Sam Korn wrote: > Furthermore, there is the potential that teaching students to question > Wikipedia could lead to their being more disposed to question other > sources, which is obviously very useful in the study of any subject > (and supremely history). > Possibly more broadly. I was looking around for references to a rather 'retro' teaching method for history, and found this:
"The significance of ephemera for the teaching of history in schools has already been demonstrated. In particular, Longman’s ‘Jackdaw’ series from the 1960s, and more recently the ephemera collections sold by the Public Record Office, have shown how effective reproductions of ephemeral documents of the past can be as part of a teaching pack. The educational potential of ephemera at all stages of education has increased beyond measure in recent years with the widespread availability of electronic methods of delivering images." From http://www.cilip.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/0CE6922C-0DF2-4A70-ACED-B40005A115A4/0/ephemera.pdf, at p. 11. I'm old enough to remember the 'Jackdaws', which were folders of reproduction period documents and other things: primary sources in a wallet. The point made here is quite correct, though closer to using the Commons and Wikisource perhaps: it could become essentially trivial to produce the raw material for such a thing now, and to rehabilitate 'project work'. This would fit quite well with also asking students to go and critique pieces of historical writing in the suggested style. Of course curricula aren't exactly designed for this stuff, as of right now, in the UK. (Hmmm, 40 years since I was last subjected to formal history teaching: "the Hanoverians" ... wonder if it would have helped.) Charles _______________________________________________ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
