Education is one of the notable areas that have been deeply affected by the digital age. Friedman and Garcia have studied how mobile devices could be used as the primary sources of historical narratives. The article states that teaching history today requires arousing students’ sympathy by exposing students to historical accounts. In addition, the authors point out that teaching history requires students to be allowed to interact with the primary sources of the historical narratives. According to Friedman and Garcia (115), teaching history should foster a positive learning outcome and meet the study needs of students (Friedman and Garcia 115).
The article confirms what we have done during our class discussions today, using two ways. First, it highlights the importance of technology in teaching history so as to foster students’ historical empathy. For instance, it points out that the Apple iPad application can be used to create historical empathy for New York 9/11 terrorist attacks (Friedman and Garcia 122). In addition, the article demonstrates two different ways of fostering interaction amongst students, using the primary sources of historical narratives. For instance, different digital applications can be used to encourage students’ interactions using primary narratives.
The article also confirms what we have observed in classrooms today. First, it emphasizes the use of technology platforms in the history of teaching (Friedman and Garcia 121). This is true because many students and teachers use mobile applications and computers to access primary historical narratives. Furthermore, through mobile technologies, students in classrooms are able to create stories that accompany their images. At the same time, the article demonstrates how technologies can be used to share information among students and teachers. This confirms what I am experiencing in the classrooms at the moment.
The article demonstrates several things that I have read in Hullar and Nelson’s textbook. The article postulates that teaching history requires teachers to make students understand and appreciate history through interactions, using primary narratives (Friedman and Garcia 122). For instance, the article points out that digital technology can be used by teachers to organize study materials of history, images, and multimedia of each historical narrative. This creates historical relevance that enables the student to understand and appreciate history as a subject. In addition, the article describes ways of engaging narratives in teaching history to enhance student and teacher interaction. Hullar and Nelson discuss the same aspects with regard to teaching US history at schools and colleges.
The information in the article describes my future classroom in two ways. Looking into the future, I need to use digital technology to influence students with historical narratives. This will enhance students’ knowledge. Additionally, I will need to use social-study-based technological applications to generate historical knowledge that is not found in the textbooks.
TEKS says that the article is appealing for the transformation of how history is taught. To be specific, TEKS states that the article is aimed to make social studies more student-centered through the use of digital historical resources. However, the research does not address some things. For instance, it does not account for deviations from class instructions that can be caused by the use of technology in teaching history.
Works Cited
Friedman, Adam B., and Emily R Garcia. “People with Real Experiences: Using Mobile Devices in High School Social Studies.” Social Studies Research and Practice 8.3 (2013): 115-112. Print.