By: David Wolter, instructor of history
The Hill’s Blackboard software system, which we call “Academy,” has given me a tremendous amount of freedom. Essentially, it allows me to create my own on-line textbook; generate on-line, daily discussion of the “great debates;” and even facilitates in-class activities such as role-playing. I like to teach history using primary source documents, so if, for example, I’m teaching about slavery, I will post links to sites where students can read what Frederick Douglass actually had to say. I like giving students the power to make value judgments rather than putting that all in the lap of a textbook editor.
The process of evaluating different sources and discussing issues helps them sift the gold from the dirt — it really makes our students historians — using higher order thinking skills and, simultaneously, the interactive research process gives them practice with skills they will use in other subjects. Because I know each student has a laptop, I’ve been given the “keys to the kingdom.” I know I always have an extended classroom, because my students and I always have access to each other. They can e-mail me before or after class (which happens all the time); they feel comfortable running ideas past me spontaneously; and they are encouraged to be passionate about the subject. This set of tools rooted in the technology provided by The Hill School permits my students and me to be aggressive in our study of history.