Purdue News
Purdue News
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February 1999
History's future evolves on the WebWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Internet has revolutionized continuing education for working professionals, especially social studies teachers."One of the major concerns expressed by all teachers is that graduate courses are all too frequently scheduled during the day, when they are teaching, or are only available on a remote university campus," says Lynn Nelson, director of the James F. Ackerman Center for Democratic Citizenship at Purdue University. Social studies teachers face an additional challenge because until recently, course content at the graduate level did not lend itself to distance education technology. "Graduate studies, particularly in the social sciences, require access to texts and historic analysis available primarily in academic libraries," Nelson explains. The Internet has helped overcome those hurdles. "The growing number of comprehensive electronic data bases now make it possible to do serious, thoughtful research on the Web," explains Michael Smith, the history professor who is teaching a graduate-level Purdue course entirely on-line. "And that's also one of the skills teachers will be able to put to immediate use in their own classrooms." Using a grant from the Indiana Higher Education Telecommunications System, Smith developed "Approaches to Global History" as both a methodology course in teaching and a content course covering the interactions between the civilizations of Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas from 1500. It was offered for the first time in January. "It's designed to meet the needs of middle- and high-school social studies teachers and upper-level undergraduate and graduate students who plan careers in secondary education," Smith says. Elaine Wrisley Reed, executive director of the National Council for History Education in Westlake, Ohio, says she believes that the Purdue course is the first of its kind in postgraduate social studies education to be offered entirely on-line. "I think we're seeing the beginning of a trend in teacher education that's tremendously needed," Reed says. "This is a wonderful professional development opportunity that can have an immediate impact on both the teacher and the students in his or her history classes." On-line students will receive reading assignments, participate in discussion forums and case-study simulations, and interact with guest lecturers from around the world on-line. Assignments will include writing lesson plans and lectures that can be used in their own classrooms, and creating interactive Web pages for their school's social studies programs. "One of the goals of the course is to help teachers become more Web-savvy so that they can incorporate the technology into their own instruction," Smith says. "You not only have to know how to search the Internet, but you have to be able to recognize the value of the information you find there." Enrollment for the first semester was limited to 25 students to maintain a close-knit community of learners, but that number could increase depending on future demand, he says. Tuition is the same no matter where the student lives, and participants will earn three hours of Purdue credit. As an added service, Smith and Nelson will be available both during and after the completion of the course to personally consult with teachers about implementing new global history materials and classes into their curriculums. "The grant will allow Lynn Nelson and me to actually visit classrooms and discuss textbook options and Web-page creation," Smith says. "It will also give us a chance to see what kind of facilities and equipment teachers are working with today and advise them on what they will need in the future." CONTACTS: Smith, (765) 494-4152; e-mail, assunta@omni.cc.purdue.edu Nelson, (765) 494-2372; e-mail, lrnelson@purdue.edu
Compiled by Sharon Bowker, (765) 494-2077; e-mail, sharon_bowker@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
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