Photo from https://historytech.wordpress.com/

Cyndi, our EdTech professor, recommended that the social studies teachers in the room read the History Tech blog by Glenn Wiebe.

Glenn Wiebe (photo from https://historytech.wordpress.com/)

I immediately started searching for it on my iPad during class.  I. was. hooked.  On May 19, 2015 (the day I learned about this site) the blog was titled USGS Historical Topo Maps!  I am a Geographer at heart.  I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and love to geocache.  As a geographer and future social studies teacher, I was immediately hooked into this blog by the post I saw on May 19th!  I have been reading History Tech daily since then!

In the USGS Historical Topo Maps blog, Mr.Wiebe taps into a free, map resource provided by the United States Geological Survey.  Use of the Historical Topographic Maps in the classroom can help bring to life the changing nature of our society.  Maps are a great visual resource to bring life to dull concepts in history.  Who doesn’t love to see information summarized into a visuals that show change over time AND space.

In other blogs Mr. Wiebe encourages teachers to use Google Public Databases to engage students to filter through information and change over time, not just in America but the world.  Common core standards require students interact with more primary sources.  Mr. Wiebe states that use of database information such as is available through Google, is a primary source.  A primary source that extends beyond the go to resources and challenges students to see patterns in numbers and apply those patterns to history.

Mr. Wiebe‘s blog is a great resource for social studies teachers.  He shares technology enhanced ways to teach history and even links in YouTube videos on how to navigate through potentially confusing resources. I cannot begin to cover the immense amount of resources available in his blog.  Read it for yourself!

So often students think, “Oh. History.  That’s boring and not applicable to my life.”  By using the resources at History Tech teachers can engage students with present technology to learn about past events.