Friday, January 3, 2020: 2:10 PM
Nassau East (New York Hilton)
It has been said that teaching history online as opposed to teaching in-person is merely a change in the mode of delivery. (Luckhardt 2014, for example). This paper takes a different perspective – the difference is more significant and potentially more valuable. Teaching in person is traditionally an oral tradition – lectures and group activities punctuated by written quizzes and tests. Although the reading of a textbook or written source is normally required, many students today try very hard to avoid any reading and rely if they can on taking notes from the lecture and discussion. Online teaching is more dependent upon reading and writing. Online instructors can and do use video-recorded lectures, movies, photographs and podcasts as sources, but there is a much heavier dependence upon the written word. This has its drawbacks – some students find it very difficult to complete an online course, partially because of the lack of structure of a classroom and partially because it is so dependent upon reading. The benefit of an online class, however, is that it forces the student to read and follow the instructions carefully, to read the required texts and to respond more frequently with a considered short essay response to questions. In other words, the format of an online class itself is more related to the fundamental requirements of the study of history – that is, review and analysis of largely written materials. This presentation will consider the benefits and challenges of teaching history online in light of the goals of teaching critical thinking and historical literacy in addition to the flow of history.