Animating History: Illustrating Historical Concepts with Animated Videos

Historical educators must explain complex concepts to diverse learners in a variety of learning environments. Animated videos can aid educators by presenting content in a dynamic way that improves learning and can be customized to individual courses using online software.

Animated videos facilitate learning by demonstrating the connections between concepts in time and in space, a key skill in history classes. As such, animations can help students understand complex concepts and processes, as well as synthesize previously learned content in order to apply that knowledge in later assignments or class discussions. The ability to spark higher-order thinking through video is particularly valuable in an online educational environment where educators may struggle to show rather than to tell. Paired with the spoken word, animated content increases learning in both traditional and non-traditional environments because students engage with the material through multiple pathways, improving recall.

Online software has made animation more accessible for educators. Free, purchased, and subscription software allow educators to select animated or moving stock images, as well as import additional static images. While developing animated videos requires historical educators to tackle challenges like copyright laws and ahistorical stock characters, this presentation will show how educators can create a professional and useful video with tools readily at hand. Indeed, the reliance on public domain images and the need for historically appropriate animations opens up an opportunity for fruitful interdisciplinary collaboration in the development of educational materials.