Computer-mediated history learning: spanning three centuries project

摘要

This article demonstrates how learners used a project-based approach to engage in authentic historical inquiry. The Spanning Three Centuries Project (STC) was predicated upon the premise that education should encourage students' disposition toward thoughtfulness and reflection. The project encouraged learners' writing with technology as a way of learning one's own culture, through investigation of societal issues, in history, politics, and sociology, with the aim of inspiring creative historical inquiry, and self-reflection. A number of themes were drawn from this data. The STC project promotes disciplined inquiry and enhances learners' historical thinking. It nurtures learners' sense of authorship and enhances their information literacy. The study showed that learners found the experience generally positive. Students, in general, have taken to the project enthusiastically and report that they benefited from this contact and exposure with centenarians. Connecting history to personal experience made them feel the past was real. They particularly enjoyed the use of multimedia technology in supporting projects in the study of history. From this study, it could be concluded that the project-based STC project has the potential to empower students to use multimedia technology in support of social studies projects. The STC project provided an opportunity to develop learners' historical knowledge and thinking skills, as well as their interest in studying history.