You are on page 1of 120

DIGITAL PUBLIC HISTORY: VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS AS ENGAGED LEARNING

by

Nancy Rubin

A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of

The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for a Doctor of Philosophy

Florida Atlantic University

Boca Raton, FL

December 2007
Copyright by Nancy Rubin 2007

ii
Digital Public History: Virtual Field Trips (VFTs) as Engaged Learning

by Nancy Rubin

This dissertation was prepared under the direction of the candidate’s dissertation
advisor, Dr. Robin N. Fiore, and has been approved by the members of her
supervisory committee. It has been submitted to the faculty of the Dorothy F.
Schmidt College of Arts and Letters and was accepted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE

____________________________________
Dr. Robin N. Fiore
Director of Dissertation

____________________________________
Dr. Sandra Norman

____________________________________
Dr. Deborah L. Floyd

________________________________________
Dr. Susan Love Brown
Interim Director of Ph.D. in Comparative Studies

________________________________________
Dr. Sandra Norman
Dean, The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

_________________________________________
Dr. Barry Rosson
Dean, Graduate Studies and Programs

iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank the members of my committee who have offered their

time and advice so generously. I thank Dr. Robin Fiore, my Committee Chair, for

her invaluable assistance and for being such a wonderful mentor, teacher, and a

friend. Dr. Deborah Floyd has graciously offered her knowledge and guidance.

Dr. Sandra Norman inspired my passion for digital history and I sincerely

appreciate her support. I would like to acknowledge Miriam Crisman her editing

skills and for her friendship. Finally, I express my deepest gratitude to my family

who has supported me through the entire doctoral program; my husband, David,

and my children, Zachary and Rachel, and my parents, Elaine and Robert Lauer.
ABSTRACT

Author: Nancy Rubin

Title: Digital Public History: Virtual Field Trips as Engaged Learning

Institution: Florida Atlantic University

Advisor: Dr. Robin N. Fiore

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Year: 2007

Digital Public History: Virtual Field Trips (VFTs) as Engaged Learning

addresses new opportunities and challenges in teaching with technology,

specifically, capturing the attention of the emerging “cyber-literate” generation by

using virtual field trips to directly engage learners in public history and community

memory. The project will consist of three parts: an assessment of the

opportunities for technology integration in teaching and learning, the connection

between digital resources and social studies, and case study of a virtual field trip

using the Boca Raton Army Airfield (BRAAF) site.

Our view of the past is influenced by the media, religious upbringing,

monuments, memorials, and cultural influences such as family and school.

History and social studies classes are where most young people learn about the

collective, public past. Virtual field trips (VFTs) are an ideal way to transport
students back in time to learn about different communities and to experience the

history of the people and place in thought-provoking ways. VFTs can introduce

learners to primary materials that are too far away or too fragile to examine.

History can be brought to life with first-person narratives that “virtual travelers”

can watch via streaming video technology. Activities such as scavenger hunts for

specific objects using maps and 3D virtual environments can be incorporated into

virtual adventures so visitors can move around and “walk” through a room or

landscape. Hand-held computers, cell phones, and tablet computers are being

used with wireless networking to connect participants in geographically diverse

locations. Classes in different schools and even in different countries can work

collaboratively on projects.

There are many advantages to taking, designing, and developing virtual

field trips, however, the two reasons I chose to use a virtual field trip as a method

of engaging students in history and social studies are: (1) History is more

engaging when presented in an interactive, multimedia experience; and (2)

Virtual field trips can be used to build relationships between generations and

cultures. The ways students are taught must engage them in a journey of self-

discovery in order for them to become self-directed, lifelong learners.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................ix

LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................... x

CHAPTER ONE.................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1
Purpose and Justification of the Study .............................................................. 3
Literature ........................................................................................................... 8
Community Memory ...................................................................................... 8
Digital Public History ................................................................................... 11
Virtual Field Trips ........................................................................................ 13
Constructivist Learning Theories ................................................................. 15
Twenty-first Century Literacies .................................................................... 18
Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 19

CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................. 22


“CRISIS IN EDUCATION:” THE EVOLUTION OF STANDARDS-BASED
EDUCATION ...................................................................................................... 22
Introduction ..................................................................................................... 22
Standards-based Education in the United States............................................ 23
The No Child Left Behind Act .......................................................................... 27
Social Studies Standards and the Motivation for Social Studies ..................... 29
National Education Technology Standards (NETS) ........................................ 33
Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants .................................................................. 36
Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 37

CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................. 39


SELF-DIRECTED LEARNERS: “INFOTECTIVES” ............................................ 39
Constructivism: From Passive Learning to Active Learning ............................ 40
Project-based Learning (PBL) ......................................................................... 41
“Free-Range Students” ................................................................................... 43
Authentic Assessments: Projects and Performances ...................................... 49
From Information to Interaction ....................................................................... 50
Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 56

CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................... 57


DIGITAL HISTORY PROJECTS: THE CASE FOR VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS ..... 57
Digital History Resources ................................................................................ 57
Virtual Field Trips (VFTs) ................................................................................ 61
Virtual Field Trips for Historical Inquiry and Place-based Education ............... 63
Virtual Field Trip Notables ............................................................................... 64
Virtual Field Trips: Self-Directed Learning Tool............................................... 67
Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 71

CHAPTER FIVE ................................................................................................. 73


THE BOCA RATON ARMY AIR FIELD (BRAAF) ............................................... 73
Florida’s World War II History ......................................................................... 73
The Boca Raton Army Air Field (BRAAF) ....................................................... 74

CHAPTER SIX ................................................................................................... 79


A VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP TO THE BOCA RATON ARMY AIR FIELD................. 79
Planning Technology-Infused Lessons ........................................................... 79
Virtual Field Trip Planning ............................................................................... 81
Maps and Geo-caching ................................................................................... 85
Oral Histories .................................................................................................. 86
Virtual BRAAF ................................................................................................. 88
Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 94

Bibliography ........................................................................................................ 96

viii
LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: NCSS Thematic Strands....................................................................... 31

Table 2: National Education Technology Standards for Students (NETS).......... 34

Table 3: Essential skills for Cyberspace (McKenzie, 1998) ................................ 46

Table 4: Web 2.0 Technologies .......................................................................... 53

Table 5: Technology Integration Planning Model................................................ 80

Table 6: Virtual field trip planning steps .............................................................. 82

Table 7: Virtual BRAAF Lesson Plan .................................................................. 90

ix
LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Skills for Grazing the Net ..................................................................... 45

Figure 2: Web2.0 Technologies .......................................................................... 52

Figure 3: Virtual BRAAF Components ................................................................ 89

x
CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

New technologies and educational philosophies have exponentially

expanded the possibilities for teaching and learning in the last decade. Wireless

laptops are now used in classrooms to access the Internet, communicate with

others, and increase productivity. Textbooks are available in electronic format

and can be accessed by computer. School districts license electronic resources

for teachers and students to use in school and at home. iPods and other devices

once used primarily for entertainment are now used by individuals to record and

publish content for others to view and download.

Virtual field trips (VFTs) take schoolchildren on excursions they might

otherwise not be able to go on and connect learners to professionals who can

share unique insights and first-hand experiences. VFTs help students learn about

places of interest and make observations without physically visiting an actual

site. Technology, in the form of a virtual field trip, empowers learners to be more

involved in what they are learning, enables students to better relate what they are

studying to previous knowledge and personal experiences, and helps them

become more effective users of information and technology.

Young people born between 1981 and 1993, whether they are called

Generation Y (Ad Age, 1993), Millenials (Strauss and Howe, 1992), or the Net

1
Generation (Tapscott, 1998), are the first to grow up in a digital world. They are

surrounded by cell phones, digital music players, computers, video games, the

Internet; and their fascination is only growing. According to educational theorist,

Marc Prensky, young people are “Digital Natives” who have grown up with

technology and learn differently than past generations because they expect a

highly stimulating and interactive digital environment (2001). “Digital natives” are

used to being in control of their media; listening to music arranged into personal

play lists and watching television shows at their convenience on digital recorders.

In their world, the consumer of information is in charge, not the producer

(Gaston, 2006, p.12).

In contrast, many teachers are “Digital Immigrants;” not born into the

digital world, speaking an outdated, pre-digital age language to a population that

speaks an entirely new one (Prensky, 2001). Educators need to reconsider both

the way they teach and their content, learning to communicate in the language

and style of their students. Teaching “Digital Natives” requires more than the

addition of technology skills alone; it also requires the knowledge and skills to

engage students in a new kind of learning process.

Alan November, author of Empowering Students with Technology and co-

founder of The Stanford Institute for Educational Leadership Through

Technology, maintains that teachers today are unprepared to use technology in

their daily instruction (2001). November envisions a new culture of teaching and

learning that includes collegiality, new relationships with family and community,

students who are more self-directed and new models of curriculum and

2
assessment. This study extends November’s view and provides a teaching

model that enables the sharing of instructional strategies and collaboration with

other teachers. Digital Public History: Virtual Field Trips (VFTs) as Engaged

Learning addresses new opportunities and challenges in teaching with

technology, specifically, capturing the attention of the emerging “cyber-literate”

generation by using virtual field trips to directly engage learners in public history

and community memory. The study is presented here in three parts: an

assessment of the opportunities for technology integration in teaching and

learning, the connection between digital resources and social studies, and a

template for a virtual field trip using the Boca Raton Army Airfield (BRAAF) site

as a case study.

Purpose and Justification of the Study

Our view of the past is influenced by the media, religious upbringing,

monuments, memorials, and cultural influences such as family and school.

History and social studies classes are where most young people learn about the

collective, public past. Virtual field trips (VFTs) are an ideal way to transport

students back in time to learn about different communities and to experience the

history of the people and place in thought-provoking ways. VFTs can introduce

learners to primary materials that are too far away or too fragile to examine.

History can be brought to life with first-person narratives that “virtual travelers”

can watch via streaming video technology. Activities such as scavenger hunts for

specific objects using maps and 3D virtual environments can be incorporated into

virtual adventures so visitors can move around and “walk” through a room or

3
landscape. Hand-held computers, cell phones, and tablet computers are being

used with wireless networking to connect participants in geographically diverse

locations. Classes in different schools and even in different countries can work

collaboratively on projects.

RAFT, Remotely Accessible Field Trips, a project of the Fraunhofer

Institute in Germany, facilitates field trips for schools and enables international

collaboration (http://www.raft-project.com/). Small groups go on trips while other

classes from remote schools participate interactively via the Internet. The groups

going to the field are equipped with data gathering devices (photographic, video,

audio, measuring), wireless communication and a video conferencing system for

direct interaction between the field and the classroom. Assignments are given

that are related to the site being visited and data is collected throughout the trip.

Teachers are provided with templates to help them design projects to use before,

during, and after the field trip with clearly delineated roles for both classroom and

field participants.

Developing sophisticated digital learning environments is not easy for

multimedia designers let alone classroom teachers. Many teachers have little

experience integrating technology into the students’ learning process or using

models on which to build their own visions of an integrated classroom (Beichner,

1993; Kerr, 1996; Morehead & LaBeau, 2005, Schrum, 1999). Critics have

argued that successful use of technology in schools may depend on how well

universities prepare teacher candidates to use technology in their own

4
classrooms and whether they provide opportunities for teacher training, practice

and reflection (Kent & McNergney, 1999).

Digital Public History: Virtual Field Trips (VFTs) as Engaged Learning

originated with my participation in a project to save Florida Atlantic University’s

remaining World War II era buildings and to build a museum dedicated to the

Army Air Field and the men and women who served there. The project included

local preservationists, community leaders, veterans, and members of the Florida

Atlantic University community. Although the T-Buildings” were meant to be

temporary structures when they were constructed in 1942, several still remain on

the Florida Atlantic campus along with many historic artifacts. Based on the work

of this group, Florida Atlantic University applied for a grant which would enable

the university to renovate three of the remaining historic buildings. My work on

the project became a central element of this Digital Public History: Virtual Field

Trips (VFTs) as Engaged Learning: the creation of a virtual field trip to teach

children about Florida Atlantic University’s nearly invisible, but extraordinarily

important, history as a World War II Army Air Field. This portion of the study

serves a dual purpose; the virtual field trip is a useful educational tool, and it can

also be used as a model for educators to create their own virtual trips or engage

in digital history projects.

The Boca Raton Army Air Field (BRAAF) opened in Boca Raton, Florida in

1942. While many people know Boca Raton as a warm, upscale, beautiful place

to visit, regrettably, few people are aware of the important role this city played

during World War II. From 1942 – 1947, pilots were trained to fly B-17’s and

5
servicemen learned how to operate airborne radar, a top-secret device at the

time. Several of the original buildings from the Army Air Base still exist. Digital

Public History: Virtual Field Trips (VFTs) as Engaged Learning and the virtual

field trip project offers teachers a way of connecting the history of Boca Raton

and honoring the memories of the World War II veterans who served here.

Digital Public History: Virtual Field Trips (VFTs) as Engaged Learning

demonstrates the advantages of incorporating virtual field trips into social studies

and history studies. Two of the main advantages are (1) History is more

engaging when presented in an interactive, multimedia experience like a virtual

field trip; and (2) Virtual field trips can be used to build relationships between

generations and cultures. I will address each reason in turn.

Virtual field trips are a way of capturing the attention of today’s

“cyberliterate” generation while at the same time addressing national and state

history standards. I argue that in order for learners to become more engaged with

the past and the community in which they live, the way they are taught needs to

engage them and involve them in a journey of self-discovery. The digital

technologies I propose for my field trip; multimedia materials such as images and

photographs, film, virtual simulations, and computer-mediated communication,

create an engaging, interactive learning space for visitors of all ages.

Virtual field trips are an ideal method of engaging learners in history

studies because taking students on field trips exposes them to “real” people and

events and students develop a sense of themselves in relation to the world.

Virtual trips can provide even greater benefits because of unique technologies

6
that can enhance the experience as well as follow-up activities. Students are able

to view and download materials that further their understanding of concepts and

serve as tools for research reports. VFTs allow a teacher with just one computer

connected to the Internet the same access to primary source materials as a

teacher at the most expensive private school or upscale suburban school. The

digitization, scanning of paper documents into electronic format, provides a way

for students to examine resources with electronic tools and conduct searches

that facilitate and transform the learning process. Increased access to primary

source materials and the development of powerful digital search tools means that

novice learners can now get into archives and engage in the kind of activities that

only expert learners used to be able to do (Bass and Rosenzweig, 1999).

Researchers contend that historical knowledge can be developed most

successfully by “doing history” – using the discipline's tools to construct historical

knowledge (Seixas, 1999; Holt, 2004; Wineburg, 2001). The availability of digital

historical resources allows for learner-centered experiences and empowers

learners to construct a personal knowledge of history. Virtual field trips can

provide exposure to a broad array of historical resources. Digital Public History:

Virtual Field Trips (VFTs) as Engaged Learning demonstrates the flexibility of

virtual field trips: they can be used to teach about the history of Boca Raton

during World War II and, at the same time, raise awareness about the

importance of preserving the memory of a community. Learning about the Boca

Raton Army Airfield and the veterans who served here is a way for students to

develop a better understanding of Boca Raton then, and now. Many colleges and

7
universities have started creating digital history projects; local communities and

school systems are also getting involved in developing their own digital

resources. The Internet and the Web, in particular, provide a greater sense of

control over historical narratives because the nonlinear structure of the World

Wide Web means people can navigate through information at their own pace and

at their own direction. Digital Public History: Virtual Field Trips (VFTs) as

Engaged Learning will be a useful curriculum resource for teaching Florida and

World War II history. It will also serve as a model for teachers to develop their

own virtual field trips or digital history lessons.

Literature

The research for this project falls into five main areas; community memory, digital

history, virtual field trips, constructivist learning theories, and twenty-first century

literacies.

Community Memory

A new focus on the past has emerged in response to a resurgence of the

heritage and museum industry, technology advances, and political and cultural

shifts (Finkelstein, 2000). The availability of digital cameras and the ease with

which people can now take, edit, and produce their own pictures and movies has

led to an explosion in home media. There are many more “memory devices”

(Finkelstein, 2000) than ever before so how we remember individually and

collectively has become almost as important as what we remember.

8
The definition of history is complicated because it refers to a number of

different but related concepts. E.H. Carr, an historian of modern Russia and the

Soviet Union in the 20th century, maintains that historians are engaged in an

active process of asking questions, seeking out information, and forming

explanations (1961). Carr proposes thinking about the past and the present as a

continuum that stretches into the future. He believes that concern with the future

is what really motivates the study of the past. What society commonly refers to

as history actually includes a series of distinct but related ideas: (1) events from

the past, facts; (2) the process of gathering and organizing information from the

past, historical research; (3) explanations about the relationships between

specific historical events, and (4) broader explanations or “theories” about how

and why change takes place. History is the past, the study of the past, and

explanations about the past. (Singer, 2003, 23)

Historian David Glassberg maintains that what differentiates new memory

scholarship from the old is approach. Earlier studies focused on characterizing a

group or institution’s beliefs about its past and newer studies are trying to

understand the interrelationships between different versions of history in public.

Much of the new scholarship on memory examines autobiographical memory and

reminiscence. How individuals remember is important to oral history interviewers

and should be incorporated into public history projects, but the focus on personal

memory and individual recollection of the past is not especially useful to

historians working on public projects. Historians working with community groups

are in a good position to investigate how stories about the past are handed down

9
within families or circulate among friends. Common questions asked in the recent

scholarship on memory are: how do particular accounts of the past get

established and disseminated as the public one? How do these public histories

change over time? Glassberg, writing in The Public Historian, maintains cultural

resource management should be ongoing with programs developed to identify

and protect community memory sites, historic sites, and other significant local

places (1996).

Studying the past enables us to understand change and continuity

provides us with a better understanding of the contemporary world. History

studies encourage a sense of personal and communal identity through

connections to the past and raise important questions about interpretations of the

past (C. Young, 1993). History is vital for all citizens in a democracy because it

provides the only avenue we have to reach an understanding of ourselves and of

our society in relation to the human condition over time and of how some things

change and others continue (Gagnon, 1989). History can help students

understand and deal with change and at the same time teach them to identify the

links between past and present. Historian Peter Stearns maintains that there are

many reasons why we should study history. History helps us understand people

and societies offering “the only extensive evidential base for the contemplation

and analysis of how societies function, and people need to have some sense of

how societies function simply to run their own lives” (2006, p.2). History helps us

understand change and how the society we live in came to be. It provides

extensive materials to study the human condition and also focuses attention on

10
the processes of social change, teaching people personal growth and integrity

and preparing for public life as democratic citizens.

Digital Public History

Public history as an academic discipline focuses on the efficient and

ethical management of the nation's historical heritage and collective memories.

At a recent conference, the National Council on Public History revised their

definition of public history recently to: “A movement, methodology, and approach

that promotes the collaborative study and practice of history; its practitioners

embrace a mission to make their special insights accessible and useful to the

public” (http://www.ncph.org).

Digital technology has played an important role in raising public

awareness about important issues regarding the effectiveness of interactivity and

about the tensions between visitor agency in museum and memorial exhibits”

(Reading, 2003). The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance in Los

Angeles is an example of a museum that has incorporated new technologies into

its exhibits providing innovative ways of learning about the events of the

Holocaust. In an exhibit on racism and prejudice, visitors are presented with a

scenario and in a voting theater are asked what they would do under similar

circumstances (http://www.museumoftolerance.com). While the results are

recorded anonymously, the audience can see the how everyone responded. At

many Holocaust museums the interactivity comes from Holocaust survivors who

act as educators within the exhibition spaces themselves…However, as the last

of the survivors are moving towards the end of their lives, such museums are

11
also seeking ways of tactfully retaining their stories in the form of digital

interactive multimedia (Reading, 71). Digitized materials can include sound,

photographs, video clips, documents, diaries, maps and more. Providing the

public with access to the museum physically as well as virtually offers new

opportunities for exploration and possibilities of reaching audiences who might

not be able to visit in person.

Digital technology was used to create an aural memorial, a Sonic

Memorial experience, of the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11,

2001 (http://www.sonicmemorial.org/sonic/public/index.html). National Public

Radio (NPR) took up the task of aural remembering for the nation through a

collaboration of at least 100 NPR stations and their affiliates that contributed and

aired up to 30 hours of NPR-produced programming during the week before the

anniversary. The ubiquitous nature of computing and availability of digital

technology provides new possibilities for audiences to experience exhibits and

memorials. At the National Archives in Washington, a computer-based project

allows visitors to move a computer screen along a horizontal track in front of the

boxes in the archives. When the screen stops in front of a box, various archival

files can be viewed, including videos. Researchers who use the archive find it

exciting to go into an actual stack area and open a box and look through the

materials.

Digital historical resources have the capacity to create social networks.

Teachers and curators are able to take collections with them to students in

remote locations. Not all learning takes place inside of a school, or even a

12
classroom. Classes can communicate in different ways with other students,

teachers, or experts. The larger community—the people, the culture, the physical

environment, and even the virtual environment within which we each live—are

powerful teachers as well. Public memory and public history projects can take on

many different forms including museum exhibits, documentaries, historic

preservation projects, and oral and video history recording projects, just to name

a few. Virtual field trips are a specialized form of digital historical resource.

Virtual Field Trips

Field trips are always exciting for learners in any class. Virtual field trips

create learning experiences in which the teacher acts as a guide who scaffolds

the learning experience for the student. The student can construct his or her own

ideas by controlling when and where they obtain information and deciding what

information they need (Tuthill & Klemm, 2002). As with any classroom activity,

virtual field trips take careful planning to clearly identify the purpose of the field

trip and to determine what is expected of the students in terms of products and

performance (Tuthill & Klemm, 2002). Field trips are important in bridging formal

and informal learning by helping learners make real-world connections between

what they are learning in the classroom with what goes on in the world. However,

for many reasons, not many teachers take their learners on field trips.

Krepel & DuVall (1981) reported that only 10 percent of the teachers
surveyed conduct field trips in a given school year. Fisher (2001) reported
the decline of field trips, confirming that few learners have such
experiences today. Reasons teachers give for not taking field trips include
a schedule which is already too full, too many pupils in class, lack of time
for planning, problems with liability, lack of transportation, lack of funding,
lack of resource people for assistance, failure of school to assume trip

13
risks, too much red tape, and the inability of some tour guides to teach
and engage youngsters (Tuthill and Klemm, 2002, p.454).

Virtual field trips solve many of these problems and can be more engaging

and more stimulating than actual field trips. Interactive multimedia technologies

and virtual exhibits allow for an imaginary type of exploration and discovery that

the actual sites could not afford. Multimedia reenactments, like those at the

United States Holocaust museum, are used for virtual visits and as supplements

to actual field trips. Virtual travelers can take control of their learning and change

the relationship between themselves and their teachers. Teachers become

facilitators rather than the “sage on the stage”. Computers can provide

personalized learning experiences by asking the user questions and based on

the answers given personalize the information each user sees. New technology

places “greater emphasis on agency and the relationship between the user’s

identity in relation to learning history and developing socially inherited memories”

(Reading, 68). Technology becomes a way for learners to go back in time and

experience past and present representations simultaneously to compare and

contrast life today with life in the past.

Cox and Su, who studied the integration of student learning with

practitioner experiences, concluded that, virtual field trips present learners with

increased content access, opportunities to support various learning styles and

learning modalities (Cox and Su, 2004). Instructional technologies allow more

freedom and control over the learning pace and more exploration of concepts

through interactive multimedia. Virtual field trips may seem out of the ordinary to

someone who is not comfortable with technology but for today’s technology

14
savvy learners it is a natural way to “visit” a place they are learning about in

class. Virtual field trips offer new ways for teachers and learners to visit historical

sites and museums to connect history to their daily lives and better understand

the daily struggles and lives of people from the past.

Constructivist Learning Theories

Constructivist learning theories stress that people learn by doing, by being

actively engaged in the learning process; whereas, Behaviorism and Cognitivism,

earlier theories, support the practice of analyzing a task and breaking it down into

manageable chunks, establishing objectives, and measuring performance based

on those objectives. As a set of instructional practices, Constructivism favors

processes over end products; guided discovery over expository learning;

authentic, embedded learning situations over abstracted, artificial ones; and

authentic assessments over structured exams. Constructivism promotes a more

open-ended learning experience where the methods and results of learning are

not easily measured and may be different for each learner.

The technological advances of the 1980s and 1990s have enabled

instructional designers to move toward a more constructivist approach to

designing materials. One of the basic tenets of constructivism is that learning

results in participation in authentic activities, in other words, learning should be

based on activities and problems that learners might encounter in the real world

(Fosnet, 1989). Participating in a virtual field trip is an authentic experience

because it can transport learners to a site to learn about its history and make

their own connections as to why that history is important today. Constructivism

15
encourages critical thinking and creates active and motivated learners who can

construct their own understandings. Twomey Fosnot (1989) recommends a

constructivist approach be used to create learners who are autonomous,

inquisitive thinkers who question, investigate, and reason. Constructivist

classrooms allow teachers to make decisions that will enhance and enrich

learners' development in these areas.

A growing body of research in constructivist learning supports the use of

project-based and/or problem-based learning (Buck Institute, 2003). Project-

based learning projects engage and challenge learners in interdisciplinary

activities that enrich and extend the curriculum. Schools involved in project-

based learning experience an increase in student motivation, an increase in

cooperative learning skills and higher-order thinking, and an improvement in

student achievement. Project-based learning provides opportunities for multi-

disciplinary lessons drawn from real-world situations. Lifelong learning skills help

learners make informed decisions regarding the direction of their chosen careers,

technological developments, and other major financial, professional, and

personal questions that they will undoubtedly face.

Young people today need to leave school prepared to be successful

technological team players who are able to “teach up” the hierarchy. Project-

based learning offers many opportunities for students to develop these skills.

Students work together in groups, similar to the way they would work in a “real”

workplace and offer feedback to each other in the form of peer assessment.

Opportunities for self-assessment, an important element of project-based

16
learning, helps students identify gaps in their knowledge and think more carefully

about what they know and what they need to learn. Because so much of work life

revolves around presenting ideas and results to peers, oral presentations in

problem-based learning provide students an opportunity to practice their

communication skills. Presenting findings to their group, the class, or even a real-

life audience can help strengthen these skills.

Many educators have struggled with ways to reach students in the

classroom, suggesting strategies for changing the ways that teachers teach, the

content of the curriculum, and classroom relationships. Lev Vygotsky, working in

the 1920s and 1930s in the Soviet Union, was concerned that educators were

often trapped by narrowly conceived and universally applied ideas about human

social and psychological development and, as a result, had rigid views about

appropriate learning strategies (Robyler, 2006). Vygotsky recognized that

students are strongly influenced by the social and historical circumstances of

their lives; he believed that, to stimulate academic learning, educators had to

“scaffold,” or build on the individual and social experiences of students and what

they already knew about the world.

Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences disputed the idea that

human intelligence can be accurately summarized with one reference point and

that all people learn in essentially the same fashion (Robyler, 2006). He

suggested multiple types of intelligence possessed by students in a variety of

combinations: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, body-kinesthetic, musical,

interpersonal (social), and intrapersonal (reflective). Gardner maintained that

17
curricula and teachers need to recognize and nurture all of the varied human

intelligences, and all of the combinations of intelligences, so that schools and

societies appropriately address the many problems that we face in the world.

Twenty-first Century Literacies

Now more than ever, there is a sense of urgency surrounding advances in

technology and their impact on literacy. Changes in the nature of literacy can be

seen in many classrooms in United States and around the world. Most

classrooms have at least one computer that is connected to the Internet and

lessons often include Internet research, electronic content, and online homework.

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 had a significant impact on the

integration of technology into schools especially the goals set forth in Part D—

Enhancing Education Through Technology. The primary goal is to improve

student academic achievement through the use of technology in schools and to

assist every student in crossing the digital divide by ensuring that every student

is technologically literate by the time the student finishes the eighth grade,

regardless of the student’s race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic

location, or disability.

Technology literacy standards were developed by the U.S. Department of

Education and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) in

1998. Student standards include the ability to use productivity tools,

communication tools, problem-solving and decision making tools and deal with

social and ethical issues in dealing with technology. In 2002, AOL Time Warner

co-sponsored the Twenty-first Century Literacy Summit which focused on our

18
change to a knowledge-based society (http://archive.nmc.org/summit/).

Recommendations included teaching more than just reading and writing;

students must learn technology literacy, information literacy, media literacy,

social responsibility, workplace skills and civic engagement.

New forms of literacy are critical in an age of technological revolution and

our education system faces the challenge of deploying new technologies in

creative and productive ways. In the past, basic literacy skills included reading,

writing, and calculation. Today literacy includes critical thought, persuasive

expression, and problem-solving. It also means utilizing a well-organized set of

facts to find new information and use it to solve novel problems. Regardless of

age, nearly all of today’s learners use the Web extensively for information,

communication, collaboration, and socializing. Students expect to interact with

information and receive near-instantaneous responses. Using digital archives,

databases, and the tools of a profession allows students to engage in “first-

person” learning. Rather than being told conclusions, students build their own

understanding (Oblinger, 2005).

Conclusion

“The preservation of our nation’s past lets each generation pass on

tangible evidence of its history to the next generation” (Save Our History).

Making history come alive in the classroom can be challenging, but advances in

technology and digital tools have made it possible to motivate students to learn

about the past. Digital historical inquiry means taking full advantage of current

and emerging technologies to support conceptualizations of learning history that

19
stress developing inquiry skills, perspective taking and meaning making over the

transmission textbook-driven model. More broadly, "digital history is the study of

the past using a variety of electronically reproduced primary source texts,

images, and artifacts as well as the constructed historical narratives, accounts, or

presentations that result from digital historical inquiry" (Lee, 2002). Several

history and social studies education researchers suggest that integrating

technology into social studies and history classrooms has the potential to

encourage active student inquiry (Lee, 2002; Van Fossen, 2001; Whitworth &

Berson, 2003).

The World Wide Web has made primary source documents available to

students and historians, and, in a sense, democratized the practice of history

(Ayers, 1999). The Web can put learners in direct contact with the raw materials

of history and enable them to construct personal understandings of the past.

Despite the growing availability of digital historical resources, very few social

studies teachers and teacher educators utilize the Web to encourage inquiry and

perspective taking within their classrooms (Lee, 2002; Van Fossen, 2001;

Whitworth & Berson, 2003). While the Web places vast amounts of information

before every social studies teacher and student, merely having access to a wide

range of disparate sources alone will not transform history and social studies

learning (Mason, Berson, Diem, Hicks, Lee, & Dralle, 2000). To date, social

studies teachers' technology preparation and meaningful usage, in terms of

seamlessly integrating technology to encourage inquiry, has lacked subject

context and has been disconnected from student learning (International Society

20
for Technology in Education, 1999; National Council for the Accreditation of

Teacher Education, 1997).

Technology alone will not improve the quality of education, but when

integrated with curriculum and instruction; it can be a powerful educational tool.

Technology that is fitted to curriculum and instruction can stimulate the

development of higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills, and it can

support collaborative learning. When integrated effectively into the curriculum,

digital content enables students to find and manipulate information in

collaborative, creative, and engaging ways, all of which foster learning.

21
CHAPTER TWO

“CRISIS IN EDUCATION:” THE EVOLUTION OF STANDARDS-BASED


EDUCATION

Introduction

When the Russians’ launched the Sputnik spacecraft in 1957, many

concluded there was a crisis in American education spearheading a back-to-

basics movement (Bracey, 2002). Throughout the 1970s and the 1980s, public

awareness rose regarding the low-performance of American students. Standards

and increased accountability were touted as the solution to the growing sense

that something was wrong in our schools (Evers, 2001).

Standards can be thought of as the “what” of education while curriculum

and instruction are the “how”. Content standards indicate “what” students should

know and be able to do, whereas performance standards measure “how” well a

student’s work meets the content standard. Standards guide what is taught in the

classroom. In core subjects such as English, math, science and social studies,

classroom activities are aligned to standards.

The standards movement gained support resulting in the passage of The

No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. Chapter 2 examines state, national and

technology standards and the impact of high-stakes testing on education with

22
specific attention paid to standards that promote historical thinking and their

impact on the teaching practices of history teachers.

Standards-based Education in the United States

The evolution of the standards-based movement can be traced back to the

successful launching of the Soviet space craft, Sputnik, in October 1957 (Bracey,

1998). Following the launch of Sputnik, Life magazine published a series of

articles titled, “Crisis in Education,” stating that America had not only fallen

behind in the race to launch a spacecraft, but also in educating our children

(1958). Anxiety over American schools’ performance and the feeling that schools

in the Soviet Union were producing more scientists, mathematicians, and

engineers was a major concern at the time. The debate about the quality of

American education escalated and a movement formed among educators calling

for a return to fundamentals, back to basics, back to drill and memorization, and

back to facts (Cremin, 1961; Ravitch, 1983).

Public demand for a federal response resulted in Congress passing the

National Defense Education Act (NDEA) in 1958. The goal of the Act was to

ensure that highly trained individuals would help America compete with the

Soviet Union in scientific and technical fields. The NDEA included support for

loans to college students, the improvement of science, mathematics, and foreign

language instruction in elementary and secondary schools, graduate fellowships,

and vocational-technical training. Policies were established at state and local

levels to sustain innovative programs in the school system (Bybee, 1997).

23
The state of education in the United States came under attack again in

1983 with the release of the “A Nation at Risk Report” which concluded that

almost 23 million American adults were functionally illiterate by the simplest test

of everyday reading, writing, and comprehension. The authors of the report

declared that the educational foundations of society were being eroded by a

“rising tide of mediocrity” that threatened our future as a Nation. The report

concluded that the American people were guilty of “educational disarmament” (p.

5). In other words, if a nation did to us what we are doing to ourselves we would

consider it an act of war. Among the solutions suggested in the report was the

establishment of a common core curriculum: high school students should study

English for four years, mathematics, science, and social studies for three years,

and computer science for at least one semester before graduating. When the

report was released, less than one-fifth of all American students met those

requirements (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983).

Although awareness of the inadequacies of the education system in our

country arose with the release of “A Nation at Risk (1983),” the movement toward

a national set of standards was slow. In January of 1985, nearly two years after

the release of the report, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of

Teaching discovered that nearly 75% of major United Stated corporations were

offering employees reading, writing, and math courses to remediate skills that

should have been acquired before employees entered the workforce. American

corporations were spending close to 40 billion dollars on the training and

development of employees. The Committee for Economic Development, an

24
organization of over 200 business executives and educators, warned that the

education system in America was putting the economic future of the country in

danger (2004).

In 1989, President George H.W. Bush held the first ever National

Education Summit aimed at drafting national goals for education. American

students leaving the 4th, 8th, and 12th grades were to demonstrate competency in

challenging subject matter. President Bush announced these educational goals

in his State of the Union address in January 1990. The National Education Goals

included: preparing preschool children properly so they are ready to learn;

reducing the dropout rate; improving academic performance; more opportunities

for teacher education and professional development; increased attention to math

and science; more workforce development to increase adult literacy and lifelong

learning; and safer, drug-free schools (NEGP, 1990).

In March of 1990, the World Conference on Education for All convened in

Thailand bringing international attention to concerns about the inadequacy of

basic education, especially in developing countries. A Framework for Action to

Meet Basic Learning Needs was developed spelling out specific targets and

strategies to reach the goal of “Education for All”, or EFA. The Framework for

Action (1990) specified “target dimensions" critical toward reaching the EFA goal.

While similar to the goals established in the United States, the goals were

broader including: expansion of early childhood care and activities; improvement

in learning achievement; reduction of the adult illiteracy rate; expansion of basic

education and training in other essential skills required by youth and adults and

25
increased acquisition by individuals and families of the knowledge, skills, and

values required for better living made available through all education channels,

including mass media.

In the past, schools succeeded in educating students if they equipped

them with the knowledge and skills that would help them establish successful

careers and to be responsible citizens and contributing members of society. In a

constantly changing, global workplace, the most valued skill is the ability to “learn

and keep learning (UNESCO, 2000)." Curriculum that was suitable for an

industrial age is no longer adequate for today’s interactive, information society. I

discuss the evolution from information to interaction in more detail in Chapter 4.

Educators agree that a rich basic education is necessary to be a functioning

worker, citizen, and family member (Rothstein, 2004; Ravitch, 1995). However,

without the skills to participate in a high-tech world, people will remain on the

margins of society, and society will not benefit from their potential contributions

(Partnership for Twenty-first Century Skills).

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 made telecommunications services

available to schools and libraries at discounted rates. According to published

data, 90 percent of schools in the United States had Internet access in 2002

(UNESCO, 2002). Although every school in the United States now has access to

computers, educators are only beginning to learn how to make the most effective

use of these powerful new tools. The growth of computers in schools has led to

the development of new learning techniques; however, not all educators have

embraced the changes and the problem of how to integrate computers into the

26
instructional process, and how to make teachers comfortable using them still

exists. Even if educators are technologically savvy, they are still “digital

immigrants;” not born into the digital world but have, at some point, become

fascinated by and adopted many or most aspects of the new technology. The

growing “digital divide” between technology literate students and illiterate

teachers is discussed more in Chapter 3.

A significant challenge facing school districts, and a mandate of the No

Child Left Behind Act, is to provide the professional development and material

resources necessary for teachers to develop lessons that offer students

opportunities for critical engagement and knowledge-building (Kimber & Smith,

2006). The goal of this study, presented as the Virtual Field Trip in Chapter 6, is

to demonstrate that teachers can not only implement technology-infused,

standards-based lessons, they can develop them with their students. Developing

a virtual field trip will immerse students in local history and technology, giving

them a chance to learn about the history of the “place” where they live and to

share that information with the rest of the world. Before proceeding, let me

complete the discussion of standards by addressing The No Child Left Behind

Act.

The No Child Left Behind Act

In 2001, President George W. Bush signed The No Child Left Behind Act

into law, forcing the nation’s schools system to comply with testing, reporting and

accountability requirements. The overarching goal of NCLB is to ensure that

every child, regardless of economic disadvantage, racial or ethnic identity, or

27
limited English language skills, become proficient in core subjects taught in public

school (NCLB, 2001). Achievement gaps between socio-economic groups are to

be identified and closed so children of all race and income levels can read and

do math at grade level by the year 2014. The four main principles of No Child

Left Behind are: holding schools accountable to show students are learning;

increasing flexibility for schools reaching goals; providing more options for

parents to choose outside of low-performing schools; and, using research on

what works best for student learning (U.S. Department of Education, 2001).

Schools are required to make “Adequate Yearly Progress” and to report

that progress by various subgroups which can amount to over 30 groups - ethnic

groups, special education students, English Language Learners, etc. If any

subgroup fails to make AYP for two consecutive years, all students in the school

must be offered the opportunity to transfer to a “successful school.” The school

might be doing well by 36 of its 37 subgroups, but according to federal standards

the school is “failing.” Groups of educators and parents have been critical of the

No Child Left Behind Act arguing against the use of standardized testing to

evaluate school progress because some students perform better on standardized

tests than others (Rabb, 2004). Classroom teachers report feeling pressured to

“teach to the test” in order to ensure good scores for their schools. The

benchmarks for success in No Child Left Behind depend on punishment (Bracey,

2006). Schools that do not do well, often through no fault of their own, are

sanctioned for doing poorly. If a school is determined to be "failing" under the No

Child Left Behind standards, sanctions are imposed on the school. Corrective

28
action for failing schools can include firing school staff, restructuring school

administration, bringing in outside professionals, and a new curriculum.

My aim here is not to critique the No Child Left Behind Act; I want to

demonstrate that it is possible to adhere to state and national standards and at

the same time engage students in technology-rich lessons. My virtual field trip

project re-focuses attention on successful educational practices rather than

educational compliance. I maintain that it is possible, in fact, desirable, to

address curriculum and technology standards in lessons, and, utilize innovative

practices to engage our students and teach them to become self-directed

learners. What motivates my project is the importance of social studies, a subject

that tends to get left out of the No Child Left Behind conversations in favor of

math and science. Elementary and middle schools have sacrificed social studies

instruction in favor of those subject areas which are tested (Manzo, 2005). In the

next section, I look more closely at national history standards and the decline of

social studies education.

Social Studies Standards and the Motivation for Social Studies

Social studies is considered to be the part of the school curriculum which

helps students develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values needed to

participate in civic life. Although curricular content has been a concern since the

establishment of schools, the case for the importance of history in the academic

curriculum in the present study begins with a statement from the Bradley

Commission on History in Schools:

29
History belongs in the school programs of all students, regardless of their
academic standing and preparation, of their curricular track, or of their
plans for the future. It is vital for all citizens in a democracy, because it
provides the only avenue we have to reach an understanding of ourselves
and of our society, in relation to the human condition over time, and of
how some things change and others continue (Jackson, 1989, p. 21).

Social studies aims to help young people develop the ability to make

informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally

diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world (NCSS). The National

Council for Social Studies, an association devoted to social studies education,

created curriculum standards which provide a framework for the integration of

national standards in social studies, including U.S. and world history, civics and

government, geography, global education, and economics.

Social studies standards address curriculum design and performance

expectations whereas individual discipline standards (civics and government,

economics, geography, and history) provide content detail. NCSS encourages

teachers and curriculum designers to establish their program frameworks using

the social studies standards as a guide, and then use the standards from history,

geography, civics, economics, and others to guide the development of grade

level strands and courses. Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for

Social Studies, published in 1994, established ten thematically based curriculum

standards and corresponding performance expectations. The ten themes NCSS

developed to organize social studies curriculum at the school level are: (1)

culture; (2) time, continuity, and change; (3) people, places, and environments;

(4) individual development and identity; (5) individuals, groups, and institutions;

30
(6) power, authority, and governance; (7) production, distribution, and

consumption; (8) science, technology, and society; (9) global connections; (10)

civic ideals and practices. Incorporated into lesson planning in interdisciplinary

ways, these strands helps students decide how they should live in accordance

with others based on the experience of humanity (Manzo, 2005). The following

table briefly describes the different strands and their meaning.

Table 1
NCSS Thematic Strands

Thematic Strand Description

Culture Ways that human groups learn, create, and adapt to

meet their fundamental needs and beliefs they

develop to explain the world.

Time, Continuity, and Ways that people locate themselves historically.

Change

People, Places, and The influence of geography on human cultures and

Environment history.

Individual development Relationships between the ways that people perceive

and Identity themselves and their membership in social groups.

Individuals, Groups, Roles played by social institutions such as schools

and Institutions and families in a society and their impact on

individuals and groups.

31
Power, Authority, and Ways that individuals and societies make decisions

Governance about rights, rules, relationships, and priorities.

Production, Distribution, Ways that individuals and societies make decisions

and Consumption about the things people need to survive and how they

will be provided.

Science, Technology, Methods and tools used by people to produce and

and Society distribute what they need and want within an economic

system.

Global Connections The increasingly important and diverse relationships

between societies.

Civic ideals and The relationship between the expressed beliefs of a

practices society and the implementation of these beliefs in

actual practice.

Despite the importance of social studies in the classroom, teachers do not

perceive social studies to be as important as other subject areas (Saxe, 1994). In

1984, John Goodlad confirmed in a major study that significantly more time was

devoted to language arts and math than to social studies. The American

Educational Research Association released the results of a survey conducted in

1998 that illuminated two major concerns: “the position of social studies in the

curriculum is being threatened by state and/or district testing mandates and

budget decisions” and “the lack of current instructional materials” (VanSledright,

1996, p. 8). Ninety percent of teachers responded that the textbook for instruction

32
and media was used less than once per week and fewer than 25% of the

respondents used the computer at least once a week.

“Powerful” social studies teaching, as defined by the National Council for

the Social Studies, builds a working knowledge of the evolution of the human

condition through time across locations and cultures and an appreciation of the

implications of this knowledge for social and civic decision-making (1992). My

virtual field trip project addresses several of the NCSS thematic strands as it

addresses a broad range of content using a variety of both instructional

resources and learning activities. Technology adds important dimensions to

student learning, particularly in social studies. Multimedia, computer games,

simulations, and digital resources allow students to apply important concepts in

authentic, problem-based contexts. Technology standards and the integration of

technology into teaching and learning are examined more closely in the next

section.

National Education Technology Standards (NETS)

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) also had a significant impact on the

integration of technology into schools. Part D—Enhancing Education Through

Technology focused primarily on improving student academic achievement

through the use of technology in schools and ensuring that every student is

technologically literate by the time the student finishes the eighth grade,

regardless of the student’s race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic

location, or disability.

33
Technology literacy standards were developed by the U.S. Department of

Education and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) in

1998. Student standards include the ability to use productivity tools,

communication tools, problem-solving and decision making tools and deal with

social and ethical issues in dealing with technology. The table below highlights

the six categories of technology standards. Teachers use these standards as

guidelines when integrating technology into lessons.

Table 2
National Education Technology Standards for Students (NETS)

Standard Benchmarks

Basic operations Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature

and concepts and operation of technology systems.

Students are proficient in the use of technology.

Social, ethical, and Students understand the ethical, cultural, and societal

human issues issues related to technology and practice responsible use

of technology systems, information, and software.

Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses

that support lifelong learning, collaboration, personal

pursuits, and productivity.

Technology Students use technology tools to enhance learning,

productivity tools increase productivity, and promote creativity.

34
Students use productivity tools to collaborate in

constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare

publications, and produce other creative works.

Technology
Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish,
communications
and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences.
tools

Students use a variety of media and formats to

communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple

audiences.

Technology Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect

research tools information from a variety of sources.

Students use technology tools to process data and report

results.

Students evaluate and select new information resources

based on the appropriateness for specific tasks.

Technology Students use technology resources for solving problems

problem-solving and making informed decisions.

and decision-
Students employ technology in the development of
making tools
strategies for solving problems in the real world.

35
Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

Instruction should not only be designed to meet a set of standards;

students must be able to connect their own experiences, both outside and inside

the classroom, for them to engage with the material. Educator and author, Marc

Prensky, recently commented that our schools are stuck in the 20th century but

our students are already into the 21st century. “If educators want to have

relevance in this century, it is crucial that we find ways to engage students in

school” (Prensky, 2006, p.11). To engage digitally literate students, schools need

to find ways to integrate students’ technology-rich lives outside of school with

what they do in school.

Students, who are empowered in so many ways outside their schools

today, are frustrated because they have no meaningful voice in their own

education and they will soon find this to be unacceptable. Students today are

fully engaged in life outside of school but we are not motivating them in the

classroom (Prensky, 2006). Young people today have grown up in a digital,

connected world. As opposed to their teachers who are “Digital Immigrants,”

“Digital Natives” are used to receiving information really fast. They like to parallel

process and multi-task, just like a computer. They prefer their graphics instead of

text and they function best when networked (connected to the Internet and one

another). They thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards and prefer

games to “serious” work (Prensky, 2001).

“Digital Natives” approach problems differently than older generations and

they find answers by searching for information and communicating online. Many

36
parents are often surprised that their children are able to do their homework while

watching television or listening to music at the same time. Learning in today’s

digital environment is fundamentally different from the “chalk-and-talk” or “sage-

on-the-stage” transmission models of the past. “Teacher agency” in the digital

age means being proactive and developing technology-based learning activities

that engage and challenge learners (Kimber & Wyatt-Smith, 2006). Teachers

must be familiar with learning theories, know how to use a range of computer

applications, and be willing to experiment, step outside their comfort zones and

take risks. Kimber and Wyatt-Smith, along with Prensky, realize young people’s

out-of-school experiences with technology can mean that students find the

presentation of school curriculum less challenging, less relevant and less

engaging. Education is changing for young people as they experience self-

directed learning, mostly out of school, about things that interest them. I will look

at self-directed learners in more detail in the next chapter.

Conclusion

I chose virtual field trips as the case study for my project because they

immerse young people, actually people of all ages, in the multimedia-rich

environments they have come to expect from their music, video games, websites

and virtual worlds. Virtual field trips are a way for students to experience the

sights and sounds of a distant place even if they cannot leave their classroom.

Subjects learned in school take on new meaning when students are able to

connect them to real people and places from their own experiences outside the

classroom. Virtual field trips can expose students to other cultures and people

37
and teach them to make decisions about their future based on a real

understanding of the world they live in. Virtual Field trips provide the challenging

environment needed for today's "infotectives".

38
CHAPTER THREE

SELF-DIRECTED LEARNERS: “INFOTECTIVES”

This chapter begins with constructivist learning theories and concludes

with authentic assessment which includes student performances, student

products, conducting interviews, and review of a student’s previous work.

Constructivism is a learning theory based on the idea that knowledge is

constructed through an understanding of the world and by experiencing things

and reflecting on those experiences. When something new is encountered, it has

to be reconciled with previous ideas and experience. To do this, we must ask

questions, explore, and assess what we know.

Virtual field trips are a form of constructivist learning in that they provide

students with opportunities to build their own knowledge. Virtual field trips embed

learning in real-world, relevant contexts engaging students in rich, multimedia

environments. Constructivist approaches to learning encourage active

participation by students in project-based activities. Essential questions start

students off on a journey and help them develop related questions that organize

and direct their search for knowledge. Student “infotectives,” discussed at the

end of the chapter, are skilled questioners, critical thinkers capable of analyzing

the data they find by researching a topic and solving puzzles with a combination

of inference skills and new technologies (McKenzie, 1998).

39
Constructivism: From Passive Learning to Active Learning

John Dewey, an American philosopher and educator considered to be the

founder of constructivism, rejected the practice of rote learning, which was the

common mode of instruction in his day. Dewey maintained that students should

be engaged in meaningful, relevant activities that allow them to apply the

concepts they learn. Hands-on projects were the key to creating authentic

learning experiences (1933). Virtual field trips enable the principles of student-

centered inquiry and constructivism to be practiced. Instead of carefully

structuring the elements of lesson, learning occurs in a manner analogous to

“just in time manufacturing”, where raw materials are received just prior to their

use rather than held in expensive inventories (Applefield, Huber, & Moallen,

2000).

Greeno offers what might constitute a mission statement for constructivist

learning:

We need to organize learning environments and activities that include


opportunities for acquiring basic skills, knowledge, and conceptual
understanding, not as isolated dimensions of intellectual activity, but as
contributions to students’ development of strong identities as individual
learners and as more effective participants in the meaningful social
practices of their learning communities in school and elsewhere in their
lives (Greeno, et al., 1998, p. 17)

In other words, learners need to develop individual competence, but within

a context of effective participation within groups and communities.

Constructivist teaching practices involve active techniques such as

experiments and real-world problem solving. Learners in constructivist classes

40
are assigned tasks in which they must implement particular instructional goals in

"genuine," real-world tasks. Student projects can range from the development of

web pages to participation in large, ongoing collaborative resource projects that

involve many students and faculty over many years of development (Bass and

Rosenzweig, 1999). Barr and Tagg contend that constructivism is a new

“Learning Paradigm” shifting from passive learning to more active learning where

students are active participants and constructors of their own learning (1995).

The roles of teachers and students shift in the constructivist classroom; the

teacher provides guidance and students help plan their own learning.

Technology helps shift from traditional teacher-centered to more learner-

centered approaches. Recently, educators have seized upon computers and the

Web as a means of realizing constructivist ideals. The term, web, itself suggests

a vast, complex network of interrelated strands, forming a resilient fabric made

strong by the densely interweaving threads, not by any individual end point.

Because of its uniquely distributed nature, the Web continues to be seen as a

stimulus to innovation, placing more control in the hands of individuals,

workgroups, and people with shared interests and goals (Burton, 2002).

Project-based Learning (PBL)

Project-based learning is a constructivist instructional approach in which

students become more accountable for their learning through designing, sharing,

piloting, evaluating, modifying their work, and reflecting on the process. In

project-based learning, instruction and learning both occur within the context of a

challenging project. Just as workers would encounter complicated tasks in the

41
workplace, in a project-based learning environment, student teams are presented

with complex problems that focus and act as catalysts for what they need to learn

(Thomas, 2000). The project, which could entail multiple problems, stimulates the

learning process and gives it context. Typically, projects extend over time to act

as interactive vehicles to help students acquire new, necessary knowledge and

skill sets (Thomas, 2000).

Project-based learning is not a new concept, but there has been increased

interest recently due to opportunities presented by the Internet and World Wide

Web. PBL originated in the late 1960’s at a new medical school, McMaster

University. PBL emerged from a group of medical educators’ dissatisfaction with

the traditional curriculum and its outcomes. Howard Barrows, one of the original

McMaster faculty members, complained that “students were passive and

exposed to too much information, little of which seemed relevant….They were

bored and disenchanted” (2000, p. vii).

This concern has been expressed in all levels of education and has

stimulated interest in project-based learning and learner-centered pedagogies.

The McMaster faculty designed an educational system centered on learning

rather than teaching. Roles and responsibilities of students and teachers also

reflected this new style of learning. Rather than passively absorbing neatly

packaged lectures presented by the faculty, students engaged in realistic

problems in small group settings guided by faculty who were trained to facilitate,

rather than lead, the student-generated discussions. Encouraged to investigate

their learning needs first, students imbued with new knowledge consulted faculty

42
experts for help with difficult concepts or further guidance to pursue their

questions. Although these changes challenged many core beliefs and

expectations about education, they were made solely for the purpose of

empowering learners; students became actively engaged while investigating and

solving problems, developing the ability and willingness to monitor and assess

the adequacy of their knowledge and skills as well as continue learning as a

lifelong endeavor (Arndt, 2003).

Project-based learning provides students with the opportunity to engage in

real world situations that by their nature have no easy solution, or have no

solution at the present time. Students learn to manage their time, interpret data

sets, resolve value conflicts between group members and prepare and

communicate the results of their investigation. In other words, they will use their

experiences to learn to manage real life situations.

PBL empowers students as self-directed learners; by taking responsibility

for their learning, students learn what they need to know (Barrows & Tamblyn,

1980). This aspect of PBL is crucial to developing active, intrinsically motivated,

self-determined, lifelong learners. Project-based, constructivist learning

emphasizes problem solving using the idea of an essential question as a starting

point to set the stage for further questioning. The next section discusses

questioning skills and how they apply to young people today.

“Free-Range Students”

Jamie McKenzie captured the idea of essential questions in her

conception of student as “infotective”, that is, critical thinkers capable of asking

43
great questions, analyzing the data they find by researching a topic and solving

puzzles with a combination of inference skills and new technologies (1998).

Essential questions are important because they provide a teacher with a

thoughtful approach to a course or to individual units. They help the teacher

understand the usefulness, the relevance, and the greater benefit of a particular

topic in a course or unit. Essential questions are usually thought-provoking to

students and can be used to stimulate discussion, debate, dissent, and research.

McKenzie predicted that many schools would struggle with technology

integration, not taking full advantage of the electronic tools available to them.

Schools that take advantage of the power of the Internet and electronic networks

can raise “free range students; young people capable of navigating through a

complex, often disorganized information landscape while making up their own

minds about the important issues of their lives and their times” (1998, p.2).

Successful schools will find ways to teach students how to use technology and

electronic networks in creative ways and also use technology to help students

achieve better results on challenging standardized tests.

“Free range” students are self-directed learners who know how to “graze

the Internet.” They must be taught thinking and problem-solving skills so they can

effectively manage all of the information in their lives, from pictures, to

documents, to contacts and cell phone favorites. The section in this chapter

focusing on the shift from the Information Age to the Interaction Age highlights

the move from the Age of Information, a time of information gathering online, to

the Interaction Age, a time when people connect with one another and interact

44
around information. Even if there has been a shift in the culture of the Internet,

digital literacies are important skills for students to master. In the figure below,

McKenzie illustrates the skills students need to master in order to “graze the

Internet.” What is most evident to me, as someone knowledgeable about

instructional technology, is that this is ten years old. The World Wide Web has

already evolved from version 1.0 to 2.0 and many young people have still not

mastered these skills, which have been deemed critical for success in the world

today.

Figure 1
Skills for Grazing the Net

45
Self-directed, student “infotectives” must develop “grazing” skills to be

successful in cyberspace. “Infotectives…feed on the wild grains and fragments

on the Internet or the shelves of the local library” (McKenzie, 1998, p.16). The

following table explains “grazing” skills in more detail.

Table 3
Essential skills for Cyberspace (McKenzie, 1998)

Collecting on the run The infotective collects important clues

and files them in an organized manner

that makes retrieval and synthesis

easier at a later time.

Changing course Effective exploration may require

flexibility. Learners can change course

as they watch for trends and try to build

theories about the problem they are

trying to solve.

Asking for help or directions There are many guides available to

help with search methods and

navigating databases.

Screening and compacting garbage Students need to establish criteria for

reliability and apply them to separate

good data from bad.

Sorting data Data must be organized so students

can find patterns and relationships.

46
This process is the foundation for

analysis and synthesis.

Analyzing data Converting data into knowledge

through such actions as: clarify,

interpret, deduce, derive, gather, glean,

infer, interpret, examine, probe, and

unravel.

Navigating in the dark Surfing the Internet can seem like

sailing in the dark. It is the essential

questions that serve as a map for

travelers.

Creating fresh answers and insight Students should be reminded that

research is meant to produce new

ideas. The development of fresh

answers may be the most difficult task

of all.

Raising free-range students means nurturing self-directed learners who

ask questions. The teacher in a free-range, classroom does not stand in front of

the room and lecture, instead they are a “guide on the side,” checking over

shoulders, asking questions, and working privately with those who need

individual help. Virtual field trips help develop self-directed learning skills by

placing independence in the hands of the learner allowing them to make

47
observations without being on an actual site or having an expert on hand for

explanations.

The changing demographics of the student population and the more

consumer-oriented nature of today's society have provided a climate where

learning is characterized not only by greater autonomy for the learner, but also a

greater emphasis on active learning, with creation, communication and

participation playing key roles, and on changing roles for the teacher, indeed,

even a collapse of the distinction between teacher and student altogether.

Technology enables teachers to go beyond the traditional information delivery

mode where they present ready-made knowledge to become facilitators of

students’ learning (OTA, 1988, p. 91).

Today’s students want their education to be meaningful; to them, learning

is only worthwhile if they can relate to it, if it supports their own personal goals

(Prensky, 2007). Digital Natives, Millenials, Generation Next – young people

today absorb information quickly, in images and video as well as text, from

multiple sources simultaneously. They operate at "twitch speed," expecting

instant responses and feedback. They prefer random "on-demand" access to

media, expect to be in constant communication with their friends (who may be

next door or around the world), and they are as likely to create their own media

(or download someone else's) as to purchase a book or a CD (Prensky, 2007).

Success, for today’s young people, is not measured by how well they do on

multiple choice tests, even if that is how their schools measure achievement.

Success, for them, is measured by creating and inventing; using art, video,

48
writing, and multimedia to share projects with others “connected” to them.

Alternative assessments, unlike standardized test, engage students' creative

instincts so students’ develop their ability to express knowledge through a variety

of ways. Free-range students are more likely to retain and transfer the new

knowledge to real life.

Authentic Assessments: Projects and Performances

Authentic assessment is an important part of constructivist learning

because the project or performance is not just a fun and engaging activity; it is a

true test of a student's abilities. Performances can be individual projects or

groups of students working together toward a common goal. The performance

gives students the chance to show what they have learned and for the teacher to

assess their abilities (Furger, 2002). Authentic assessment broadens the kind of

information that is collected about students and the way that information is used

in the evaluation of learning. Authentic assessment is not the random recall of

previously covered material, but instead scaffolds the knowledge each student

brings to the learning situation.

Standardized tests, made up of mostly true-false and multiple-choice

questions, test basic knowledge and skills rather than encouraging creative,

critical thinking, the type of learning that will prepare students for the 21st century

(Corbett & Wilson, 1991; Shepard & Smith, 1988; Smith & Cohen, 1991).

Standardized tests encourage instruction of less important skills and passive

learning. Lawmakers and parents argue that assessing minimum levels of

proficiency is no longer sufficient in a competitive, global world. Schools should

49
focus on developing students skills and competencies in real-life, "authentic"

situations, and graduate students who can demonstrate these abilities. Authentic

assessments are better than standardized tests at matching the skills students

learn in school with the skills they will need upon leaving school (Winking &

Bond, 1995).

From Information to Interaction

When the Internet was first introduced in schools, it was used mostly to

find information. The “Information Age” focused on disseminating information;

delivering and accessing digital content. Now, we are entering the “Interaction

Age,” a time when information is seen as something with which, and around

which, people can interact (Milne, 2007). We live in a connected world and

people can communicate globally, in real time. It is commonplace today to carry

two to three mobile, electronic devices at any given time. Many students have a

cell phone, an MP3 player, a game player, and possibly a laptop. Powerful

portable communication tools, previously reserved for busy executives, are now

all the rage in high schools and even middle schools.

The term Web 2.0 signifies the shift from the Information Age to the Age of

Interaction; from one-way communication to two-way interaction encouraging

communities instead of consumers or customers. The web shifted from a

medium in which information was mostly transmitted and consumed to a platform

in which content was created, shared, remixed, repurposed, and passed along.

Web 2.0 can be visualized like a solar system depicted in Figure 2 (O’Reilly,

2005).

50
Young people today, sometimes called “Generation Y,” “Millenials,” or

“Echo Boomers,” are being described by researchers as individuals whose lives

have been shaped by the Internet and the constant introduction of new electronic

devices. They integrate the latest technologies into the way they work, relax and

socialize. For them, email is old school; “Millennials” relish the speed and mobility

of text messaging. Past generations made do with the telephone and television,

today's generation has access to those devices plus video games, the Internet,

e-mail, instant messaging, and videos and music that can be downloaded in an

instant. The “Net Generation” has grown up in a wired world and they are digital,

connected, experiential, and social (Oblinger, 2005).

51
Figure 2
Web 2.0 Technologies

Note: Web 2.0 has become an umbrella term describing several concurrent
trends that are coming together to enable a richer online experience.

Web 2.0 technologies, featured in the table below, enable interaction,

information sharing and collaboration.

52
Table 4
Web 2.0 Technologies
Online Photo Sharing Users have space on the web to share

photos. Visitors to the site can

comment on photos and photos can be

linked to blog sites.

Blogs (Weblogs) Online journals that are usually

updated regularly and are viewed in

reverse chronological order. Some

blogs are strictly individual

observations or updates about family

and friends and some are used to

make political statements, promote

products, provide tutorials or answer

frequently asked questions.

Wikis (Community editable websites) A Wiki is a Web page that can be

viewed and modified by anybody with a

Web browser and access to the

Internet. Wikis are particularly effective

for collaborative group projects.

Shareable documents Give users the ability to create and

share documents on any Internet-

connected computer.

53
Social networking websites Online social networking involves

connecting and sharing information

with other people on the Internet. Sites

such as MySpace, Facebook,

Match.com are specifically designed to

connect individuals and groups directly

with others who share common

interests.

Social bookmarking sites Sites such as de.licio.us and

Technorati, applications that let users

add their own keywords (or tags) to

Web pages and blogs.

The shift from Web1.0 to Web2.0 has led to online learning being less of a

content-consumption tool, where learning is "delivered," and more like a content-

authoring tool, where learning is created. The model of e-learning as a type of

content, produced by publishers, organized and structured into courses, and

consumed by students, has been turned around. Content is used by students,

rather than read, and is more likely to be produced by students than courseware

authors. Content is being distributed in new ways using Web2.0 technologies

such as Podcasting and RSS Feeds. Instead of composed, organized and

packaged, e-learning content is syndicated and aggregated by students, using

their own personal RSS reader or some similar application. From there, it can be

54
remixed and repurposed with the student's own individual application in mind,

and it can be shared with others.

Web2.0 student projects synthesize electronic resources and collaborate

with others in the discovery and presentation of information. Wireless and mobile

technologies allow students to engage in field research and interact with other

students in a classroom. Portable computing devices (hand-helds, PDA cell

phones, Tablet PCs) and wireless networking connects participants in

geographically diverse locations so they can communicate and collaborate on

assignments. Wireless technologies are evolving and the coverage of wireless

networks is expanding offering new possibilities for combining real-world

experiences with classroom knowledge.

Mobile learning offers new opportunities to create and to connect. Ellen

Wagner and Bryan Alexander note, mobile learning "define(s) new relationships

and behaviors among learners, information, personal computing devices, and the

world at large" (2005). Web 1.0 was the static, expert knowledge web. Web 2.0 is

the interactive, user knowledge web, and, Web 3.0 is already being described as

an always connected technology and total environment knowledge web. Web 2.0

technologies are allowing teachers to easily construct virtual field trips. These

VFTS are not prepackaged or predetermined; they allow a teacher to travel

where they want with their class and to see what they want. Web2.0 is still in its

infancy but it has potential and risks. It has not been thoroughly researched by

educators, it is raw and real.

55
Conclusion

The 21st century can be characterized by an explosion of technological

change that has already had a significant impact on education. In general,

students are learning, adopting, and using technology at a much faster rate than

teachers, and many teachers are afraid of the technologies, which students take

for granted.

Technologies have emerged that have strong potential if used for

education. New technologies are arriving and changing quickly; too fast for

teachers to learn to use them all effectively. Nevertheless, students are intrigued

by new technologies and they want to use them in their education because they

use them in their everyday lives. What should educators do? Get help from their

digitally literate students.

56
CHAPTER FOUR

DIGITAL HISTORY PROJECTS: THE CASE FOR VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS

Digital history, studying the past using electronic resources, is not just the

electronic storage and presentation of historical materials; it promotes “doing”

history and it can engage students in history studies. Unlike textbooks,

encyclopedias or worksheets, digital history provides students with multiple,

authentic historical sources (print, audio, video, and artifacts) at very low cost.

Digital history puts students in the virtual context and role of apprentice historians

investigating aspects of the past. Because the World Wide Web is not structured,

like textbooks, students are more directly and actively involved in some forms of

historical inquiry, and thus engaged in discovering the past with all the historical,

critical, and sourcing abilities (or habits of mind) required to do so (Hicks, Doolitle

& Ewing, p.7). This chapter introduces digital history and virtual field trips as

methodology for engaging students in history studies and teaching them to

become self-directed learners.

Digital History Resources

History is often taught as facts that have to be memorized to pass a test

(Whelan, 1997). This approach to instruction often results in history being

delivered as a product, students have trouble making connections, developing a

57
sustainable interest, or establishing relevance of the material being taught

(Seixas 1994: Grant 2001). To alleviate student boredom in social studies

classes, and to get them excited about their studies, teachers can design

activities that enable students to use authentic historical resources, now widely

available, to create engaging, meaningful, and useful lessons about the past.

Since the 1990s, a multitude of digital history resources have emerged.

According to Edward Ayers of the University of Virginia, the World Wide Web has

made virtually every major historical document available to all students across

the spectrum at all times (1999). Until recently, history and social studies

students had to rely on textbooks and encyclopedias for information about

historical documents. With the advent of the World Wide Web, students can now

see original documents themselves and use these primary source documents the

way historians and scholars do; to analyze information, interpret events, and

synthesize their findings (Allen & Dutt-Doner, 2006).

Analyzing primary sources and inquiry-based learning are recognized as

essential steps in building student interest in history and culture and helping them

understand the ways that scholars engage in research, study, and interpretation.

Primary sources give students a sense of the reality and the complexity of the

past; they represent an opportunity to go beyond the textbooks to engage with

real people and problems. In this section, attention is paid to noteworthy digital

history resources available for use in classrooms today.

The proliferation of digital history resources means that there are many

new resources available to use in the classroom, but, it also means educators

58
must evaluate these resources before using them. Bull, Bull, and Dawson

identified four criteria for evaluating digital products. The criteria are questions to

ask about digital resources: are they able to transform teaching; are they able to

withstand peer review; do they have an internal champion committed to

scholarship; and are the resources provided related to the curriculum? (1999) It

is important to have meaningful criteria when evaluating digital history resources,

or any online resource for that matter.

One of the most comprehensive digital history website is the American

Memory (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html) project of the Library of

Congress. The website provides open access to written and spoken words, audio

recordings, images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American

experience. These digital resources chronicle historical events, people, places,

and serve as a resource for education and lifelong learning. The National Digital

Library Program (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/dli2/html/lcndlp.html) has a

collection of over five million digital holdings, including photographs, manuscripts,

rare books, maps, recorded sound, and moving pictures. World History Matters

(http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorymatters/) provides students with multimedia

case studies of scholars detailing how they analyze a particular primary source

and giving students specific guidance on how they can engage in the same kind

of sophisticated analysis of sources. World History offers visitors a database of

website reviews written by teaching historians, each of which includes

suggestions for students and world history teachers as to how best to use the

resources found at these sites. Students using this type of database for their

59
research, rather than a search engine such as Google, will start with the best

websites as opposed to searching aimlessly around. Such resources, integrated

into an instructional unit, have the potential to engage students and involve them

in exciting learning experiences. Using digital documents in the classroom

encourages critical thinking skills and helps promote information literacy, the

need to be able to analyze information and understand how meaning is created.

The “Magic Lens,” an electronic tool developed by the Memorial Hill

Museum Online, can superimpose a transcript over an original document to help

reveal the writing of the document. Similarly, in “Battle Lines: Letters from

America’s Wars”, an online exhibit of the Gilder Lehrman Institute featuring

correspondence from over 200 years of American conflicts, ranging from the

Revolution to the current war in Iraq, users can place a typed transcript over a

handwritten script and also hear each letter read aloud. The British Library

developed “Turning the Pages,” a digital tool that allows students to leaf through

famous books, reading, magnifying, and hearing the story read aloud to them

(http://www.adgame-wonderland.de/type/bayeux.php). It is a thoroughly

satisfying method of experiencing these rare treasures.

The Cherokee County Digital History Project, in Canton, Georgia, is an

example of a digital history project that is also a virtual field trip back to Historic

Cherokee County. It was developed by students in a history class to serve as a

digital survey of historic properties in Cherokee County

(http://msit.gsu.edu/dhr/cherokee/survey/). This project serves as a model of how

teachers, curriculum planners, and local historians can facilitate digital historical

60
inquiry in conjunction with local, public history. Through collaboration and

interaction with the community, students and teachers develop relationships that

allow them to answer questions about their past.

Digital resources, and the tools being developed to utilize them, enable

learning activities such as searching, examining patterns, and discovering

connections among artifacts, all critical skills of historians and scholars of society

and culture. When students make decisions about which document to use and

how to use that document, they are constructing knowledge of their own. As

students put together their own interpretations of digital resources, they are

constructing history.

Virtual Field Trips (VFTs)

Virtual Field Trips are a relatively new form of learning that incorporate

innovative uses of technology and provide contextually rich learning materials

embedded in educational content (Cassady & Mullen, 2006, p.1). Virtual field

trips enable student-centered, constructivist learning (Gallas, 1999). The

rationale for using virtual field trips is to connect students with materials, subject

matter experts and resources that they could not otherwise access because of

geographic, financial, or safety reasons. Virtual field trips can be an important

resource, especially for small, rural schools, where museums, zoos, or historical

landmarks may not be close by. VFTs can be designed so that a variety of

materials (audio, video, and text) are incorporated to address different learning

styles. Teachers with special needs students can design an instructional field trip

module which incorporates design features allowing students with disabilities the

61
same access as students without impairments, as required by the Americans

with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 (Tuthill & Klemm, 2002).

Virtual field trips can be as simple as a set of interrelated images, text, and

media delivered electronically via the Internet, to a real-time, virtual adventure

that students from around the world participate in. They transport students to

places they might otherwise not be able to visit. Field trip participants experience

real-world occurrences of places and events, making unique discoveries and

independent decisions.

Virtual field trips help teachers and students overcome barriers to study

the real world (Klemm and Tuthill, 2003). Many students today do not have the

opportunity to go on field trips for any number of reasons including lack of

administrative support; affordability and safety issues; and standards-driven

accountability (Tuthill & Klemm, 2003). Virtual field trips allow for interaction

through participation, exploration, and analysis (Cox and Su, 2004), and they

meet criteria established by The National Science Foundation (1998) for the

effective use of information technology; stimulating and engaging students,

encouraging collaboration, fostering critical thinking skills, and using the World

Wide Web for research and posting material.

Virtual destinations can be brainstormed with students given possible

locations, resources, and technologies that are available. The content of the

virtual trip should be connected to curriculum standards and opportunities for

interdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary experiences should be explored. As I

discuss in my virtual field trip template, taking an actual field trip and recording it

62
is the best way to create a virtual field trip as a class activity. An actual trip can

be captured many different ways using still cameras, video cameras, note-taking,

audio recording, and other data collection tools. Once the necessary information

has been collected, the virtual field trip can be created. VFTs have the potential

to bring student-centered, hands-on, interactive, multimedia environments to both

in-class and out-of-class learning.

Virtual Field Trips for Historical Inquiry and Place-based Education

Virtual field trips are an ideal tool for historical inquiry because they are

geographically independent; students can “visit" sites anywhere in the world as

long as they have a computer and a connection to the Internet. People develop a

"sense of place" through experience and through knowledge of the history,

geography and the environment of an area. Studying how history and memories

attach to places is important for students so they learn how to help define and

protect special places and historic preservation strategies. The personality of a

town or city is often derived from the meanings and significance that people

attach to it. A connection to a place can lead to preservation of cultural history

and increased environmental sensitivity; something very difficult to do today in a

world full of distractions.

Place-based education and community-based learning are not new

concepts; there are many ways community-based learning enhances

understanding of, and connection to, a community and can encourage students

to become concerned and contributing citizens (Loveland, 2002). Using students’

own communities as the context for educational experiences is a way for them to

63
connect their world to the larger world and place real value on their education.

Research has shown better student achievement, revitalized teaching, increased

interest in citizenship and improved quality of life as reasons to implement

community-connected education programs (Loveland, 2002).

Local history projects can take on many different forms including

presentations, documentaries, historic preservation projects, collection and

recording projects, and the digitization of traditional historical knowledge into

electronic formats. One of the best ways to learn about the usefulness of the

past, according to eminent history scholar John Lee, is through the study of local

history. My virtual field trip project is a method of engaging students in history,

particularly local history, and providing them the skills they need to be

technologically proficient in the twenty-first century. In the next section, virtual

field trips are explained in more detail.

Virtual Field Trip Notables

Many virtual field trips have already been created and can easily be

incorporated into school curriculum units. Some have been professionally

designed and developed using sophisticated lesson plans and some are self-

published websites. Following are some virtual field trip notables with examples

of what is possible to produce with the technology available today.

A virtual field trip might be as simple as going to an existing online site,

such as The White House, and taking a virtual tour

(http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/whtour/). Virtual field trips can be used as a

travel brochure to prepare students to visit an actual site. These activities, while

64
not the most sophisticated use of the technology, can help create an

informational foundation for students assisting them in identifying questions to

ask and enhancing their experience at the actual site.

Professionally produced sites, such as the ones described in this section,

combine sophisticated technologies and hands-on learning activities. The Gilder

Lehrman Collection contains more than 60,000 documents detailing the political

and social history of the United States

(http://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/index.html). The collection includes

manuscript letters, diaries, maps, photographs, printed books and pamphlets

dating from 1493 through modern times. There are several online exhibits and

virtual tours that can be used to travel back through American History.

The JASON Project, produced by the Woods Hole Oceanographic

Institute, integrates video programming, satellite transmissions, classroom

activities and instruction to expose students to real science and exploration

(http://www.jason.org/public/home.aspx). Through hands-on, inquiry driven

learning, JASON inspires teachers to try new teaching techniques and effectively

engages students in active learning (JASON). Created in 1989 by Dr. Robert

Ballard, the discoverer of the Titanic, JASON provides students with

opportunities for real-life exploration of the world through the use of cutting-edge

technologies. The JASON Project hosts nearly 2 million students each year and

is used by over 33,000 teachers worldwide (JASON). Through the JASON

experience, students become part of a virtual research community,

65
accompanying real researchers in real time as they explore everything from

oceans to rainforests to Polar regions and volcanoes.

LEARNZ, Linking Education and Antarctic Research in New Zealand, is an

online virtual field trip program designed for New Zealand students

(http://www.jason.org/public/home.aspx). LEARNZ takes students on adventures

alongside researchers engaging them in science experiments. Originally

LEARNZ just provided the field trip experience; however, their adventures now

include supporting documentation available one month before the actual

excursion, interactive online activities and quizzes, and a diary to be completed

each day that includes a record of the day’s events with still pictures. Enrolled

“travelers” automatically receive an email with a summary of the day’s events as

soon as the diary is posted to the Web.

Ball State University has partnered with The Smithsonian Institute,

Cooperstown National Baseball Hall of Fame, the United States Congress, and

the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to provide

sophisticated virtual field trips that include live broadcasts, web-based

simulations, and online gaming for student engagement

(http://www.bsu.edu/eft/home/00front.htm). Ball State’s EFTs include Interactive

web-based question and answer sessions with experts before, during and after

each live broadcast so students and teachers can have their questions

answered. Ball State uses five different venues for content delivery: (1) pre-

broadcast curriculum materials for classroom teachers located on the EFT

website; (2) learning materials for students; (3) synchronous question and

66
answer sessions by experts during each broadcast; (4) live broadcasts delivered

by public broadcasting, satellite, or streaming video; (5) archival copies of each

broadcast and of prior broadcasts for asynchronous viewing. The synchronous

(same-time) live broadcast is what makes their trips unique and is what they

consider to be a fundamental component of an EFT experience. Students get

excited about the possibility of being “on the air” asking a question; seeing other

students in real-time; and having questions answered immediately through

interactive expert exchange (experiments, demonstrations, simulations)

(Cassady & Mullen, 2006).

Virtual Field Trips: Self-Directed Learning Tool

Why should teachers use virtual field trips? Virtual field trips are an

inexpensive way to integrate hands-on technology into the curricula while

maintaining student interest in the unit being studied. They offer a student-

centered approach to instruction and diversify the teaching methods of content

area instruction. Virtual instruction allows students to view people and places in a

visually stimulating environment, which cannot be done through mere textbook

reading. (Lacina, 2004) Students bring back facts and information uncovered

through their experience on their virtual adventure. Teachers can use virtual field

trips not only to meet national technology standards but to combine content

standards with technology standards fostering learning that results in

interdisciplinary knowledge. Kawka and Burgess have identified several reasons

for taking students on virtual field trips: to help students gain understanding of a

subject through first-hand experiences; to provide students with real-world

67
problem-solving activities; to meet national, state, or local curricular

requirements; to gain access to places or people not normally accessible to the

class; to reward the class; and to save money (2001, p. 6).

Virtual field trips are a form of project-based learning, where instruction

and learning occur within the context of a challenging project. Just as workers

encounter complicated tasks in the workplace, students are presented with

questions and problems that act as catalysts for learning. Projects usually extend

over a few classes or weeks to help students acquire new, necessary knowledge

and skill sets (Thomas, 2000). In other words, instead of working on a small

project for a week, projects build upon each other and can carry over from

semester to semester as they facilitate the learning. Long-term projects make it

possible to personalize learning, achieve more active involvement by students in

shaping their education, and enable more authentic assessment of what students

have actually learned. In history and social studies, the topic of my thesis,

project-based learning (PBL) engages students as historians or social scientists

and stimulates them to want to know more about the events and people they

investigate.

Technology tools have become so user-friendly that teachers can easily

create their own virtual field trips. Teachers, on their own or with their students,

can visit a site and use digital cameras or video to capture information. Maps and

reference materials can be added to maximize the actual site study. Lesson

planning is part of the process of making pedagogical, intellectual, and

ideological choices. In constructivist classrooms, students get involved in making

68
these decisions, choosing interesting projects or places that they would like to

visit.

Scheffler and Logan identified technology-related competencies that were

important for teachers, and making technology an integral part of curriculum and

instruction was of the greatest importance (1999). This suggests that teachers

are moving beyond administrative uses of technology to instructional uses that

enhance teaching and student learning. Teachers interviewed by Scheffler and

Logan identified the knowledge and skills to make technology a seamless part of

the curriculum as one of the most important competencies needed by teachers’

today. Scheffler and Logan’s study revealed that there is an increasing need for

teachers to obtain more skills and knowledge about the use of technology-

enhanced instruction. My virtual field trip project is a way that they can learn

these critical skills.

Digital resource development and virtual field trip design can be

approached many different ways. To engage digitally literate students, Web sites

must offer a lot of interactivity and have different activities for students to choose.

Tuthill and Klemm noted the many advantages of taking a virtual field trip, both

pre-made and teacher-created.

69
Table 5: Advantages of taking Virtual Field Trips

Increased learner-centeredness The student can control the pace of the

presentation and re-visit the site at a

time which is convenient for them.

Appropriate scheduling The trip can be taken at an appropriate

time, after the prerequisite material has

been studied.

Use of Multiple Modes of Learning VFTs can be designed so that audio,

video, and text can appeal to different

learning styles.

Teaching Flexibility and Efficiency Teachers can spend more class time

covering concepts while students

access the VFT on their own time.

Geographic Independence Students can “visit” sites anywhere in

the world without leaving home.

Temporal Independence Students can access a virtual trip

anytime it is convenient and they can

visit over and over again.

Safety and Practicality Actual field trip sites may be unsafe or

inaccessible due to bad weather. VFTs

offer a safe, practical way to visit sites.

70
Control of Content Teacher-created VFTs can be created

to fit curriculum needs and the reading

level of students. Local sites can be

featured to incorporate community-

based education and local history.

Improvements and Alterations are Easy Revisions or updates to teacher-

created sites are easy on the Web.

Reusability Once a VFT is made, it can be

upgraded and improved and reused

from year to year.

(Tuthill and Klemm, 2002, p.462)

Virtual field trips can include a range of instructional approaches and

technologies. As Cassady and Mullen noted, there needs to be a shift from

discussions about hardware and software to the inherent desire of children to

explore the world (2006).

Conclusion

Digital media have transformed the way that students write about the past

and participate in collective knowledge production. As discussed in Chapter 3,

the Web and technology are evolving rapidly and "older" forms of online

collaboration are being replaced by newer technology. Students, in the very

recent past, had websites of their own and used discussion forums and

chatrooms to exchange information, now they link their lives—personal and

71
academic—through weblogs, "live journals," tagging, and other forms of digital

communities.

A virtual field trip allows a teacher to bring the sights and sounds of a

distant place into the classroom through a computer. Subjects learned in school

take on new meaning when students can connect them to people and

experiences outside of the classroom. Such exposure could help students make

future decisions based on a real understanding of the world around them.

Virtual trips are an easy and exciting way of incorporating local places of

interest and historical prominence. VFTs offer valuable tools that can augment

instruction and enrich actual field trips. Virtual field trips increase learner-

centeredness, meaning students have more control over the pace of the material

presented. Teachers can spend more class time covering concepts while

students access the VFT on their own time (Belanger & Jordan, 2000, Stainfield,

Fisher, Ford, & Solem. 2000).

72
CHAPTER FIVE

THE BOCA RATON ARMY AIR FIELD (BRAAF)

Florida’s World War II History

The modernization of Florida can be traced back to the rapid

developments and technological advances which occurred during the Second

World War. More than 250,000 Floridians joined the United States Armed

Forces. The warm climate and flat land made Florida a perfect place to train

pilots and other military personnel. Many military bases were established in

Florida. By 1943 approximately 172 military installations of varying sizes were in

existence in Florida, compared to only eight in 1940 (Coles, 2002). Florida was

considered to be a strategic location vital for national defense. Planes and ships

from Florida's military bases helped protect the sea lanes in the Atlantic Ocean,

Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean. The state was viewed as an important first

line of defense for the southern United States, the Caribbean Basin, and the

Panama Canal.

In 1941, Morrison Field in West Palm Beach became an official military

airbase and a year later, the Army opened another Air Field Boca Raton. More

than 6,000 planes and over 45,000 servicemen passed through on their way to

Africa and Europe. Later in the war, soldiers and supplies flew from Morrison

73
Field to the Pacific Ocean. The Army Air Corps also took over the Boca Raton

Resort and turned it into housing for military trainees. Many hotels in the state

were used for military housing and hospitals. The Boca Raton Army Air Field

(BRAAF), a vital asset during the war, was built in 1942, and is the focus of the

next section.

The Boca Raton Army Air Field (BRAAF)

The Boca Raton Army Air Field, built in 1942, consisted of almost 800

buildings and a triangular-shaped runway that was the centerpiece of the base.

The base covered more than 5,800 acres and played a significant role in World

War II teaching radar operation to thousands of airmen, including those who

were aboard the Enola Gay on its bombing run to Hiroshima in 1945.

Boca Raton had a population of approximately 400 people in 1941;

however, the United States' entry into World War II caused that to change. The

Army Air Force needed year-round training bases, and Boca Raton already had

an airport. The airport was selected as the Army Air Force's main base for radar

training. By December 1942, the Army had acquired 5,820 acres of land,

including most of the Yamato Colony and the Boca Raton Club. The Boca Raton

Army Air Field served as a base for air-sea patrol scouting enemy submarines

and a weigh station for planes being ferried to Europe by the Southern American-

African route, but its primary mission was radar training facility.

As the Army Air Force’s only radar training station during World War II, the

Boca Raton base grew to troop strength of more than 16,000. Over nine million

dollars was spent constructing the facility and an average of 1,200 civilians

74
worked on the base. By 1945, one hundred planes were regularly assigned to the

field. Although most were medium bombers like the B-17, in the last year of the

war the B-29 was brought in for training procedures in radar bombing. B-29’s

carried the atomic bombs which were dropped on Japan.

In 1942, the war was raging in Atlantic and the Pacific and military

priorities included construction of new bases to house and train the many young

men entering the service. The Germans initiated Operation Drumbeat, using U-

Boats to torpedo vessels traveling the East Coast shipping lanes of the United

States (Ling, 2005, p.40). Over the first seven months of 1942, the Germans

sank nearly 400 vessels, including more than thirty-five ships off Florida. The

most dramatic sinking in Florida waters took place the night of April 10, 1942,

when U-123 torpedoed the tanker Gulfamerica off Jacksonville Beach. The

resulting fiery explosion was clearly seen onshore and curious crowds gathered

to view the ship's destruction and looked on in shock as the German submarine

surfaced and fired its deck gun at the tanker. In response to the Gulfamerica

sinking, in which nineteen crew members were lost, Governor Holland ordered a

blackout of lights that could be seen at sea and might silhouette passing ships.

In May of 1942, the secretary of war requested, and a judge authorized,

Florida to acquire 5820 acres in Boca Raton, Florida by eminent domain. The

land was bound by Dixie Highway on the East, the Seaboard Railroad on the

west, Palmetto Park Road on the south and Fifty-first Street on the North. The

Boca Raton Radar School, a microfilm series documenting the history of the

Boca Raton Army Air Field, reported that there were over 100 people affected by

75
the acquisition of land. A Negro community of 40 families’ occupied houses and

shanties that were built over a period of 15 years on land not legally owned.

These black families did not own the land they lived on; they were technically

“squatters.” The government took the land and moved the people to Delray

Beach. The area became known as New Town until the last house was razed in

2002.

The Boca Raton Club was commissioned by the government to serve as

the temporary home for thousands of troops, officers, and cadets. The Boca

Raton Army Air Field was created to train radar operators and technicians but

schools were also established in high and low altitude bombing, radar navigation,

airplane identification, attack interception, and survival training. (Ling, 2005, p.

60) Troops arrived in Boca Raton from all over the country by train. Military

personnel disembarked at the Florida East Coast Seaboard depot in Boca Raton,

the Seaboard depot west of the base or at depots in Delray Beach or Pompano

Beach.

BRAAF was the Army Air Corps’ only airborne radar-training facility during

the war. The facility and training done there were considered top-secret. Radar

training was held in H-shaped buildings scattered throughout the base.

Everything was secretive. Security was so tight on the base that trainees had to

provide passes to go from one building to another. Instruction lasted from five

weeks to up to fifteen weeks. Nothing learned during training classes could be

written on paper, in fact, being caught with paper and pencil or trying to take

notes could result in a court-marital. Once troops finished classroom training,

76
they transferred to flying classrooms where they put their ground training into

practice. B-17 bombers fitted as airborne-radar classrooms were flown over the

Atlantic from the Boca Air Field. Many of the men also trained as mechanics and

became part of the ground crew. Their job was to install and repair radar and

communications equipment in the airplanes.

The city of Boca Raton experienced significant population growth as a

result of the Army Air Field. The Old Floresta section of Boca Raton was used for

housing of officers and two Federal Public Housing Authority Projects were built

to house military families. Palmetto Park, a housing project for whites, was a

series of attached units located across the base on the south side of West

Palmetto Park Road. The other housing authority project was known as Dixie

Plaza. Located across from Squadron F, it was a series of small individual homes

used to house black families. Civilians were vital to the overall operation of the

base and served in practically every office and department. Averaging 1200 and

peaking at 1500, most worked in the academic, sub-depot, quartermaster, and

post engineering departments.

In April of 1945, the Allies overran German troops from the west while

Russian forces advanced from the east and the last bombs were dropped on the

Skoda armament works at Pilsen, Czechoslovakia. The Army Air Force began

missions of mercy dropping food and relief in northern Italy and the Netherlands

and evacuated prisoners of war. In May of 1945, the Germans surrendered. The

Boca Raton Army Air Field suffered significant hurricane damage in September

of 1947 and the base was flooded. It eventually closed at the end of 1947. The

77
city of Boca Raton bought most of the air base land and contracted with the

Federal Government to operate a civilian airport. In 1955, the Florida Legislature

authorized creation of a new public university, Florida Atlantic University

(http://www.fau.edu/40th/images/Letter_big.gif). An agreement between the Civil

Aeronautics Administration and the state of Florida in March of 1960 required the

state to establish a university by 1969 on one thousand acres of the former Boca

Air Field. In October of 1964, President Lyndon Johnson dedicated FAU and

accepted the first honorary doctorate awarded by the University.

78
CHAPTER SIX

A VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP TO THE BOCA RATON ARMY AIR FIELD

Advancements in digital technology and digital tools have led to the

development of more authentic and engaging learning environments. Digital tools

provide flexibility for students in accessing information, especially the non-linear

nature of the World Wide Web. Students need opportunities to be more involved

in designing their own learning environments. Given the opportunity to construct

their own knowledge, learners can build a context for learning that is meaningful

to themselves and to others around them. Creating a digital history site, such as

a virtual field trip, creates a “learning laboratory” (Calandra & Lee, 2005, p.327) in

which students and teachers can practice digital history, constructivist learning,

and digital media design.

Planning Technology-Infused Lessons

As an instructor of educational technology, I encourage my students to

use the TIP (Technology Integration Planning) Model when planning lessons

involving technology. This model is designed to help teachers, especially those

new to technology, plan for effective classroom uses of technology. The model

consists of five phases as depicted in the Table 2.

79
Table 5
Technology Integration Planning Model
Phase 1: Relative advantage Deciding on instructional problems and

if a technology-based solution would be

better than other ways of addressing

the problems.

Phase 2: Objectives and assessments Stating desired outcomes in terms of

better student achievement, attitudes,

and performance; matching appropriate

assessment strategies to each

outcome.

Phase 3: Integration strategies Deciding on teaching activities that

incorporate technology resources to

enhance student learning.

Phase 4: Instructional environment Collecting achievement data and other

information to determine if the activities

were successful in meeting outcomes,

and what could be improved next time.

Phase 5: Evaluation and revision Collecting achievement data to

determine if the activities were

successful in meeting outcomes, and

what could be improved next time.

80
Every teacher has lessons that could be enhanced or refreshed using

technology. Technology integration strategies offer many benefits to teachers as

they look for new instructional approaches. However, time and effort are required

to plan and execute technology-based methods. Teachers have to consider the

benefits of using technology and decide if the benefits are worthwhile. Everett

Rogers (2004) refers to this decision as seeing the “relative advantage” of using

a new method. Technology-based strategies offer many unique benefits to

teachers as they look for instructional solutions to problems that students may

face with abstract concepts, motivation and time consuming tasks. Teachers

have to consider the benefits of using such methods compared to their current

ones and decide if the benefits are worth the additional effort and cost. The first

step in the TIP model refers to this decision as "relative advantage".

Virtual Field Trip Planning

Virtual field trips require planning and preparation, active participation, and

follow-up learning activities. The following table summarizes the steps involved in

planning and preparing a virtual field trip.

81
Table 6
Virtual field trip planning steps
Step 1 Identify the curriculum standards by referring to state standards

and those established by the National Council for the Social

Studies (NCSS). Chapter 2 discussed the ten themes established

for teaching social studies that have been adopted as the core of

the national social studies curriculum.

Step 2 Prepare for the trip by developing activities that will challenge

students. Develop a guide for the trip that includes explanations,

background information, and questions or steps to follow. Students

should not be wandering aimlessly through the trip.

Step 3 Provide students information on the topic before the trip.

Step 4 Decide how students will participate in the virtual trip, as

individuals, in groups, or as a whole class.

Any worthwhile instructional activity requires planning. Virtual field trip

locations should be locations that others might not have considered; someplace

one person considers ordinary might be considered exceptional by people living

in another part of the world. Often there's not a virtual field trip on a topic of

interest and an opportunity presents itself to create a new virtual field trip. A class

can take a live field trip and record the event on web pages. What follows are

examples of a virtual tour, virtual adventures, and a virtual school tour. Teachers

can work with a local historic site to develop a virtual tour or use archived

resources to simulate an exploration. Virtual adventures can be created using

82
photographs, recordings, and other digitized historical artifacts. A virtual tour of a

school could be a great resource for the local community or parents of students.

The Utah Education Network has an online tool that can be used to

develop and publish a virtual field trip

(http://www.uen.org/tutorial/tours/index.shtml). Tramline is a website that can

also be used to develop virtual field trips. Their “TourMaker” software is set up to

tell a story of sorts, to guide one through a sequence of Web pages on any given

topic. For each visited Web page, a Narration frame is provided, a place in which

custom information can be written about the visited Web page, or students can

be instructed to complete a task based on the information on the visited page.

While not specifically recommending or suggesting these tools be utilized, they

are worthwhile resources worth noting. In the next section, I develop my virtual

field trip plan.

In 2003, The History Channel launched the Save Our History initiative by

offering funding and resources for schools to collaborate with local historians to

preserve the history and heritage of their communities. Students, teachers, and

preservationists can find lesson plans, hands-on activities, articles, and links to

preservation organizations online. The Educator’s Manual, available for free

online, offers tools teachers can use to incorporate local history resources into

history and social studies lessons

(http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=mini_home&mini_id=51103).

The lessons offered on this site were developed in conjunction with educators

83
from the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) to ensure their

adherence to nationally developed standards.

The Apple Learning Interchange (ALI), a social network for educators, also

offers an abundance of online resources including lesson ideas and in-depth

curriculum units. Educators have easy access to media and ideas for classroom

activities. There are several lesson plans for local history projects in several

different disciplines that are excellent examples of digital history projects that

could be incorporated into, or serve as the model for, a virtual field trip.

“Digital Field Trip Report” can be personalized for use in any classroom.

Using audio, images, and devices such as an iPod, students create a series of

guided tours through a museum, creating a virtual museum for others to access.

Student reflections provide a way for students unable to attend the field trip to

see what resources are available in the community and make connections to

their own studies. The tours also help teachers prepare subsequent classes for

trips to the same museum. This project is ideal when used in conjunction with a

class field trip designed to support what is being taught in class. On the field trip,

students can use an iPod with a voice recorder to capture thoughts and

reflections and also take photos with a digital camera. Upon returning to school,

they combine the audio and photos to create a guided tour with software such as

iMovie to share with others

(http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/story.php?itemID=10663).

84
Maps and Geo-caching

Geo-caching has become a powerful tool in enhancing student

understanding of geography, scientific inquiry, math concepts, physical

education, problem solving, and language arts. Using Global Positioning

Systems (GPS), teachers can combine history lessons with lessons on how to

use mapping software, primary source documents, interviews with experts,

newspaper archives, and local historical societies. “High Tech Treasure Hunt” is

a lesson plan that is available from the Apple Learning Interchange. Students

discover their heritage while investigating the history of a local city or town. Using

a combination of technologies, such as global positioning units, iPods, and digital

cameras, students engage in learning activities that lead to finding hidden

treasures, known as caches. Caches are usually in a small, waterproof container

or a weatherproof box and contain a logbook to record finders' visits and a few

trinkets. A geocache could be hidden just about anywhere - a park, under a rock

off a hiking trail. Geocaching is an outdoor adventure game, which uses a global

position system, displaying latitude and longitude coordinates to find a hidden

cache.

In “High Tech Treasure Hunt,”

(http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/story.php?itemID=10692) students became

familiar with geographical coordinates, entering waypoints into gps units, and

navigating around using the compass. They created walking sticks for reasons

you can hear in their podcast. They researched information on local history and

explored geocaching and safety tips. To enhance the geocaching experience,

85
students used iPods to digitally journal historical information found on landmarks

around this historical local town. This is an excellent lesson to help develop the

skills needed to become a student infotective!

Mapping projects are being undertaken by schools, particularly since the

introduction of Google maps as a fast and easy way to display locations. In many

areas, you even can see a satellite photo that zooms in on your own rooftop!

Using Google maps (http://maps.google.com/), students can compare the

landscape of their community today with maps from the past. Maps help students

understand location, navigation, information and exploration.

Oral Histories

Gathering oral history is a fun way for students to learn about the past.

Family, friends, community members, and veterans have lived through important

events in history and can share their memories, perspectives and firsthand

accounts of the events of their time. Recording interviews and gathering oral

histories can easily be done today with a digital recorder.

Oral history projects such as “The Rocky Gap High School Oral History

and Technology Project,” (http://www.bland.k12.va.us/bland/rocky/gap.html)

exemplify how students can become engaged in the history, culture and

technology of a place. An excellent oral history project, and an ideal model for my

project, was done in 2004 by students at Millville Memorial High School in

Millville, New Jersey. Students interviewed pilots and crewmen who served at the

Millville Army Air Field during World War II. Using the material gathered in their

interviews, the students created “Local Hero Trading Cards” featuring photos of

86
World War II Veterans, their hometown, rank, years served during the war, a brief

description of service and also a current picture. The students also edited their

oral histories and sent them for inclusion in the U.S. Library of Congress’

Veteran’s History Project.

“Merging Past and Present,” is a way for students to gain perspective on

the history of where they live while contributing to the community's historical

record. After researching local history using books, online resources, and by

visiting the local historical society or public library, students select areas to learn

more about and photograph. Students use AppleWorks to create a storyboard for

their iMovie project, including narration for their movie, titles, transitions, and

other elements. Each project should include information about when the structure

or area was built, the history behind it, and what its purpose is today. Students

scan or download existing photos of their location or structure. They visit the

location and take new photographs using a digital camera, trying to mimic the

perspective of the past photos as much as possible. They import all photos into

one iPhoto album. Students then create their iMovie project by importing the old

and new images, creating transitions between them, and recording narration

about their findings. When the projects are done, the class watches all of the

projects and discusses the impact of change in their community. The iMovie

projects are exported to QuickTime and burned on CDs or saved in iDVD and

burned on DVDs. The CDs or DVDs can be presented to the school library, local

historical society, or public library. In subsequent years, the movies can be used

87
by history classes who can continue adding to this digital historical record

(http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/story.php?itemID=171).

As I discussed in Chapter 2, place-based education is an excellent

method of blending tradition with technology. Technology is the hook to bring

students to their community to capture the stories of the local citizens. The entire

process; gathering the stories, listening to them, editing them, and publishing a

digital product, gives students a sense of satisfaction and connects them to their

history which, in turn, helps shape their identity.

Virtual BRAAF

A Virtual Field Trip can incorporate many digital elements, and can even

be developed in pieces. There are many projects that could be developed and

included as part of a larger digital history project. An interactive timeline could

highlight important dates in the history of the Army Air Field and the city of Boca

Raton. Oral histories can be gathered from World War II veterans who served on

the base. Many oral histories have already been gathered by BRAAF veterans

that could be made publicly available through this virtual site. Maps from then

and now can be compared and contrasted to highlight geographical changes that

occurred when the base was built. The virtual field trip can be a central gathering

place for all of the information collected, a portal or jumping off point. Something

as simple as a diagram could connect all of the pieces that could be linked

together in a digital format.

88
Figure 3
Virtual BRAAF Components

There are many types of virtual field trips. Fact finding missions involve

students visiting a variety of online resources to learn about a concept or topic.

On an awareness exploration, students explore a land, culture, or career to gain

a basic understanding or as an introduction to a topic. Many lesson-planning

tools have been developed to assist teachers in creating lessons that adhere to

state and national standards. There is no best lesson-planning tool, but there are

elements that should be included in every lesson. When planning a lesson,

89
teachers should ask themselves three basic questions: Where are your students

going? How are they going to get there? How will you know when they've

arrived?

Goals determine purpose, aim, and rationale for what you and your

students will engage in during class time. Goals are typically written as broad

educational or unit goals adhering to State or National curriculum standards.

Objectives are drawn from the broader aims of the unit plan but are achieved

over a well defined time period. Table 7 is a sample lesson plan for a virtual field

trip taking into account the Florida Sunshine State Standards as well as National

History Standards and National Technology Standards.

Table 7
Virtual BRAAF Lesson Plan
Goal: To transport students back in time to experience life on the Boca Raton

Army Air Field. When students make real-world connections between themselves

and their community, they can participate in authentic activities based on issues

that matter to them personally. In this activity, students become active archivists,

gathering photos, artifacts, and stories that highlight the history of Boca Raton,

specifically, the Boca Raton Army Air Field. Their results will be published online

as a virtual field trip.

NCSS Curriculum Standards:

• Culture

• Time, Continuity, and Change

• People, Places, and Environments

90
• Power, Authority, and Governance

Florida State Standards:

• The student understands historical chronology and the historical

perspective. (SS.A.1.3)

• The student understands U.S. history from 1880 to the present day.

(SS.A.5.3)

• The student understands the history of Florida and its people. (SS.A.6.3)

• The student understands the interactions of people and the physical

environment. (SS.B.2.3)

• The student understands the world in spatial terms.

Technology Standards:

• Basic operations and concepts. Students are proficient in the use of

technology.

• Technology productivity tools – Students use technology tools to enhance

learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.

• Technology communication tools – Students use technology to

collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other

audiences.

• Technology research tools – Students use technology to locate, evaluate,

and collect information from a variety of sources.

91
Objectives:

• Critically analyze objects from the past.

• Use analysis to develop an understanding of the past is relevant today.

• Communicate their ideas through an online presentation in the form of a

virtual museum.

• Acquire historical knowledge about their local community.

• Compare the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of past

events and decisions and determining the lessons that were learned.

• Conduct historical research using primary and secondary sources.

Students will:

• Discover connections between the community and themselves.

• Conduct research using yearbooks, newsletters, club scrapbooks, school

newspapers, etc.

• Interview community members.

• Identify applicable artifacts.

• Organize collected artifacts.

• Create a virtual field trip or virtual exhibit.

Steps for completing the project:

• Discuss the process of conducting research within the community. Have

students brainstorm a list of community research guidelines before they

visit libraries and museums or make contact with individuals.

• Conduct research using the Internet, archived newspapers, historical

92
archives, and community resources.

• Interview members of the community and local veterans.

• Identify artifacts that will be included in the final project. Make sure they

are in a format that can be used online.

• Organize collected artifacts.

• Create a fun and interesting field trip that brings the class research

together.

• Describe your plan for organizing and displaying artifacts.

• What work can be done in class? Out of class?

Instructions for students:

• What is the topic of the virtual field trip?

• What do you already know about your topic?

• What specific information do you want to learn about the topic?

• List questions you have about your topic.

• List the preliminary research sources you anticipate using.

Any of the lessons highlighted in the beginning of this chapter could easily

be adapted into a virtual field trip project. Learning about World War II and the

men and women who served at the Boca Raton Army Air Field is an effective

way for students to learn about important historical events while using technology

93
to enrich the process. It is an opportunity for students to gain a greater interest

and respect in the experience of their elders.

Conclusion

There are many advantages to taking, designing, and developing virtual

field trips, however, the two reasons I chose to use a virtual field trip as a method

of engaging students in history and social studies are: (1) History is more

engaging when presented in an interactive, multimedia experience; and (2)

Virtual field trips can be used to build relationships between generations and

cultures. The ways students are taught must engage them in a journey of self-

discovery in order for them to become self-directed, lifelong learners.

This study includes a virtual field trip to the Boca Raton Army Air Field, an

important part of the history of Boca Raton. Developing and participating in this

virtual adventure is an excellent way for students to connect to Veterans who

served at BRAAF during the War and also provide them with a better

understanding of the history of their community.

Teaching today’s “digital natives” requires that we engage them in the

learning process. Innovative educators, such as Marc Prensky, urge teachers to

rethink their methodology and their content. Kimber and Wyatt-Smith encourage

teachers to incorporate new technologies into their teaching and shift the focus

from tools to “teacher agency” (2006). There is not one specific type of project

that determines whether a lesson is successful or not, teachers today must

create a classroom environment and develop a pedagogy that opens a space for

critical and creative engagement with learning. It is clear that now, more than

94
ever, we must embrace new technologies in our teaching repertoires. As shown

in the various examples presented in this study, and the proposed Boca Raton

Army Air Field virtual field trip, creating a space for engagement in the classroom

is a way to cross disciplinary boundaries and engage students in real

experiences that allow them to “be” historians and social scientists instead of just

reading about them.

95
Bibliography

Appel, Justin. (2006). “Second Life develops education following:

Virtual world being used by some educators and youth groups for

teaching, socialization.” eSchool News. Retrieved 29 April 2007, from

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstory.cfm?ArticleID=6713.

Applefield, J., Huber, R., & Moallem, M. (2000). “Constructivism in theory and

practice: toward a better understanding.” The High School Journal, 84,

no2.

Ayers, E. (1999). “History in Hypertext.” Retrieved 29 April 2007, from

http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/Ayers.OAH.html.

Balsera, A. (2001). “The Road Ahead: The Evolution of Online Learning.”

Proceedings of Society for Information Technology and Teacher

Education International Conference. (pp. 117-122). Chesapeake, VA:

AACE.

Barton, K. C. and Levstik, L. S. (1998). "It Wasn't a Good Part of History":

National Identity and Students' Explanations of Historical Significance.

Teachers College Record 99 (3): 478-513.

Bass, R. & Rosenzweig, R. (1999). “Rewiring the History and Social Studies

Classroom: Needs, Frameworks, Dangers, and Proposals.” Center for

96
History and New Media. Retrieved 29 April 2007, from

http://chnm.gmu.edu/resources/essays/d/26.

Beichner, R. J. (1993). Technology Competencies for New Teachers: Issues and

Suggestions. In J. J. Hirschbul (6th Ed.). Computers in Education. (pp.

111-114). Guilford, CT: The Dushkin Publishing Group, Inc.

Belanger, F., & Jordan, D. H. (2000). Evaluation and Implementation of Distance

Learning: Technologies Tools, and Techniques. (pp. 37-38, 49-51, 61-69,

78-80). Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing.

Bracey, Gerald. (2002). “Are U.S. Students Behind?” American Prospect Online.

Retrieved 28 April 2007, from

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=4736.

Bracey, Gerald. (2006). “Believing the Worst.” Stanford Magazine. July/August

2006. Retrieved 30 September 2007, from

http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2006/julaug/features/nclb.h

tml.

Braun, J., & Risinger, F. (1999). “Surfing social studies.” Washington, DC:

National Council for the Social Studies.

Britton, Diane F. (1997). “Public History and Public Memory”. The Public

Historian. Vol. 19, No. 3. (Summer 1997) pp. 11-23.

Buck Institute for Education. (2003). Project Based Learning Handbook.

California: Buck Institute for Education.

97
Buckingham, D., Sefton-Green, J. & Willett, R. (2003). “Shared spaces: informal

learning and digital cultures.” Retrieved 30 September 2007, from

http://wac.co.uk/sharedspaces/final_report.pdf.

Bull, G., Bull, G. & Dawson, K. (1999). “The Universal Solvent.” Learning and

Leading with Technology. 27, 2: 36-38.

Burton, O. (2002). “Computing in the Social Sciences and Humanities.” Illinois:

University of Illinois.

Bybee, R. (1997). “The Sputnik Era: Why is this Educational Reform Different

from All Other Reforms?” Reflecting on Sputnik: Linking the Past, Present,

and Future of Educational Reform. Retrieved 20 April 21, 2007, from

http://www.nas.edu/sputnik/index.htm.

Calandra, B., & Lee, J. (2005). “The digital history and pedagogy project:

Creating an interpretative/pedagogical historical website.” Internet and

Higher Education, 8, 323-333.

Cassady, J & Mullen, L. (2006). “Reconceptualizing electronic field trips: a

Deweyian perspective.” Learning, Media, and Technology. Vol. 31, No.2,

pp. 149-161.

Center for History and New Media. (2007). History matters. Retrieved 24

February 2007, from http://historymatters.gmu.edu/.

Chance, E. W., & LoBaugh, L. (1994). Electronic field trips; using technology to

enhance classroom instruction. Paper presented at the Annual Convention

of the National Rural Education Association (86th), Salt Lake City, UT.

98
Ciolfi, L. and L. Bannon (2002). "Designing Interactive Museum Exhibits :

Enhancing visitor curiosity through augmented artefacts", in Bagnara, S.,

Pozzi, S., Rizzo, A. & Wright, P. (Eds.), Proceedings of ECCE11,

European Conference on Cognitive Ergonomics, Catania (Italy).

Clarke, G., Lee, J. & Pittman, D. (2004). “The Promise of Digital History in the

Teaching of Local History”. In C. Crawford et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of

Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International

Conference 2004 (pp. 4768-4772). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.

Cohen, E. & Willis, C. (2004). “One nation under radio: digital and public memory

after September 11.” New Media Society. 6: 591-610.

Committee on Social Studies. (1916). The Social Studies in Secondary

Education, ed. M. R. Nelson. Bloomington, IN: ERIC Clearinghouse.

Cox, S. & Su, T. (2004). “Integrating student learning with practitioner

experiences via virtual field trips.” Journal of Educational Media. Vol. 29,

No. 2.

Cremin, L.A. (1961). The transformation of school. New York: Random House.

Cremin, L. A. (1974). “The free school movement - a perspective.” Today’s

Education, 63, (1), 71-74.

"Crisis in Education, Part I: Schoolboys Point Up a U.S. Weakness." (1958). Life,

March 24, 1958, pp. 27-35.

"Crisis in Education, Part II: An Underdog Profession Imperils the Schools."

(1958). Life, March 31, 1958, pp. 93-101.

Dewey, J. (1933). How we think. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath & Company.

99
Dodge, B. (1997). Some Thoughts About Webquests. Retrieved 28 April 2007,

from http://webquest.sdsu.edu/about_webquests.html.

Doolittle, P., & Hicks, D. (2003). Constructivism as a theoretical foundation for

the use of technology in social studies. Theory and Research in Social

Education, 31(1), 71-103.

Downes, Stephen. (2007). E-Learning 2.0. Retrieved 5 October 2007, from

http://www.downes.ca/post/31741.

Evers, W. (2001). “Standards and Accountability.” A Primer on America’s

Schools. Hoover Press. Retrieved 28 April 2007, from

http://media.hoover.org/documents/0817999426_9.pdf.

Finkelstein, Norman (2000). The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the

Exploitation of Jewish Suffering. London: Verso.

Finn, C. E. (2002, April). What ails U.S. high schools? How should they be

reformed? Is there a federal role? Paper presented at Preparing America’s

Future: The High School Symposium, Washington, DC. (ERIC Document

Reproduction Service No. ED467 037).

Fosnot, C.T. (1996). Constructivism: Theory, perspective, and practice. New

York: Teachers College Press.

Friedman, A. (2006). State Standards and Digital Primary Sources: A

Divergence. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education.

6 (3), pp. 313-327. AACE.

Furger, R. (2002). “Assessment for Understanding.” Edutopia. Retrieved 1

October 2007 from http://www.edutopia.org/assessment-understanding.

100
Gaston, Jim. (2006). “Reaching and Teaching the Digital Natives.” Library Hi

Tech News. Number 3, pp. 12-13.

Glassberg, David. (1996). “Public History and the Study of Memory.” The Public

Historian, Vol. 18, No. 2. (Spring, 1996), pp. 7-23.

Grant, S.G. (2001). “It’s just the facts, or is it? The relationship between teachers’

practices and students’ understandings of history.” Theory and Research

in Social Education, 29, 65-108.

Greene, S. (1994). The Problems of learning to think like a historian: Writing

history in the culture of the classroom. Educational Psychologist, 29(4),

89-96.

Hawkey, Roy. (2004). “Learning with Digital Technologies in Museums, Science

Centres and Galleries.” A Report for NESTA Futurelab. Bristol: NESTA

Futurelab.

Henke, K (2007). “Measuring Up in a Flat World.” School CIO. Retrieved 15

March 2007, from

http://www.schoolcio.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196604181.

Holt, Tom. (2004). Thinking Historically: Narrative, Imagination, and

Understanding. New York: The College Board.

Holzberg, C.S. (1998). Class trips in cyberspace: No passports required.

Technology and Learning, 17(3), 58-65.

International Society for Technology in Education. (ISTE) (2000). The National

Educational Technology Standards (NETS) Project. Retrieved 15 March

2007, from http://www.iste.org/Template.cfm?Section=NETS.

101
Kellner, D. (2002). "New Media and New Literacies: Reconstructing Education for

the New Millennium," in Handbook of New Media, edited by Leah A.

Lievrouw and Sonia Livingstone. London: Sage Publications, 2002: 90-

104.

Kerr, S. T. (1996). "Visions of sugarplums : the future of technology, education,

and the schools," In: S. T. Kerr, (editor), Technology and the Future of

Schooling. Chicago: National Society for the Study of Education

(distributed by the University of Chicago Press).

Kimber, K. and Wyatt-Smith, C. (2006). “Using and creating knowledge with new

technologies: a case for students-as-designers”. Learning, Media &

Technology. Volume 31, Number 01/March 2006.

Klein, Kerwin Lee. (2000). “On the Emergence of Memory in Historical

Discourse.” Representations, No. 69, Special Issue: Grounds for

Remembering. Winter, pp. 127-150.

Klem, B. & Tuthill, G. (2003). “Virtual Field Trips: Best Practices.” International

Journal of Instructional Media. Vol. 30(2).

Knighton, B. (2003). No child left behind: The impact on social studies

classrooms. Social Education, 67(4).

Kawka, B. & Burgess, B. (2001). V-Trip Travel Guide. Eugene, OR:Society for

Technology in Education (ISTE).

Lee, J. K. (2002). “Digital History in the History/Social Studies Classroom.” The

History Teacher.” Vol. 35, No. 4, (Aug.), pp. 503-517.

102
Lerner, Gerda. (1997). Why history matters: life and thought. New York: Oxford

University Press.

Ling, Sally. (2005). Small Town, Big Secrets: Inside the Boca Raton Army Air

Field During World War II. South Carolina: The History Press.

March, T. (2005). “Working the Web for Education.” Retrieved online 1 October

2007 from http://www.ozline.com/learning/theory.html.

Mayer, R. E. (2001). Multimedia Learning. New York: Cambridge: University

Press.

McKenzie, Jamie. (1998). “Grazing the Net: Raising a Generation of Free Range

Students.” Phi Delta Kappan. September. Retrieved 3 June 2007, from

http://www.fno.org/text/grazing.html.

Meier, D. (2002). Standardization versus standards. Phi Delta Kappan, 84(3),

190-198.

McREL. (2000). Noteworthy Perspectives on Implementing Standards-Based

Education. Retrieved 15 March 2007, from http://www.mcrel.org.

Mills-Kelly, T. (2006). “The Role of Technology in World History Teaching.” World

History Connected, Vol. 3, Issue 3. Retrieved 15 March 2007, from

http://worldhistoryconnected.press.uiuc.edu/3.3/kelly.html.

Milne, Andrew J. (2007). “Entering the Interaction Age Today: Implementing a

Future Vision for Campus Learning Spaces.” Educause.

January/February, pp. 13-31.

103
Mizco, Thomas. (2005). “In Response to NCLB: A Case for Retaining Social

Studies.” Retrieved 30 September 2007, from

http://www.usca.edu/essays/vol152005/misco.pdf.

Morehead, P. & LaBeau, B. (2005). “The continuing challenges of technology

integration for teachers.” Essays in Education, 15, Retrieved March 26,

2006, from http://www.usca.edu/essays/vol152005/moreheadrev.pdf

National Center for History in the Schools. (2005). Overview of standards in

historical thinking. Retrieved December 30, 2006, from

http://nchs.ucla.edu/standards/thinking5-12.html.

National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983). A nation at risk: The

imperative for educational reform. Retrieved 13 July 2006 from,

http://www.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/index.html.

National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (1997-2006). NCATE

Unit Standards. Retrieved 13 July 2006, from

http://www.ncate.org/public/unitStandardsRubrics.asp?ch=4.

National Council for the Social Studies. (1994). Expectation of excellence:

Curriculum standards for social studies. Silver Spring, MD: National

Council for the Social Studies.

National Council on Social Studies (1999). A Vision of Powerful Teaching and

Learning in the Social Studies: Building Social Understanding and Civic

Efficacy. Retrieved 30 March 2007, from

http://www.socialstudies.org/positions/powerful/.

104
National Education Goals Panel (NEGP) (1990). Retrieved 20 April 21, 2007,

from http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/negp/.

National Science Foundation. (1998). “Information Technology: It’s Impact on

Undergraduate Education,” in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and

Technology. Retrieved 21 May 2007, from

http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf9882.

Nix, Rebekah. (1999). A Critical Evaluation of Science-Related Virtual Field Trips

Available on the World Wide Web. Retrieved 21 May 2007, from

http://www.dallas.net/~rnix/vft_text.html.

No Child Left Behind. (2002). Executive summary. Retrieved December 30,

2006, from The White House Web site:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/education/teachers/execsummary.html

North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. (2000). Literacy in the Digital

Age. Illinois, North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL).

Oblinger, Diana. (2005). “Learners, Learning, & Technology: The Educause

Learning Initiative.” Educause Review. September/October, pp. 67-74.

Olson, L. & Hoff, D. (2006). “Framing the Debate: With the No Child Left Behind

Act up for renewal next year, players on the policy stage are staking out

positions on what they want to see changed.” Education Week. December

13, 2006. Retrieved 11 March 2007, from

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2006/12/13/15nclb.h26.html.

105
O’Reilly, Tim. (2005). What is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for

the Next Generation of Software. September 30. Retrieved 4 June 2007,

from http://www.oreillynet.com/lpt/a/6228.

Pahl, R. H. (2003). Assessment traps in K-12 social studies. The Social Studies,

94(5), 212-215.

Partnership for Twenty-first Century Skills. (2004). Framework for 21st Century

Learning. Retrieved 29 April 2007, from

http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=vie

w&id=254&Itemid=120.

Poulton, H. (1972). The historian’s handbook. Norman, OK: University of

Oklahoma Press.

Puntambakar, S. & Kolodner, J.L. (2005). “Toward implementing distributed

scaffolding: Helping students learn science from design.” Journal of

Research in Science Teaching, 42(2), 185-217.

Rabb, T. K. (2004). "No child" left behind historical literacy. Education Digest,

October 2004.

Ravitch, D. (1995). The case for national standards and assessments [Electronic

version]. Clearing House, 69(3), 134-135.

Resnick, M. (2002). “Rethinking learning in the digital age.” The Global

Information Technology Report : Readiness for the Networked World.

Retrieved 30 March 2007, from

http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cr/pdf/gitrr2002 _ch03.pdf.

106
Risinger, C. F. (2005). Take your students on virtual field trips, Social Education,

May/June, 193-194.

Roblyer, M.D. (2006). Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching. Upper

Saddle River, NJ and Columbus,OH: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.

Rose, L. C. & Gallup, A. M. (2004). The 36th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll.

Phi Delta Kappan.

Ross, E. W. & Marker, P. M. (2005). “(If social studies is wrong) I don't want to be

right.” Theory and Research in Social Education, 33(1).

Ross, E. W. (1997). “The struggle for the social studies curriculum.” In E. W.

Ross (Ed.), The social studies curriculum. Albany: State University of New

York Press.

Rosenzweig, Roy & Thelen, D. (1998). The presence of the past: popular uses of

history in American life. New York: Columbia University Press.

Ross, Steven. (1993). The Making of Memory. London: Bantam Press.

Rothstein, R. (2004). We Are Not Ready to Assess History Performance. The

Journal of American History. March 2004, pp. 1381-1391.

Rutherford, F.J. (1997). Sputnik and Science Education. Reflecting on Sputnik:

Linking the Past, Present, and Future of Educational Reform. Retrieved 20

April 21, 2007, from http://www.nas.edu/sputnik/index.htm.

Savage, Kirk. (2006). “History, Memory, and Monuments: An Overview of the

Scholarly Literature on Commemoration.” National Park Service.

Retrieved 17 July 2006, from

http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/resedu/savage.htm.

107
Savage, T. V. (2003). Assessment and quality social studies. The Social Studies,

94(5), 201-206.

Scherer, Melissa. (1983). “A Nation At Risk: The Imperative For Educational

Reform.” Washington D.C.: The Commission on Excellence in Education.

Retrieved 20 April 21, 2007, from

http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/nationrs.html.

Schrum, L.(2005). Technology as a tool to support education. Education World,

Retrieved March 26, 2006, from

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech004.shtml

Seixas, P. (1999). Beyond Content and Pedagogy: In Search of a Way to Talk

About History Education. Journal of Curriculum Studies 31 (3): 317-337.

Selfe, C. and Susan Hilligoss, eds. (1994). Literacy and Computers: The

Complications of Teaching and Learning with Technology. New York: The

Modern Language Association of America.

Sherer, Marge. (2006). “Perspectives / The NCLB Issue.” Educational

Leadership. Volume 64, Number 3.

Shiveley, James M. & VanFossen, Phillip J.. (2001). Using Internet primary

sources to teach critical thinking skills in government, economics, and

contemporary world issues. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Simon, Roger I. (2000). “The Touch of the Past: The Pedagogical Significance of

a Transactional Sphere of Public Memory.” Revolutionary Pedagogies:

Cultural Politics, Instituting Education, and the Discourse of Theory. Ed.

Peter Pericles Trifonas. New York: Routledge,.

108
Singer, A. (2003). Social Studies for Secondary Schools: Teaching to Learn,

Learning to Teach. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Stainfield, J., Fisher, P., Ford, B., & Solem, M. (July 2000). “International virtual

field trips: a new direction?” Journal of Geography in Higher Education,

24, 2, 255.

Stearns, Peter N. (1998). “Why study history?” American Historical Association.

Retrieved 18 July 2006, from

http://www.historians.org/PUBS/Free/WhyStudyHistory.htm.

Stern, S. (2003). Effective state standards for U.S. history: A 2003 report card.

Washington, D.C. Retrieved November 5, 2003 from,

http://www.edexcellence.net/institute/publication/publication.cfm?id=320.

Tuthill, G, & Klemm, E. B. (2002). “Virtual Field Trips: Alternatives to Actual Field

Trips.” International Journal of Instructional Media, 29, 453-68.

Fosnot, T. (1989). Enquiring teachers, enquiring learners: A constructivist

approach for teaching. New York: Teachers College Press.

Wagner, Ellen. (2005). Enabling Mobile Learning. Educause Review, vol. 40, no.

3 (May/June 2005): 40/53. Retrieved 15 April 2007, from

http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0532.pdf

Warschauer, M. (2003). Technology and Social Inclusion: Rethinking the Digital

Divide. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Whelan, M. (1997). History as the core of social studies education. In E. W. Ross

(Ed.), The Social Studies Curriculum. Albany: State University of New

York Press.

109
Whitworth, S., & Berson, M.J. (2003). Computer technology in the social studies:

An examination of the effectiveness literature (1996-2001). Contemporary

Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 2(4), 472-509.

Wineburg, S. (2001). Historical thinking and other unnatural acts. Philadelphia,

PA: Temple University Press.

Yero, J. (2002). “Standards and Expectations.” Teacher’s Mind Resources.

Retrieved 20 April 2007 online at http://www.TeachersMind.com.

Zellmer, M., Frontier, A., & Pheifer, D. (2006). “What Are NCLB's Instructional

Costs?” Educational Leadership. Volume 64, Number 3.

110

You might also like