As many teachers and students once again are working online for the next several weeks at the very least, we have gathered a number of online resources and tools that can be used to engage student learning. This is part 2 of a 2-part series exploring online tools and resources related to War and Remembrance, Peace and Conflict. Last week, in part 1, we highlighted resources related to Canadian history. Below, you will find international resources as well as a discussion of digital tools.
Do you have other suggestions for works that could be included on this list? We’d love to hear them! Let us know by tagging @CndHistAssoc on Twitter and using the hashtag #CHATeachingResourcesChat.
International Archives
Teaching may include opportunities to have students extend their reach beyond Canada. Some students may have the language skills to navigate the diversity of online sources available to explore new sources. Don’t know where to start? Here are some suggestions:
https://www.archivesportaleurope.net/home.
The Archives Portal Europe provides access to information on archival material from different European countries as well as information on archival institutions throughout the continent.
http://www.1914-1918-online.net/.
1914-1918-online is a collaborative international research project designed to develop a virtual reference work on WW1. Find them on Twitter @19141918online.
UK Archives
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/total-war.htm.
The Ogilby Muster (TOM)
https://www.armymuseums.org.uk/the-ogilby-muster/.
“TOM is an online platform which gives users access to First World War archives held in Regimental Museums across the UK. … With over 75 participating collections, and more set to join in 2022, TOM will eventually hold over 2 million items including some never-before-seen material. Covering the period 1900 to 1929, the platform contains documents, photographs, letters, diaries and more, all related to the British Army and the men and women who served. Launching during Remembrance month, TOM has preserved the experiences and memories of those who served in the First World War for future generations.”
Archives of France
https://francearchives.fr/section/26288085/.
Virtual Exhibits
Rennes, 1940-1944 : les soldats allemands derrière l’objectif
https://francearchives.fr/en/externref/19453a63cfe94b1da556f5c2a84054d1.
L’Allier durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale
https://francearchives.fr/en/externref/59a5b4c8df5f441696920c4aa57aec2d.
L’Allier dans la Première Guerre mondiale (1914-1919)
https://francearchives.fr/en/externref/ad32b43530b24f53b0a25f99bb49e2cb.
11 novembre, mémoires calaisiennes de la Grande Guerre
https://francearchives.fr/en/externref/1fa282174f97456abd835aabaeed5946.
Oflag 1940-1945. Des officiers en prison
https://francearchives.fr/en/externref/e1df6822b47343afa6b755aed7a8dae1.
Internet Archive
The largest web archive in the world, established in 1996
Film and Media
British Pathe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/britishpathe/featured.
All footage can be viewed on the British Pathé website. www.britishpathe.com or https://www.britishpathe.tv/military-war.
And, for a little (fun) Canadian footage: a video adapted about 14 years ago by Great Big Sea – for their song – Recruiting Sargeanthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knxR-Q2VoBE.
Digital Tools
Depending on your learning objectives, building a timeline can be an interactive way to engage students with multi-media sources and it can be an engaging project for individual activities and group projects. It can provide students with tools to articulate why the dates they have selected to highlight are important and it can provide them with the opportunity to learn digital skills using either JS Knightlab or ClioVis. It can also be an engaging activity to encourage students to begin research for their major research project.
JS Timeline Knight Lab has excellent templates and uses a spreadsheet to capture information. Students must carefully consider the amount of detail they use for each selected event/date/person. They must cite their sources and consider how we use online material that may be available. Students can use the many archival repositories available to them to demonstrate their work and analysis. There is no cost to this program.
For this assignment, students are required to have a short description of their timeline and are required to describe how it relates to their work in the course. Students are not required to write more than 250 words. They must provide a hyperlink to their work and this helps them to learn how to hyperlink their work in documents. For a timeline worth 15 % of their grade, students may be required to have no more than 20 items in their spreadsheet with about a 50-word description for each entry. With their bibliography and citations, this work will then be the equivalent of about 1500 words. You may wish to suggest a larger number of items so that students can debate which events or people they wish to have as a top ten or a top twenty. If several groups are undertaking the same work, it can also be an opportunity to see how we make choices about relevance and significance.
ClioVis is an online tool that was developed by historians and supports students learning to critically evaluate secondary sources, citing the work of others, working in groups, identifying key words and learning to be more systematic with their analysis and providing a way to present their work with a built-in presentation ability. This program has ‘freemium’ options. It has a free option and as more memory and users are integrated into projects, fees are associated with its use.
An example of a student group timeline is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Zh-gEq-KR6GZHlWNEbXmlW9RcOx0VcZf/view and it demonstrates how students undertake all of the elements outlined above.