Interactive Information

[Shannon Hines]

Technology is changing that way that history is presented. With the ability to make history interactive like it has never been before you are able to engage many more people. With the expanding use of online digital collections more and more people are being exposed and engaged in a way that had never been conceived previously. With more and more students going to the internet for information websites and digital collections that are more interactive might be more appealing than just reading something off a screen. Maps that show the extrapolation of data, whether it be population movement or shifting concentrations of a specific religion, is an excellent way to use technology to show progressive data changes without just side by side comparison.

I think that interactive maps are an excellent teaching tool. The ability to read and comprehend maps is a skill that all students must be able to learn. Interactive maps allow you to visually represent all sorts of information that would have needed to be compared side by side can now be compared simultaneously with active progression of data. The work that Mrs. Ayers and Thomas are doing is a great example of how dynamic maps can be used to engage students and help present data in an entirely different way. Interactive items allow for students to be more engaged and will hopefully keep them more interested in the information that they are learning.