Teaching Medieval Studies with Technology: E-books, Microsoft Viewer, and Web Pages

The World Wide Web has created new possibilities for teaching the medieval world. Professors and students can now take virtual tours of famous museums, create their own textbooks, and continue discussion and learning beyond the traditional classroom. During the past two years, Professors Grigsby and Coulson-Grigsby have been integrating technology into their medieval studies classes, primarily LAS 302: The Rise of Europe, a course that examines history, literature, art, and architecture from the end of the Roman Empire to the Reformation. This panel presentation will demonstrate how to create and use E-books; how to use Microsoft Viewer to create a slide show of digital images from the Internet and use them for both lecture and exams; and how to use web pages, threaded discussions, and Power Point presentations to further students understanding and discussion.

Few faculty members seem to understand the pedagogical benefits of technology because they have not seen how it can be used in a practical manner. This panel will first show how professors can create their own e-books using Microsoft Readerworks. Any digital publication can be made into an e-book, allowing professors the freedom to choose the primary sources they want to teach and to create an e-book of secondary sources. The second part of this panel will demonstrate how to use the Microsoft Viewer to take digital images and make them into a slide show. Many museums create digital images that are accessible on the Internet, but using the web to view them can be awkward as the images rarely fit well on the screen. With the Microsoft Viewer, however, faculty members can create slide shows of digital images without having to reformat the picture. These slide shows can be used for both lectures and exams and do not require web access in the classroom. The final part of this panel will discuss the benefits of threaded discussions and the publishing of lecture notes or Power Point presentations on web pages for student access. These technological tools allow multi-modal learning to continue outside of the classroom, further enhancing the educational process.