Teaching the Civil War with Technology

The Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) will be showing it’s annual coverage of ranger led battlefield walks on July 1 – 5. These shows can also be watched live using the PCN Online Link from their website.

The complete list of walks is available at:
http://www.pcntv.com/battlewalks2010pr.html

Additionally, you can also view clips from previous years’ walks on the site. Here are a few examples:

• The Rose Farm
• Pickett’s Charge
• Cemetery Hill

These clips can easily be used to help supplement any classroom discussion on the battle of Gettysburg.

Enjoy.

Posted under Videos

Today, I am sharing some links to some additional videos available via the Internet.

Antietam – Civil War Artillery Demonstration (1:31)

Firing a Civil War Musket (:44)

Civil War Battle Reenactment, Spokane, WA (4:15)

PBS: The Civil War (5 videos of various lengths)

Shiloh Reenactment (14:08)

The Civil War (14:37)

The Civil War at Home (10 videos of various lengths)

The Civil War Experience: Gettysburg (2:02)

The Civil War Experience: Baseball (1:14)

Causes of the Civil War

Learn about the Civil War

Yale Professor Lecture Series on the Civil War (43:00)

UPDATE:  Hat tip to Harry Smeltzer over at Bull Runnings for reminding me about this video:

The Civil War in Four Minutes

Posted under Videos

The Library of Congress sponsors discussions on various books and broadcasts them via their website. One of the webcasts was about Robert E. Lee and features the author Elizabeth Brown Pryor. The author talks about her research into Robert E. Lee and provides a unique insight into this famous historical figure.

Check out the webcast HERE

Photo credit: Selected Photographs of the Civil War

Stay warm…

Posted under Famous People, Primary Sources, Videos

Here are a few more short videos related to the Battle of Gettysburg for you to view:

Three related to the story of Wesley Culp, Jack Skelley and Ginny Wade:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti2PcQR-SdU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBi_Vgt2MWs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5jaJyJKY3s

Story about Spangler’s Spring:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj-mWP_H8P8

Just another great way for you to bring subject matter experts into your classroom.

Enjoy

Posted under Videos

Wesley Fryer of the Moving at the Speed of Creativity Blog visited the Confederate Memorial Museum in Oklahoma and while touring the museum he took photographs of the various displays and then used Voicethread to post a narrated slide show to his blog. Check it out HERE.

This is a great way for you to see the exhibits in a museum that may otherwise be in accessible to you as a teacher. You can also check out the museum’s website at: http://www.civilwaralbum.com/atoka/

Question is: How can your students do something like this? Do you live near a Civil War museum or a location associated with the Civil War? Does your local historical society have artifacts from soldiers who may have fought during the war? If so, take some digital photos and create a virtual tour for everyone to share.

Another thought…look up museums and historical societies in other towns with ties to the Civil War. Then find the local schools and get in contact with the district. Once you get in contact, ask them to collaborate on a project. Have their students go and take pictures and have your students write up the narrative.

Lots of ideas…

Posted under Lesson Ideas