How to Make The Contemporary History Class More Intertesting for Students
"History class is boring," is a common response teachers have to endure. Though historians love their field, they often have trouble conveying the information to students in an exciting way.
Things need to change. It is time to integrate technology into the history classroom to make the subject more appealing. Here are three things teachers can use.
1. Images
This is a visual culture. Students grow up watching television and online video daily. Yet, in school, history teachers expect these same kids to sit for hours listening to stories about people who died a long time ago. Homework is usually reading hundreds of pages from a textbook containing only a few pictures. Printing costs often prevent publishers from incorporating a larger number of pictures and illustrations.
Teachers can download a US history app to use images in the classroom. It is more convenient to store pictures digitally than it is to print them in a book. Teachers now can access databases of images that they can display during lectures. They can also send these images to students to view while reading assigned homework. In this visual age, the ability to see the past is important to students.
2. Video
Likewise, students want to watch history in action. Teachers can download video and store it on a computer. Resources are available that can provide access to videos on various themes. Slavery, civil rights, war and law are all subjects classes can explore through video.
Though it is still necessary for students to read textbooks, video can be a means of making the classroom livelier. Today's students spend a lot of time playing video games. Teachers can take advantage of this fact.
3. Sound
It is also wise to use sound in the History classroom. Hearing the voices of historical subjects can help students recall information better on exams, for example. It is one thing to read a quote in a book but quite another to hear the actual person from history saying the words. Students should be able to listen to Franklin Roosevelt deliver his fireside chats during the depths of the Great Depression or Martin Luther King, Jr., give his famous "I Have a Dream" speech at the nation's capital.
Making the History Classroom More Interesting
It is part of proper classroom management for instructors to ensure that the delivery of information is done in away to maintain the attention of students. Using images, videos and sounds can help accomplish the goal of making history class more exciting for contemporary students. For more information, contact resources such as Study APe.