In this week’s articles we explore the influence of digitizing and history. The pros, the cons, the novel factor of it all are explored. Both Cohen and Brown agree that the Digital medium is an important aspect of history for the public because it provides an opening for those who already utilize the digital world. The digital history world opens up new doors and pathways for a new generation to explore the world of history.
Cohen’s two articles are unique and important because they show the up and the down side of digital history. Whereas a book or a paper can be long lasting and preserved, a cd, dvd or other digital medium can wear and tear much easier. One of the major difficulties that surprised me was the issue of how much information the Digital libraries allow in. Since space isn’t as much of an issue in the digital world, they are able to accept more items no matter their relevance or importance. The fragility of the digital world is surprising as well; one scratch one “oops I dropped it” can lose information forever. The importance of this almost becomes to not rely explicitly on one medium but perhaps to preserve the digital and the physical.
In Cohen’s other article, “History and the Second Decade of the Web”, Cohen takes a more optimistic approach to the digital medium and approaches it as an opportunity to engage in discussion among the populace. One of the truly interesting aspects of this article is that Cohen makes the point that digital libraries allow for a broader view of a subject. Since one can incorporate more items on a cd it allows for a better vision of the topic. While not completely downgrading the usefulness of books, Cohen does make the case that digital history has a future in the world of history.
Brown also focuses on the importance of this new medium as well. He refers to it as “active learning”. While a challenge for historians (as is what we learned in the Hollywood readings last week), it has a potential to be a highly successful tool when utilized properly. While a book accompanying a movie might not have a great response, a CD-ROM following a book can be highly useful and almost extremely necessary to engage the new generation of digital students.
These readings this week showed a new medium that once again challenges historians to think beyond the paper and into the minds and homes of the population. It is truly interesting to see how the way historical works change must change with the people they are attempting to reach. Within this digital world it is necessary to bring history to the mediums that the people are interested in.
The Final Frontier?
15 years ago
4 comments:
Haha, I am still chuckling about the "one 'oops I dropped it'" comment. That is me, and that is why I don't have nice things, haha. Anyway, I am a big fan of the cd-roms that accompany text books. They really do help to further student's education and give them more resources than a book can provide. I've never gotten one with a history text, but I have for French language books, and an art history book and they really do help to further thelearning process in a subject. I also look at this new web version of history as more of a supplement to the paper and book form we've grown up with. I defintiely see and recognize this new digital version of historical resources for the ease and speed that it allows for research, but can't help but worry about the information that might be lost when the current technology it is used for becomes obsolete.
I definitely agree with you. Historians cannot stop with written text, they have to expand to the medium that people have become so accustomed to: the digital arena. I think more so than anything it represents a really great opportunity for history to reach people who otherwise would not have a great interest in it. All the problems aside it is a great way to engage in "active learning," and a great way to reach people and get them interested in their past. And with digital history, as you said, it allows for so much more information just because of it gargantuan size...so in a way, I have hope that there is something to interest everyone, even those who perhaps think they are not interested in history.
I think the cd-rom that comes with textbooks are a good idea, I'm just afraid that students won't use them to their full potential. I had many friends who took classes in which they were required to sign into online lessons and complete activities and they HATED it. They thought it was useless and a waste of their time. That puts teachers and professors between a rock and a hard place when it comes to trying to utilize more entertaining media and have students not feel like they're forced to do something unrelated to the class. Sometimes education can get lost behind the technological glitz and seem unrelated to learning.
I agree with Shelby that cd-roms that comes with textbooks are a great idea. I had a History one semester that had a cd-rom with the book. The cd-rom was called primary source. It contained copies of original document and pictures which was neat because the student would not have to go searching for them. I had not though about unit reading the commits on the blog. Shelby said she was afraid that students would not use the cd-roms to their full potential. I have to agree I too abused the Cd-rom and since looking at it again when I just wanted to have something to do one day there was a lot more information to be learned form that resource than I ever imagined while taking the class. I have been doing digital archiving since I have been at FSU and never realized it. I take classes where I am required to sign into an electronic portfolio called Chalk and Wire complete FEAP which is not hard but takes what seems like an eternity. Shelby talked about some of her friend experiences with web classes and for the most part she is right students see post to the web as useless and a waste of their time. I guess educators and historians want to make things fun and easy by incorporating the web into archiving and collaboration but if students and other historians are not engaged where does this practice go from that point on.
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