Author: Skip Knox <sknox@varney.idbsu.edu> Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 07:53:20 -0500

Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 11:52:37 -0600
Subject: Re: Heritage of World Civ. CD

David Fahey expresses some uncertainty about how to use the textbook CD he
acquired (Heritage of World Civ) and why he might want to. I'm largely in sympathy--I don't see it as a classroom tool. I've known professors whose CDs in a large lecture hall, mainly to project images, so that would be one idea. This does not work in a "normal" classroom because you have to keep dimming the lights and bringing them back up. Too much hassle.

You could throw out the book and just have the students buy the CD. Not all students have computers, of course, but let's even grant that they do. I can hear David arguing for a book's transportability and ease of browsing, and he's right. What counters this? A CD is more effectively search--book indices are notoriously unhelpful. That's a major strength. More ambiguous is the benefit of cut and paste. Students can more easily "take notes", as it were. This bothers me because it cuts out the physical act of writing notes which, as any learning theorist will tell you, plays a major role in retention. Of course, most of my students don't take notes, either--they just highlight everything in sight! Anyway, it's moot; we cannot assume all students have computers.

So, it gets down to this: the CD is a great supplement to the physical textbook for the individual student. Those that have a computer and have the money to spend, might find the CD occasionally useful to their work. But the benefit is only occasional and probably doesn't justify the price of the CD. And that is why publishers are struggling with marketing this technology. It simply does not fill much of a need. This is in sharp contrast to history resources available on the Internet, which are not so well organized but range much more widely, and are free.

        Cogito ergo spud: I think, therefore I yam
 Dr. E.L. Skip Knox               sknox@varney.idbsu.edu

www.idbsu.edu/cdp/skip www.idbsu.edu

Author: Don Adams <dadams@ideanet.doe.state.in.us> Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 11:40:24 -0500

Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 09:30:16 -0600 (EST)

Dr. Knox and listreaders,

You are entirely correct that the use of projectors with any presentations is a hassel with the constant dimming. That is why I prefer the large screen TVs. A 31" is visible from the back of my classroom (30'X 30'). I incorporate the pictures into a power point presentation and it seems to work well. One simply cannot use it all the time because it looses it's effectiveness.

Don Adams
teacher, Mooresville High School, Mooresville, IN

> Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 11:52:37 -0600 > From: Skip Knox > Subject: Re: Heritage of World Civ. CD > > David Fahey expresses some uncertainty about how to use the textbook CD he > acquired (Heritage of World Civ) and why he might want to. I'm largely in > sympathy--I don't see it as a classroom tool. I've known professors who use > CDs in a large lecture hall, mainly to project images, so that would be one > idea. This does not work in a "normal" classroom because you have to keep > dimming the lights and bringing them back up. Too much hassle.

Author: gmonahan@eosc.osshe.edu (Gregory Monahan) Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 13:44:54 -0500

Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 10:09:06 -0800 (PST)

RE dimming the lights, I just keep them dimmed since I use slides in every lecture. I make sure there are enough lights for note-taking. If you have a good enough slide projector, the brightness is sufficient. Of course, it helps to have a room where the lights CAN be dimmed. As for flashing images from a cd-rom, I can just imagine the waves of laughter I would encounter from our administrators if I suggested equipping all our classrooms with big screen TVs or projection systems! I always find myself somewhat envious of the equipment that some of my colleagues on the list have available to them in the classroom.

Greg Monahan
gmonahan@eosc.osshe.edu

Author: Skip Knox <sknox@varney.idbsu.edu> Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 16:32:06 -0500

Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 13:31:54 -0700

The trouble with TVs, of course, is they don't have the same aspect ratio as a computer screen. There can also be annoying color shifts when going to NTSC. I've used the technology extensively and over a long period of time. I think I may have said before on this list that, while my students universally say they like the slides, I have not a shred of evidence that anyone is actually learning any better. Last fall I taught in a blackboard-only room after years of teaching in a high tech room. Again, my impression is that their learning was no different. So I sympathize with faculty who wonder what all the fuss is. Personally, I just like playing with new toys, but I try not to confuse that with pedagogy.

In contrast, teaching virtual classes over the Internet really is a marked improvement. I can document it. The students learn better AND I teach better. But multimedia in the traditional classroom is marginal at best.

Skip Knox, BSU Webmaster elknox@bsu.idbsu.edu http://www.idbsu.edu http://www.idbsu.edu/cdp/skip

Author: David Fahey <FAHEYDM@miamiu.acs.muohio.edu> Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 10:25:11 -0500

Date: Tue, 18 Mar 97 08:32:13 EST

At this point publishers probably will have to give away most CD-ROMs, so the practical format may be the Instructor's Manual, with maps, charts, views, and other images, together with music, pronunciation guides and so forth. For those who raise an eyebrow about pronunciation guides, I should say that while teaching world history I frequently stumble.

David Fahey (Miami University) faheydm@muohio.edu

Author: Raymond James Haberski <rh519685@oak.cats.ohiou.edu> Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 15:16:30 -0500

Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 14:33:01 -0500 (EST)

Hi list members,

I have a query for you. I am a graduate student at Ohio University and have completed a prototype of CD Rom on the dropping of atomic bomb with two other students. It is a very interactive program that allows the students to simulate the process of being a policy advisor. Students sift through primary documents, pictures, film and sound clips, while answering questions on each document. Our methodology is to create a non-linear exercise in research and evaluation of source material from the era under investigation.

We need to create outlines for other scenerios to put on the CD that would be useful to (primarily, though not exclusively) high school teachers. We considered doing a few CDs each with a theme that includes a series of issues. The first CD would be on great military/diplomatic events: The Decision to Intervene In Cuba, 1898; The League of Nations Debate; Dropping of the Atomic Bomb; and The Cuban Missile Crisis.

Our questions are these:

1)Would high school teachers find our CDs interesting?

2) Would such an approach include subjects that are not only attractive to teach but important to course requirements?

3) Does a thematic approach to each CD make sense?

We could put an array of themes on each CD that covers issues in social history, political history, etc.

5) Would a CD that had a combination of issues make more sense, for example, with the Suffrage Movement, the Depression, the decision to drop the bomb, and the election of 1960?

It would be a great help to us if as many of you as possible could give us an idea of what an ideal CD would be to you.

Thanks very much.

Ray Haberski
The TimeStreams Group
Contemporary History Institute
Ohio University
Athens, OH
rh519685@oak.cats.ohiou.edu

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