by Chris Lewis, Ph.D.
Sewall Academic Program
e-mail at cclewis@spot.colorado.edu

www.colorado.edu/AmStudies/twt.htm

For a great inexpensive introductory book on using the internet, see
The On-Line Research Handbook, by Hayden Mead and Andy Clark (New York: Berkeley Books, 1997).

So Where do I Start:

American Studies Crossroads Internet Site

• Internet Resources for Teaching Humanities Courses on the Web

• Engines of Inquiry: A Practical Guide for Using Technology in Teaching American Culture

• H-Net: "Envisioning the Future: Creating the Humanities Classroom of the 21st Century,"

American Studies Crossroads Project

• ABOUT THE CROSSROADS PROJECT

• Teaching Resources for American Studies

• American Studies Virtual Library

• Center for History and the New Media

H-Net Envisioning the Future Resources

• H-Net Creating the Classroom of the 21st Century

• H-Net's Electronic Discussion Lists

• H-Net Teaching Project

• H-Net Interactive Teaching Resources

Teaching with the Web:

• History and Social Sciences Courses Online

• Dynamic Syllabi for American Studies

• American Studies 2010

• Global Human Ecology

• American History 102: Civil War to the Present

• AMERICAN HISTORY TO 1877

• American Civilization: I-IV

• The Old South

• The Valley of the Shadow: Living the
  Civil War in Pennsylvania and Virginia

• 1492: AN ONGOING VOYAGE

Examples of Web Teaching Modules:

• Who Discovered America?

• Indians and the Struggle for the West

• Women's Rights and the Modern Woman

• The New Deal and the Great Depression

• The American Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb

• America Prepares for Nuclear War in the 1950s

• President Nixon and Watergate

• Jurassic Park and Engineering Breakdowns

• Global Development and Women's Lives

An Incremental Approach to Teaching with the Web:

1. Experiment by Using Course Materials and Teaching Modules already on the Web.

2. Put your course syllabus and assignments on the Web along with e-mail addresses for faculty and students.

3. Develop and test web-based material for some of your course units that you think need improvement.

4. Incorporate web-based materials for some course units that already work well.

5. Incrementally, over a period of years, experiment to determine what mix of old course materials, web-based materials, and additional multimedia materials work best in your particular classes.

Lessons Learned from Teaching with the Web

1. Make sure you have knowledgeable and reliable technical support.

2. Make sure students have easy, reliable access to personal computers on campus, in dorms, and
   off-campus.

3. Make sure you have Department support for Computer Equipment and Upgrades.

4. Discuss the time commitments for incorporating the web into your teaching with your Department chair and colleagues.

5. Inform students that you are in the process of experimenting with using the web to improve your courses.

6. Consider the Professional rewards or costs of developing web-based teaching materials.

7. Use the web to share teaching resources with colleagues throughout the world.

8. Challenge students to use the web to bring in additional materials that will add breadth and depth to your course.

9. Use the web not only for teaching but for researching as well.

10. Reflect on how the Web will change both the way you teach and what you teach.

Final Thoughts on Incorporating the Web into your Teaching:

1. Allow yourself the time and energy to explore and learn new technologies and new materials.

2. Be patient. Remember, small incremental steps. Think in terms of incremental stages.

3. Recognize that the power and utility of the Web is constantly improving with new technology.

4. Don't expect immediate results. Think of affecting a student's course of study and their college experience.

5. Accept change. The Global Information Revolution created by the internet will change our teaching, research, professional careers, lives, and societies in as yet unexplored ways.

Are there any Questions?
If you have any additional questions or thoughts, don't hesitate to e-mail me at cclewis@spot.colorado.edu.

Return to top of the Page