Information: www.negahc.org
Field trips might be fun, but they can also be a logistical and financial challenge. But not being able to leave the classroom doesn’t mean that students can’t explore the world beyond their textbooks. Thanks to a bit of imaginative tweaking and a grant to purchase the needed equipment, the staff at the Northeast Georgia History Center at Brenau University are bringing the past alive for kids who are miles away from the Gainesville campus.
Starting this week, school groups will be able to view the center’s displays on regional history and listen to stories told by costumed characters from the comfort of their own classrooms. A new state-of-the-art studio was specifically designed to offer these virtual field trips over the internet with considerably less orchestration and time than a traditional outing, so students can still learn about the history of the region and Gainesville’s role as its economic center.
“As we all know, it’s harder and harder for school groups to go on field trips because of budgets, liabilities and logistics,” said Glen Kyle, the center’s executive director. “To address that, we decided to take history to them.”
Kyle secured the outside funding to construct a broadcast studio in the basement of the building that also houses about 10,000 square feet of exhibit space, a learning lab and an education center. The latest in lighting and recording equipment has allowed the staff to create a docent-led virtual tour of the property that includes two gardens and two cabins dating from the 1780s and 1870s. They can also broadcast presentations by costumed actors who talk about their places in history.
“We have people who portray George Washington or Harriet Tubman, for example, and the kids can ask questions back-and-forth,” said Kyle. “It brings history to life, and they love that.”
The staff has also produced webisodes, mini-documentaries of five to 30 minutes that teachers can download on demand to fit their history and social studies curriculum guides. In addition, teachers can work with the center to design programs tailored to their individual courses.
Having that sort of programming immediately available and easy to use makes it an attractive addition to the classroom, said Penny Christensen, an eLearning specialist with the Hall County School District in Gainesville.
“If we have ready-made content, teachers are more likely to use it,” she said. “And the visual nature of it makes it even more appealing to students. Teachers have several things they can pick from. It’s nice, high-quality mashup of live performance and historical documents that’s rock solid.”
The programming is free to northeast Georgia schools and available at a nominal cost to other districts.
“The beauty of this technology means we can go wherever the internet goes,” said Kyle. “It’s a way to continue history and social studies education that includes critical thinking, weighing evidence, making informed decisions. We want schools to be as involved as possible in the programs, even from a distance.”
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