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1. What is an online learning module?
An online learning module is a website that presents and interprets academic material for the general public. Each of the completed modules in this course should meet the following requirements.
a. It should present a complex and multifaceted American history topic in an engaging manner.
b. It should be based on primary and secondary research.
c. It should discuss the larger historiographical issues with which it is concerned.
d. It should conform to the citation rules specified in the Chicago Manual of Style.
e. It should be targeted, coherent, informative, and effective.
2. Why kind of module will I design for this course?
Each of the modules designed as part of this course will use a single traumatic event -- such as a murder, fire, flood, or battle -- to explore the workings of American society between 1877 and 1932.
Perhaps the best way to approach this assignment is to select a court case that highlights the tension of the era. Some suggestions would include:
> Charles Guiteau, the Assassination of President James A. Garfield, and the Insanity Defense
> On Trial For Murder: William "Big Bill" Haywood and His Defense Attorney Clarence Darrow
> Buck v. Bell and Virginia's eugenic sterilization law
> Other famous trials of the period (1877-1932) | link
Of course, you do not have to choose a trial. But, you must choose an event in the period that can be researched with primary documents from your location.
3. What can I learn from designing an online learning module?
a. Students can become active participants in digital learning.
Members of this class will both use and create digital learning environments, as they plan, research, write, and develop their own online learning modules, which may house video interviews, audio clips, maps, charts, census records, newspaper articles, political cartoons, photographs, and other forms of digital media that are often overlooked by history students.
b. Students can master “Twenty First Century Skills.”
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) defines these skills as:
The ability to be proficient in the use of advanced technology;
The ability to communicate information and ideas using a variety of media and formats;
The ability to access, exchange, compile, organize, analyze, and synthesize information;
The ability to draw conclusions and make generalizations based on information gathered;
The ability to know content and be able to locate additional information as needed;
The ability to evaluate information and sources;
The ability to construct, produce, and publish models, content, and other creative works;
The ability to become self-directed learners;
And, the ability to collaborate and cooperate in team efforts.
c. Students can become active historians.
Students will become intermediaries between untapped historical sources and the communities in which they live. Class members will complete sound historical research and use it to develop online learning modules that are authentic, relevant, and meaningful.
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