EdTech 501

Spring 2013

Richard Jones
Annotated Bibliography
Subject Area/Grade Level: American Government/12th Grade
Instructional Objectives: Increase Student Access and Use of Primary Source Documents to
Support Student Writing and Student Inquiry in Social Science Classrooms
Pre-Research Discussion
The educational system in the United States is currently undergoing a major shift to nationalized
standards known as the Common Core State Standards. These carry with them a greater
emphasis on students being able to locate and draw conclusions from primary source
documents. In an attempt to better prepare my students for the rigors of these standards, I
would like to increase student access and proper use of primary source documents to support
claims in their writings. Technology would play a vital role in accomplishing this goal. Students
would need access to a web-connected computer. They would need to learn how and where to
access digitized copies of primary documents. This would include access to online historical
archives, college library collections, and other online databases. My goal also goes beyond just
learning to write for educational standards. Students can use primary documents to become
empowered learners who have the ability to create questions and develop conclusions. They
would need to have access to a blog forum where they could share ideas and ask for
clarification. This would be essential to my students because they often struggle with the
complexity of primary sources. These simple technological integrations would completely
change the social studies classroom in the United States.
Post-Research Discussion
I went into this assignment hoping to find more information about using digitized primary source
documents in an effort to improve my students writings and integrate more student inquiry in my
lessons. After completing the research for this assignment it is clear that a great deal of
literature exists on this topic. Like most teachers, I have fallen into the trap of using these
documents to support my lectures or add content to presentations. Rarely have I used the
documents as a means for students to analyze and write their own interpretations of history. In
other words, I have not given my students enough chances to think like historians. As a result
of my research, I hope to start building lessons that allow students the opportunity to use these
online collections to create their own history portfolios. By changing the focus of my lessons to
a student-centered approach, students would have ample flexibility to use these documents to
support their Common Core style writings. This would only be possible if the school were to
provide me with the necessary technology to complete my vision.

Tally, B., & Goldenberg, L. B. (2005). Fostering historical thinking with digitized primary sources.
Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 38(1), 1-21. Retrieved from
http://students.stritch.edu/dlcaven/Article2/DigitizedPrimarySources.pdf
This article reports the findings of a study that examined the use of digitized primary documents
in the classroom. The purpose of the study was to determine if the use of digitized primary
documents would lead students to learn and appreciate history more than previous classes they
had taken. Furthermore, the study wanted to find if students would exhibit historical thinking
skills as a result of these activities. In the study, students were asked to examine historical
images and draw conclusions based on prior knowledge and the images themselves. They
used the American Memory website established by the Library of Congress.
As a result of this study, the authors found that students felt this activity made the class very
different from their previously-taken history courses. They also found that students completed
more work than in previous courses but still enjoyed it more. Students felt the use of computers
made the content more active and interesting. Finally, they concluded that students did use
historical thinking behaviors when completing this task. The authors did acknowledge the
necessity to properly train teachers to use digitized primary documents in lessons. They also
pointed to the need to provide scaffolding software to assist students.
This study supports my instructional goal by validating the potential benefits of using digitized
primary sources in social science classes. It is clear that students are more engaged and think
at a much deeper level when given access to these online sources. They lend themselves
better to the inquiry-based lessons expected from Common Core. Most of these sources would
not be accessible through traditional paper-based mediums. While the article does not provide
much insight as to how this can be included in writing, it does set the foundation for the
importance of giving students access to these as a means of gathering information and drawing
conclusions.
Hicks, D., Doolittle, P., & Lee, J. K. (2004). Social studies teachers' use of classroom-based and
web-based historical primary sources. Theory & Research in Social Education, 32(2),
213-247. doi: 10.1080/00933104.2004.10473253
This study was commissioned with the goal of finding out the extent to which social science
classes have been influenced by the availability of web-based primary documents. In doing so,
the authors examined the difference between the use of paper documents as opposed to webbased primary documents in social studies classes. The study found that a larger percentage of
teachers use traditional paper documents than ones that are web-based. An even smaller
number of teachers use audio and video primary sources. They concluded that a lack of time
for preparation and insufficient access to web-connected computers are to blame for the lack of
web-based primary documents being integrated into curriculum. This goes against earlier
research that accuses teachers of not using electronic mediums due to a lack of proper training.

The method of this study was to survey 395 social studies teachers to which 158 responded.
This three-part survey was comprised of 84 questions. The three parts included questions
about demographics, class-based primary sources, and web-based primary sources. Other
qualifying factors included the use of pro-social studies, pro-technology, and pro-primary
sources respondents. The problem with this approach is that the evidence is based purely on
individual responses. There did not seem to be a system to verify whether or not these sources
were actually being used. Thus, while the researchers made an effort to provide a large sample
size, the lack of observations makes the usefulness of this study somewhat limited.
This study supports my instructional goal by proving the need for web-connected devices in
order to properly integrate the use of primary source documents in a social studies classroom.
My complaint has long been about the lack of computers as opposed to a lack of training on
how to use them in my classes. This study also points to the potential for primary sources to
support historical inquiry lessons. These are the very same principles that will be required from
students when it comes to reading and writing for the Common Core; moreover, they are
essential for building the kind of thinking that is required of students who want to be
independent learners.
Hendry, J. (2007). Primary sources in K-12 education: Opportunities for archives. American
Archivist, 70(1), 114-129. Retrieved from http://archivists.metapress.com/content
/v674024627315777/
This article examines the potential for archivists to capitalize on the movement to include
primary source documents in K-12 education. The author attempts to make the case for
increasing the number of online archive offerings by explaining how they will be essential in
inquiry-based lessons and the growth of standardized testing. She spends time describing the
positive educational impacts of using these documents in terms of increasing student
engagement and helping develop cognitive capacities. She then attempts to persuade
archivists to focus on their online collections and organizations so that access to these
documents is easier for students and teachers. She goes on to mention her belief that the sites
could also offer assistance to teachers by better informing them how to use the documents in
the classroom.
This article supports my instructional goal in multiple ways. The author makes it clear that years
of studies have proven the potential for primary documents to improve student engagement in
lessons and preparation for standardized testing. Moreover, she argues that access to these
documents is much easier online as opposed to finding them in paper format. The author also
mentions how online resources, such as APA or MLA websites, would allow students to practice
and proof citations. Finally, the author admits that the archives themselves could offer a great
deal of assistance to students and teachers to help them better understand how to use these
documents in the classroom. This go a long way towards helping my students use digitized
primary sources in their writings.

Brown, C. A., & Dotson, K. (2007). A Case Study Using Digital Primary Source Documents.
TechTrends, 51(3), 30-37. doi: 10.1007/s11528-007-0039-3
This Tech Trends article was the write up of a case study that examined the use of digitized
primary source documents to teach Information and Communications (ICT) skills and assist
students in making deeper analyses of information. This study was initiated because teachers
reported a tendency for students to wander the web during internet research and because
students copy and paste information into their papers at an unacceptable rate. Thus, the
researchers wanted to determine if it is possible to teach 21st century literacy skills using
digitized primary source documents. The study found that students who were given training in
21st century literacy skills were able to formulate research questions, locate relevant
information, determine biases in documents, and deeply analyze information from multiple
sources. This was done through the combined efforts of teachers and school media specialists.
This case study supports my instructional goal because it lends credence to the idea that
students can use digitized primary source documents to improve their writings in the classroom.
The authors clearly state that such efforts provide a deeper analysis of the information they
gather. This is an essential skill that students must develop if they are to be successful with the
new standards for writing expected from Common Core. It also goes beyond my original goal of
content development by demonstrating the additional information literacy that is gained by
participating in these types of activities. This is critical in a world of increasing demand for
technological competency.
Friedman, A. M. (2006). World history teachers' use of digital primary sources: The effect of
training. Theory & Research in Social Education, 34(1), 124-141.
doi: 10.1080/00933104.2006.10473300
This study examined the use of digital primary sources in world history classrooms. The main
focus of the research was to determine the effectiveness of teachers abilities to utilize these
resources to create an environment of historical thinking. The findings of this study concluded
that access to documents in and of itself does not result in the creation of lessons that build
historical thinking; moreover, he notes that technology training did not have an impact on the
effectiveness either. In most of the classrooms, teachers used the access as a way to add
content to their current lessons as opposed to using digital primary sources as a means of
allowing students to work with the artifacts.
The study makes some valid observations but lacks the kind of sample size necessary to make
the conclusions this author has offered. He only used six teachers in this study from a possible
selection of 34. He also lacked the breadth of courses that should be studied before making
these broad statements. It is much more difficult to find digital primary sources for world history
standards as opposed to the overwhelming amount available to US history teachers. This
would have been a major obstacle to overcome for this study. Nevertheless, the findings in this
study are important, but the sample size and narrow focus makes it difficult to draw powerful
conclusions from it.

This study assists my instructional goal by demonstrating the importance of access to primary
documents in order to get students to think like historians. The study points out that access
itself does not ensure this potential; however, it does prove that it is an essential part of the
equation. The author also assists my efforts to provide teachers with opportunities to utilize
computer labs during the school day. Our school is currently using the technology lab for online
courses, thus making it nearly impossible to take another class in there during the school day.