Technology based interviews: Constructing better student attitudes toward history by using technology to develop a technology based interview archive of the Great Depression.

摘要

The project describes the design and description of a technology based pilot project in Sheehan High School in Wallingford, Connecticut. The locale was chosen because it was the school that I worked at for over twenty-five years. The school was also a school that was very traditional in curricular design and implementation and only had technology for use in programming and business classes. This did not really engage students or the teachers as the school desired in a technology based world. In addition, the administration of the school and school system were interested in changes that would engage students more effectively in their learning and utilize more technology to prepare them for adulthood.;By contrast, the main assumptions of this project were to use integrated technology to personalize the study of history, and thus to develop a more positive attitude towards history. The project utilizes sound pedagogical techniques with technology in a way that aids student understanding of history in a way not possible without technology. The project does this by strongly engaging students into a more personal study of historical events through technology-assisted interviews. The thesis describes the materials, methods, teaching and learning strategies, teacher training, and specifically how technology was integrated and used to make these outcomes possible. It reviews the changes in student attitudes and the process students used to understand the constructed knowledge. It concludes by suggesting that the pilot project achieved most of its goals. The shortcoming of this implementation of the curriculum with technology was discussed as well as what might be done in the future to expand, improve, and further validate this model.