When I taught high school and a student was given a primary source to read, I was usually discouraged since the student could not decode the words, let alone understand the message, or perspcetive that the author was portraying. This led me to read to the student and paraphrase as I read. Not exactly what a primary source should be. Now that there are more options to find primary sources and now that I am able to use video, photographs, sound clips and other media to access the same information. I think primary sources have the ability to strike interest and help the student to be more in control of his or her learning. These are a couple of websites that may be helpful for younger students.
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/
http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources
Once in control of their own learning, a student may decide to search for online courses to develop an interest that the school cannot afford to add to the course selection. Online courses take motivation, disipline and parental support according to Alan November. But the potential learning opportunities are many and it seems to be a ever growing alternative to the traditional classroom setting. When searching the pros and cons of online learning, I noticed the lengthy list of commercial sites that were focusing on their own benefit. How will these online courses be evaluated in comparison to each other? Time will tell ??
No comments:
Post a Comment