An 8th grade American History class is visiting Gettysburg.  After spending the morning walking the battlefield learning about the battle the students travel to the David Wills House on the Gettysburg Square.  Once they enter the House they are provided a brief overview of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, David Wills, and the aftermath of the battle.  Students  are then  provided tablet pc’s loaded with an augmented reality app entitled “Whose Father Is This?” that will help them assist Philinda Humiston and her 3 children find their beloved  Amos, a soldier for the 154th New York volunteer regiment that was missing after the battle.  Using clues given by the app on the tablet students are directed to points of historic interest around Gettysburg to help them solve the mystery.  As they get close to a clue their app triggers information in the form of letters, newspaper articles, photos, and further clues.  Eventually, the students are guided to the National Cemetery and Amos Humiston’s grave.  At the grave the app triggers a video explaining the mystery of Amos Humiston and how it led to Philinda Humiston opening an orphanage in Gettysburg for the children of deceased soldiers.  Students are then directed to where Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address and the app triggers an audio of the address.  The debriefing focuses on how their experience relates to the message of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

The American Civil War Augmented Reality Project (ACWAR) aims to make visits to historic sites more interactive and engaging for all visitors, but especially for students.  Providing students the opportunity to interact with one another on challenging, problem solving tasks is the key to student engagement and learning.  ACWAR aims to create these engaging learning opportunities for students to use at historic sites.

In addition, ACWAR intends to “unlock” the local history and human interest stories related to the Gettysburg Campaign that often gets overlooked by a focus on the purely military aspects of the battle. Students interested in military tactics may be naturally engaged by battlefield tours, but what about the rest of the students who wonder “how much longer until lunch”?  What will make a larger impact on students–passively listening to a guide talk about Gettysburg troop movements, or working with peers to solve an interactive mystery related to the lives of real people involved with the battle.  Augmented reality is the vehicle to this engagement.  If designed correctly the apps and products developed by ACWAR will focus on the story and learning opportunities, and not be focused on  the technology.

With increasing competition in the tablet pc market, and the increasing market share of smart phones, augmented reality applications will play a larger role in our lives.  In addition, the sesquicentennial of the Gettysburg Campaign make the present the perfect time  for ACWAR to be partnered with historic sites to change how students view history.  Recently, the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg and the augmented reality firm Winvolve have become partners.

Despite the exciting partnerships the problem remains money.  Tablet pc’s need to be purchased in order to test and fine tune the apps on real people.  Without monetary support the full potential of ACWAR will never be realized.

Consider contributing to the ACWAR Kickstarter campaign.  Kickstarter is a micro financing site that helps fund projects through individual contributions.

For more information check out the following ACWAR social media sites:
Blog
Facebook
Twitter

This website and CD have a great deal of potential in the classroom.  The animations cover numerous battles in the Eastern and Western Theaters such as First Manassas, Antietam and Gettysburg, Shiloh, Vicksburg and the March on Atlanta. There is some general background information on a particular battle that leads into the actual animations.  These animations give a general overview of the battle on an hour-by-hour basis.  Viewers can read a description of the action taking place, visually see the troop type (artillery, cavalry, or infantry) and troop strength.

Additionally there is some great information on various generals including Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, Stonewall Jackson, Ulysses Grant and George Meade.

Finally, there is some good supplemental information on Unit Organization and a nice timeline of the war.

These animations can be used in many ways from providing students with something different than just reading about a battle to using them as discussion starters on why a battle happened the way it did.  I also like how the authors provided bibliographic information with each of the battles where you can obtain additional information.

While you can view most of this material online, I highly encourage you to make a $25 donation to the company and purchase a copy of the CD.   As part of the CD, you get all of the material available via the website, plus additional materials and a special Teacher’s Edition of the animations.  The Teacher’s Edition includes all the animations without the text boxes.  Click here for a sample: Teacher’s Edition

Finally, the Civil War Animated folks provided me with a second copy to give away.  So, leave a comment here on this post and on July 31, 2009 I’ll randomly choose a number and you can get a free copy of the Civil War animated CD.

Good luck and until next time… ]]> http://blog.teachthecivilwar.com/miscellaneous/civil-war-animated/feed/ 8