Re-discovering and re-creating African American historical accounts through mobile apps: The role of mobile technology in history education

• Published in: Journal of social studies research Vol. 38; no. 3; pp. 173 - 188
• Main Authors: King, LaGarrett J., Gardner-McCune, Christina, Vargas, Penelope, Jimenez, Yerika
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA Elsevier Inc 01.07.2014; SAGE Publications; Journal of Social Studies Research
• Subjects: African American students; African Americans; Enrichment; High School Students; Historical thinking; History Instruction; Low income groups; Mobile technology; Pedagogy; Plantation sites; Secondary school students; Software; Student attitudes; Historical thinking; African American students; Mobile technology; Plantation sites
• ISSN: 0885-985X; 2352-2798; 0885-985X; 2352-2798
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jssr.2013.12.005

This paper describes a case study of a program called WATCH: Workshop for Actively Thinking Computationally and Historically. The focus of the program and this paper was on using mobile application development to promote historical thinking using a plantation site visit as the focus of inquiry. WATCH was delivered during an academic enrichment youth program at a major research university in the Southeast and served a total of 30 African American and Latino high school students from low socio-economic backgrounds. Through the theoretical framework of historical thinking, this case study provides descriptions of the class sessions, students׳ perceptions of and interests in history and students level of historical thinking through their apps. We make suggestions about how the instructional activities could be adapted for classrooms, discuss the tensions of using technology and inquiry pedagogy to support and promote historical learning, and review the program׳s impact on students׳ agency as learners and critical consumers and producers of historical accounts.