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Teaching history with technology

Friday, June 19th, 2009 Posted in Articles, For the Public, Technology and Resources | Comments Off on Teaching history with technology


Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall on Flickrsome rights reserved

This year marks twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Today in Berlin visitors often ask “where is the wall?” so the city commissioned a company to come up with a way help visitors (and young Germans) trace the original path of the wall.

Folks can use a multimedia guide called the “Mauer Guide” (a.k.a Wall Guide). It is gps-triggered to locate you in the city on the path and shows archival video footage, photos and stories. Watch a video about the Wall Tour at Time.com.

This made me curious about other uses of technology to teach visitors about our state and history. I found that the GA’s Office has a list of virtual and self-guided tours of Washington and Olympia. Folks can visit Olympia from their computer screen. Another example of how technology can be used to give context to the past and present.