American Civil War Augmented Reality

I have a serious request...Please check out the American Civil War Augmented Reality proposal and comment your honest critique of the proposal. ACWAR is the brainchild of history teacher and technology enthusiast Jeff Mummert (check out Mummert's Hershey Before Hershey website).

With guidance and support this proposal can become a reality.

So, what do you think?

145th History Carnival

Today I took my 11 year old daughter to Gettysburg to soak up the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg [Before I continue: she went willingly and she had a good time!]. Anyway, I consider Gettysburg in early July to be a history carnival, since the town is abuzz with reenactors, encampments, book signings, and Park Service battle walks. Like a carnival it gets crowded, but for me that is part of the appeal. As evidence of the crowd, my daughter and I played the license plate game and we witnessed 35 state and 2 Canadian province license plates. I'm sure if we really tried we could have found all 50 states.

Our first stop, after driving through two parking lots to find a spot to park (and license plates, of course), was the new Visitor's Center. This is a first class facility. We first went to the gift shop which has more souvenirs than the old Visitor's Center. I tried not to spend too much time in the book section, which could get boring for an 11 year old to wait for history nerd Dad to skim through several dozen books, so we moved on to the amazing lollipops (she got a watermelon and I got a peanut butter and jelly). We then went to the exhibits. We watched the three short movies dealing with each day at Gettysburg and tried our hand at a couple of the interactives. Before we left the exhibits we went into the Gettysburg Address room and listened to a rendition of the Address while reading it on an etching on a glazed window.


By this time we were getting hungry so we made our way to parking lot 3, and proceeded to General Pickett's Buffet. We then worked off lunch by walking into town. We stopped at some souvenir shops and at the Greystone American History Store (my favorite in Gettysburg). On the way back to the car we walked through the National Cemetery. We were going to go on a battle walk in the Cemetary, but the crowd was too big and we were getting tired so we made our way back to the car. I think it's important to visit the National Cemetery. It makes Lincoln's words in the Gettysburg Address more immediate by actually seeing the graves of the men who brought Lincoln to Gettysburg in the first place. We read some of the names from the soldiers graves and then walked through the hundreds of unknown graves. Those soldiers may be unknown to us today, but they were all known and missed by loved ones 145 years ago. Just a thought to put our lives into perspective (which is what Lincoln wanted us to do).


Before heading home we made a detour to the Cashtown Inn. Since my daughter is interested in ghost stories I thought the Cashtown Inn would be the perfect stop since it is allegedly haunted. It was also a building that witnessed most of the Army of Northern Virginia pass by in the days before, during, and after the battle. We couldn't go inside so we took in the views from outside and imagined what it would have been like to be there 145 years ago.

We then went home after spending a fun day at Gettysburg. The day was relatively light on battle history but it was successful because my daughter wants to return for an overnight visit. Plus, the kicker is we just got done watching the 1st part of the movie Gettysburg. I think I may be making a mini-me, history nerd out of my daughter. Scary thought...

Amazon Online Reader : A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future

Amazon Online Reader : A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future

I read A Whole New Mind a few months ago and was impressed by author Daniel Pink's view of the increasing importance of creativity in the world today. Pink argued that the modern forces of abundance, Asia, and automation has created a need for people in the United States who are willing to be what he called "high concept" and "high touch". We have moved in history from the Agrarian age of farmers, to the industrial age of factory workers, to the Information age of knowledge workers, to where we currently are: the Conceptual age of creators and connectors. Pink believes that because of this modern reality the people who embrace the "high concept" and "high touch" senses will have an advantage in the Conceptual age. The 6 senses of the Conceptual age are:

• Design (as opposed to just function)


• Story (as opposed to just argument)


• Symphony (as opposed to just focus)


• Empathy (as opposed to just logic)


• Play (as opposed to just seriousness)


• Meaning (as opposed to just accumulations)

With Pink's thesis in mind we have been studying the Civil War a bit differently than students in my class have in the past. I have been focusing more intently on teaching the Civil War through Pink's 6 senses. For example:

• The trip to Gettysburg highlighted the STORY of soldiers from Virginia who were caught up in an event beyond their control. Each student recieved the identity of a Virginia soldier who took part in Pickett's Charge. After hearing the STORY of their experience and walking the same ground they walked, students found out the destiny of their soldier. Students then had to EMPATHIZE with their soldier by writing a letter detailing their soldiers experience at Gettysburg.


• The study of the advantages and strategies of the North and South during the Civil War gave students a big picture view of the War, much like a Conductor needs when conducting a SYMPHONY orchestra. We didn't just focus on one aspect of the war, rather we focused on the advantages and strategies allowing us to make MEANING out of the flow of the War.


• Students are currently finishing up their online debate on the statement: The Confederacy was doomed to fail in the Civil War. Students have had to accumulate many points of view and pieces of information to make MEANING, in order to effectively communicate their point of view in the debate.


• Students have read an actual account of a Civil War soldier (who by the way was my great, great Grandfather) who escaped the Confederate Prisoner of War camp called Andersonville. The STORY illustrates another reality of the Civil War and the time period of the mid 19th century. Students then had to DESIGN an illustrated Storyline (looks like a comic strip) taking 6 events and using direct quotes and illustrations to tell the STORY of my great, great Grandfather.


• Currently we are working on creating a Civil War STORY based on an actual Civil War photograph that I posted on VoiceThread. In telling the story students will need to make a point or moral that illustrates a larger MEANING. They will also need to DESIGN their story with a twist or irony, making their STORY more interesting. The students who will succeed the most in this assignment are those that not just good writers, but also able to use SYMPHONY to their advantage. It is difficult to include all of the aspects of the STORY that I want and do the Civil War part of the STORY justice if students were not able to see a larger picture than what the photograph shows. Therefore, we are using Ambrose Bierce's An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge short STORY as an example of how a well DESIGNED STORY can illustrate the experience of a Civil War soldier.


• The last of the 6 senses that I have yet to mention is PLAY. During Civil War Day students got to learn a lot about the Civil War and life in the 19th century from various reenactors. However, a full day of going from station to station hearing the serious aspects of the Civil War can be a bit much for the average 8th grader. With that in mind, Mr. Finkill, Mr. Beamer, and I presented the 3rd bi-annual Civil War skit. WIth Mr. Finkill as the "straight" man informing the audience of various aspects of the CIvil War, Mr. Beamer and I had fun torturing Mr. Finkill. Based on the laughter it was apparent that our PLAY (and we did PLAY) had the effect of educating while entertaining. In addition, students seem to have a good time PLAYING with the cannonball.

What stories do these Civil War photographs tell?