Unit Nine: The Information Age

Over the past few weeks I've been learning about blogging, the digital web, resources available, what makes a good site and digitizing materials…Now to put it all into practice.

For my final project in my Introduction to Digital History course I will use the Curriculum Framework produced by the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Board of Education as a guide to create a digital unit plan. Using the Curriculum Framework will insure that all the required information is covered.  I will then go back and supplement the plan with activities, lessons and assessments that would (hopefully) enhance each unit.  When I return to the classroom I hope to adopt a flipped classroom model, having my students watch/listen/read/prepare at home for more in-depth and engaging activities and assignments in class.

The digital unit will contain all the information my students will need including essential questions and objectives for the unit as well as background information (key individuals, events and vocabulary words), graphic organizers for note taking, video lectures, homework assignments, writing assignments, maps, timelines and review activities.  In the past all of the items were printed and photocopied into multi-page packets and distributed to students at the beginning of each unit.

The American Revolution Unit will have a home here on my Digital History Blog.  It will included a timeline of important dates I will be creating with Timetoast, an online lecture created with either Brainshark or Prezi and a data visualization graph (perhaps of population or support for Independence) using Many Eyes.

There are countless digital resources available on the topic of the American Revolution. I imagine I will be using a variety of resources including, but not limited to the American Memory Historical Collections from the Library of Congress and the Charters of Freedom Collection from the National Archives.

While I do not anticipate actively looking for viewers or an audience for my project, it will be available to the public.  I will certainly share with my team and grade level co-workers and if appropriate, with other teachers in my district who might find it helpful.