The gamic mode is an innovative way of authoring scholarly history that goes beyond the printed text or digital simulations by using digital game technologies to allow the reader to interact with a scholarly argument through meaningful choice and trial and error. The gamic mode makes the way in which the past is constructed as history explicit by…

Discusses the educational purpose of historical atlases and what teachers and students can expect to find in them. Describes two categories of atlas: (1) those containing text and pictures and (2) those with maps, titles, and brief introductory comments. Argues that the geographic circumstances of historical processes are important. Suggests that…

Reviews more than 24 books recently published on the topic of Christopher Columbus and the voyages of discovery. Classifies the books as those designed for student use, for teachers and scholars, biographies, and "Columbus-Bashers." Maintains that the different viewpoints of Columbus the hero and Columbus the villain are barriers for…

Presents an annotated bibliography of 12 items from the ERIC Information System database on the topic of using teacher-developed materials in the history classroom. (CFR)

Sees the United Nations Decade for Women (1975-85) as a series of events with revolutionary significance. States conferences held during this period produced significant documents giving legal recognition and force of international law to reforms. Describes the struggles at the Nairobi (Kenya) conference of 1985. Includes a five page list of…

Describes creating for the National Archives Public Education Department a historical drama, "Second in the Realm," based on the story of the Magna Carta. Demonstrates the effectiveness of historical drama as a teaching tool. Explains the difficulties of writing such dramas and provides guidelines for overcoming these problems. (NL)

Cited in this annotated bibliography are ERIC documents that may be of particular interest to history teachers. (RM)

An inquiry approach to history can be realized through the use of microcomputers. In a project at the University of California at Santa Barbara, teams of high school teachers and scholars have developed a series of computer programs whose contents are problems in U.S. history. A sample problem is described. (RM)

Presents a discussion of laser disk systems developed by different institutions to store and distribute information and visual images. Includes information on storage, preservation, and use in the classroom or for research. Evaluates image quality, storage capacity, and transmissibility. Urges use of the videodisk to organize information and…

Describes an undergraduate history course based on the television miniseries, "Winds of War." Discusses problems faced by the instructors and additional requirements of the course that provided a firm historical foundation for the film. Recommends use of televised motion pictures as a superior means of generating student interest in…

Describes the use of computers in a comparative history course. Outlines course objectives and stresses the incorporation of computers into hypothesis formulation. Discusses available software packages and the pros and cons of each. Concludes with further recommendations for the use of computers in the classroom. (RW)

Asserts the view of history as a humanity. Argues that an effective way to organize instruction is to use a variety of books such as biographies, monographs, personal narratives, and novels. Contends that improving historical literacy will help improve overall literacy among college students. (CFR)

Discusses using educational and popular films and television for history instruction. Argues that students need training to see the bias built into film making through the editing process. Urges that critical thinking must be developed in students to make use of mass media coverage of historical and current events as teaching tools. (DK)

Discusses the development of public history as a field. Presents results of a survey of members of the National Council on Public History describing employment opportunities and career choices available. Suggests conferences, videos, and books to be used in teaching students about public history. Urges recognition of public historians'…

Reviews the use of the collaborative learning process in a seventeenth-century intellectual history seminar. Utilizing reader response, peer critiques, small writing groups, and peer tutoring, students became active participants in the learning process and assumed more responsibility for the course material. Includes a complete syllabus and…