LTC Webinar Series Explores Primary Source Use in Social Studies - March 9th, 2010

A typical screen during the Webinar, showing presentation slides, attendees list, video of presenter, and participant chat. Enlarge Image

The Learning Technology Center has begun presenting a series of webinars about using the Presidential Timeline and primary source materials in social studies education. The webinars are part of a National Endowment for the Humanities Digital Humanities Institutes grant, which is managed by LTC External and Special Projects Coordinator Ken Tothero.

The first webinar, on February 22, was for a small group who had also participated in last year’s Presidential Timeline Teacher Institute. Ryan Crowley, LTC Graduate Research Assistant, gave a brief overview of the Presidential Timeline. Brian Richter, a teacher at Sterling High School in Sterling, Kansas, described the use of VoiceThread with primary source materials in secondary social studies and demonstrated several student VoiceThread projects.

The webinar was conducted with Adobe Connect software. Participants could see and hear the presenters, see presentation slides, and participate in a text-based chat with other participants. They were also asked several polling questions and could view the poll results onscreen.

Four more webinars are planned that will feature leading researchers on the use of primary source materials. Ken hopes to attract a larger audience for these by promoting them through regional education service centers and the educational specialists at the presidential libraries.

Contact Ken Tothero for more information about the webinars and the Presidential Timeline.

Related Sites:

• Presidential Timeline
• VoiceThread