House+research

//by Karl Stutzman//

I created a Powerpoint Sidekick activity. I chose to use a Google Docs presentation rather than Powerpoint because of the possibilities for sharing in Google Docs. The downside to Google Docs is that there is not yet an audio narration feature. Because my assignments involve research and writing skills, I decided that audio instructions were not necessary.

Since I enjoy old houses, I created a project on researching house history. I envisioned using this in a public library workshop for adult learners who want to research their home's history. This activity would be conducted after a presentation on the resources available for local historical research at the library. The library would invite all participants to share their completed document with the library. The library would catalog print versions in the local history collection for future researchers. The library would also create a local history website, blog or wiki with embedded media from Google Docs. This activity could be replicated for other types of local history workshops. Other topics for this age and venue might include oral history interviewing, researching histories of local businesses or schools, and compilation of a local history "wikipedia."

This project can be easily altered for use with a variety of contexts or types of learners. I created an alternate version on researching the history of a US president's personal residence that could be used with upper-elementary ages.

The //high-level activities// needed to complete this project are primary source discovery and evaluation, compilation of secondary source information, and integration of social history with art and architecture.

media type="custom" key="2698457" __To see the instructions__, use the following [|Presentation Link] to open the presentation on Google Docs. Use your Google login (or create a new one if you don't have one) and click on the "view speaker notes" link.
 * Template:**

I'm also including a .ppt version:

media type="custom" key="2698501"** Here's a .ppt version:
 * Sample version:

media type="custom" key="2698611" __To see the instructions__, use the following [|Presentation Link 2] to open the presentation on Google Docs. Use your Google login (or create a new one if you don't have one) and click on the "view speaker notes" link.
 * Second starter:**

Here's a .ppt version:

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