Journal #2

Digital Images in the Classroom by Stephanie van Hover, Kathy Swan, and Micheal J. Berson

This article talks about digital images and social studies classes. There are now archives of digital images on the internet. Places like the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian have archives for historians and for students. Students have also contributed to the digital archives. By doing local projects and collecting old local photos, they have helped historians piece together history.

Students have learned about history from the digital archives. Photos provide a snapshot of history and students can see expressions and actions that happened at one point in history. Digital images bring history to life and help students remember important events. Digital images also help students critically think about events. They can look at a picture and see for themselves what was happening at the time.

I thought this was a very good way for students to become involved with history. Images may make them like history and become interested. Some of the classes put pictures together from different time periods and had their students try to figure out what time period the pictures were from. I think this helped the students realize the differences in history.

I liked the community history projects that the students did. They learned how to research and bring the community together. They also learned about their community.

Question 1: How could I get my students involved with the archive project?

I could have my students look for pictures at home. They could go to the local museum. They could find and speak to the local historical society and find information about the community. They could go to the library and find local pictures. They could also talk to the local paper and see if there are photos. They could bring them in with information and we could send them in as a class.

Question 2: How could I incorporate images into my lessons?

I could have images of famous people and events that I could get from the Library of Congress before lessons on historical figures or events. I could also have images of people or events that represent a holiday that the children will be celebrating so that they understand the significance of the holiday better.