Digital Learning Day (February 5, 2014) is an annual day designated to highlight the effective use of technology to improve education for all students. Here at Facing History, and in this blog in particular, we are excited to be in conversation with educators about how technology amplifies, as well as complicates, our notions of identity, history, and community. To this end, we are proud to support educators every day in their thoughtful use of technology in the classroom, and Digital Learning Day is a perfect opportunity to highlight this work.
Here we’ve highlighted digital tools to combat bullying in schools, a flipped classroom exercise to teach about the Holocaust, ideas for moving beyond the concept of “we and they” to “us,” best practices with multimedia projects, and more. Here are a few more ways you can engage with Facing History themes like memory, legacy, and prejudice while encouraging active learning, independent thinking, and critical reading, writing, and analysis. All of these resources incorporate technology:
Webinars
Our webinars are hour-long hosted conversations on topics ranging from the Holocaust and human behavior to the Common Core to conversations with authors such as Pulitzer Prize-winner Sonia Nazario. These webinars are recorded so that if you cannot attend live, you can always access the recording at a later date. Here you can find an annotated collection of many of the webinars we have run for Facing History educators, as well as links to registration pages for our upcoming opportunities.
Streaming Video
Our collection of online video clips includes interviews with scholars, survivors, artists, and others and are a great basis for a flipped classroom assignment or for encouraging media skills. You can use the search function to filter your results. Watch this space for more as we continue to grow our extensive library online.
Online Courses
Want to go deeper? Educators that complete a Facing History online course (in topics such as Holocaust and Human Behavior or Choices in Little Rock) become part of our Educator Network, with access to the complete Facing History website, our extensive lending library, and one-on-one support from a Facing History program associate. Online courses can be taken for graduate credit.
Online Workshops
Don’t have seven or eight weeks to spend on professional development? Never fear: take an in-depth look at themes of antisemitism, bullying and building safe school environments, civic participation, and moral decision making in one of our week-long online workshops. Workshops explore Facing History resources such as the memoir Red Scarf Girl or the civil rights documentary Freedom Riders, and are designed for you to go at your own pace. Access content, discussion forums, and strategies at a time that is convenient for you, with full support of Facing History staff. Sign up now for our free upcoming workshop “Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism” – everyone who registers before March 7 will receive a free copy of Facing History’s book of the same name.
Will you mark Digital Learning Day in your classroom? Which edtech resources do you find most helpful, and why?
