Fun fact about me, I’m not a very tech savvy person, but in a very digital world I think it’s important that I invest my time into developing these skills. Let’s save more of that conversation for later. First, what is Digital History?
What are Digital History and Digital Humanities
Digital History and Digital Humanities are similar in the way that they take the knowledge, discourse, research, etc. from the discipline(s) and put them on a digital platform. In their book, Digital History: A Guide to Gathering, Preserving, and Presenting the Past on the Web, Cohen and Rosenzweig discuss how with the rise of the internet historical resources like journals or college syllabi are found in massive quantities online. Digital History also encompasses the tools we use to teach history, inside and outside the classroom. Digital Humanities a similar, it’s humanities in an online, digital space, but it encompasses multiple disciplines. According to Stephen Robertson in his chapter, “The Differences Between Digital Humanities and Digital History,” in Debates in Digital Humanities 2016, Digital History is distinct from Digital Humanities because of those aspects previously mentioned, such as being used for education. Not all the disciplines within Digital Humanities do that or at least that’s not a large function of it. Digital History also may use different tools, like mapping or timelines, which isn’t applicable to other disciplines within the humanities.
Why Take Digital History?
Throughout my time as an education student I’ve been placed in field experiences where I’m observing and/or teaching social studies students of various ages, but across the board my mentor teachers tell me that they struggle to get students motivated in history class. I loved history class as a student, and am I offended when someone tells me they find history class boring or a waste of time… yes, but as a teacher I know that the subject is not for everyone.
Recently I returned to my old high school to observe some classes and get insight and advice from my previous teachers, and during a 12th grade government class I had a conversation with a student who would be graduating in just a few short months. I could tell he was one of those students, the one that doesn’t get why they have to be here, and I could tell because he started a random conversation with me in order to not have to do his work. But as we spoke, he explained that he genuinely enjoys learning, he has interest in many other subjects, he likes his teachers, and he wants to care about his social studies class. The problem was it was just boring. And while I loved those “boring,” predictable, and usually lecture heavy classes as a student, as a future teacher, I agree!
I think for young people of these newer generations who are glued to their screens half the time, the way we normally teach history can be SUPER boring. There is validity to the argument that younger generations that are currently in school are losing some of those reading, critical thinking, and writing skills, trust me I’ve seen that plenty with some of my peers in college. My worry though is that we possibly revert too far back to paper pencil, “old school” methods of teaching and assessment which would then rob our students of the opportunity to learn how to be responsible, productive members of the digital world.
All this to say, I took this class one to learn more about what digital history tools, methods, and resources are out there. In order to teach history to the new generation, I want to be able to use tools and resources that are accessible and exciting to them while still maintaining the quality of the learning experience and product. Second, I want to show my future students that history has a purpose. We don’t just sit around all day talking about people and places and dates, historians take that knowledge to, in my opinion, better understand the world around us through understanding how the past has shaped the present. I want my students to see that there are tangible products that come out of studying history and that they are capable of doing that too.
