students on their toes. Students will not be bored if teachers stray from the norm and mix up teaching tools.

Television and movies will keep attention, draw students into the action, make the students think creatively, and most importantly discussions and projects can result as an outcome. Cable channels now even have interactive programs available to teachers. According to the website: Teachers must exploit the television curriculum, or it will exploit them (Howard 1982). The wide variety of education-based cable channels greatly increases the opportunity to use television to teach 20th-century United States history. For example, two recent television programs suitable for high school history students were an in-depth biography of Robert Kennedy and the award-winning Civil Rights movement documentary, "Eyes on the Prize." As any educator can see, any media, whether television or movies can stimulate a child to learn and be creative is only a benefit in the long run. By mixing up the teaching tools, teachers reach out to all and leave no child behind regardless of intelligence.

Another form of media, which teachers can use to stimulate the learning process in the classroom, is by using the Internet as a teaching tool. History teachers can use the Internet in various ways. One way is by printing off valuable lesson plans. Some of my favorite websites to print free lesson plans from are as follows:

and

Resources such as these are so valuable to educators because new ideas never hurt.

Another way history teachers can utilize the Internet is to base research papers the kids write directly from the Internet. All resource materials must be gathered from and sited directly from the Internet, no outside resources can be used. A project like this forces kids to use the computer. Students need to learn how to utilize the computer because we are in an age of technology where computers are used everyday in the workplace. Times are changing and teachers need to keep students up to speed on the changing technology.

The changing technology leads us into the final form of media, which teachers can use to stimulate students into learning. The final form of technology is that of e-mail. Gone are the days of letter writing with pencil, pen, and paper. Here are the days of tomorrow where the keyboard does all the writing for the student. E-mailing individuals for information is one way to incorporate the new media that students can use. Setting up accounts with other schools where kids exchange e-mail letters weekly can enhance the classroom experience. Kids will learn about students in other surroundings, culture, and even continents. The World Wide Web brings students closer together and the learning experience more unique.

Kids will only be enriched and become well-rounded individuals when introduced to new forms of media and interaction. Relationships and experiences will develop that could never be achieved before when just using pen and paper. Even with the use of web cams, e-mail becomes more personal. It is a whole new world out there, and teachers need to start incorporating technology into their daily routines to enrich the lives of their students.

Teaching with technology brings the classroom alive for the students

Today’s resources are so much more valuable then the yesteryears. Using technology in the classroom is taking teaching to the next level. Using technology to teach history is empowering and enriching the students learning experience. The different forms of media reach out to the different levels of intelligence. Students will only thrive when introduced to Power Point, Smart Board, Overhead Projections, Audio Visual Aids, Internet, and E-mail in the classroom. As any educator can see, any stimulus, which helps kids succeed in the learning experience, can only be positive. No one can ever be too educated or too smart. Teachers can step up to the plate and incorporate new media to enrich classroom experience. Students someday will thank-you for your effort.

Kelly Wade Educ 504October 11, 2004