Virtual History Museum Helps Students Get Excited About Learning

Otto Middle School Students Tour a Virtual History Museum

by Holly Spence Sasso, Managing Editor

Eighth grade students in Matt Jason’s history class and special education students from Wendy Seida’s resource room at Otto Middle School in Lansing have teamed up to learn about early American history through a new technology tool called the Virtual History Museum (VHM).

The Virtual History Museum enables teachers to serve as “online museum curators” to develop exhibits about historical topics, events, or artifacts. Students have access to online exhibits containing pictures, text, and interactive features, including a function that will read text to students to support diverse learning needs. The museum project is supported by a U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs grant awarded to Michigan State University (MSU).

“Students have opportunities to analyze, discuss, and write about visual exhibits and read text that discusses the topic,” says Emily Bouck, a project staff member and MSU graduate student. “VHM isn’t a set curriculum. Teachers can manipulate the exhibits to the instructional needs of the student group as a whole as well as modify activities for specific students who may struggle with reading or writing tasks.”

VHM includes five components: 1) “Exhibit Space” where historical artifacts are put on display; 2) “Analytic Space” where students have access to information resources and tools to help them analyze the artifacts on exhibit; 3) “Interpretation Space” where students can make interpretations about the exhibit with support from literacy-based and historical tools; 4) “Collaboration Space” where students can colla-borate with others about their analyses, interpretations, and final products; and 5) “Publication Space” where students communicate in writing about their interpretation of the historical artifacts on display.

Students seem excited about the interactive format offered through VHM. “It helps me because I have trouble reading, and now I can listen to what is being said as I read along,” says an eighth grade student receiving special education services for a reading disability. “This goes faster; I don’t have to read it over
and over again.”

“Eighty-nine percent of students say they prefer VHM to paper and pencil tasks,” says special education teacher Wendy Seida. “Having the text read to them often gives students independence they wouldn’t normally have. A lot of the kids in my classroom are great thinkers; they just can’t read.”

“I think this is great. When I read over what I wrote, I can’t really see my mistakes,” says a general education student who struggles with the editing process. “When the computer reads back what I wrote, I can see where I should change things.”

For more information, contact: Matt Jason, Otto Middle School, jasonmat@msu.edu or Cynthia Okolo, Professor, Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education, Michigan State University, 338 Erickson Hall, College of Education, East Lansing, MI 48824, (517) 355-1871, (517) 535-6393 fax.

Pictured left to right: MSU graduate students Anne Heutsche and Emily Bouck, Otto general education teacher Matt Jason, and Otto special education teacher Wendy Seida.

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