Pedagogy

The pedagogical approach of the Migration in Modern World History CD-ROM is to present students with three approaches to each unit: Evidence, Narrative, and Analysis. Users should see the distinctiveness of each approach to the past. In particular, we seek to avoid the privileging of the narrative which often characterizes textbooks.

Evidence: This section includes thirty documents for each of the thirteen units. The documents are both primary and secondary, and include texts, images, charts, maps, tables, audio and video selections. Each document is accompanied by an annotation of roughly sixty words, describing its origin and its content. The evidence in each unit focuses primarily on the topic for that unit, but also addresses a range of other topics, so that users will be able to follow a given theme over time.

Narrative: This section presents an interpretive overview by the authors of the CD-ROM. For each unit, the narrative traces a general narrative in world history and in migration, and goes on to develop and document the theme emphasized in that unit. With an additional click, the user may explore each of several detailed examples. The narrative also provides an application of the analysis for the unit.

Analysis: Here the user is led through a structured analysis of a historical issue, and completes it by writing an essay using the Notebook function of the CD-ROM. The analyses are entitled Formulate Issues (Unit 1), Sift Evidence (Units 2, 6, and 10), Critique Interpretations (Units 3, 7, and 11), Construct Narrative (Units 4, 8, and 12), and Connect Patterns (Units 5, 9, and 13).

Reference: The user has constant access to any of four reference sections. Concepts organizes the conceptual framework -- it provides a summary of the concepts used by the authors in organizing the presentation on migration and on world history. Time Frame organizes the temporal framework -- it places a sample of the documents and events of world history into a single structure. Library organizes the resource framework -- it presents a list of further resources in the form of books, films, and web sites, but at introductory and advanced levels. Contents summarizes the unit titles, questions, and modes of analysis.

Glossary: key terms will be highlighted, so that users may bring up a definition with a single click.

Search: Users may enter any term into the search tool, and locate all uses of that term in the Evidence and Narrative sections.

Notebook: This multimedia authoring tool enables the user to take notes at any time. More importantly, it enables users to create the interpretive essays which are the objective of using the CD-ROM. These essays will consist not only of their own text, but of quotes they can copy and paste from any of the primary and secondary documents in the CD-ROM. This includes not only text, but also the images and even audio and video selections.