THe Possibilities Are Endless: But Here Are Five

The Gilded Age is always a possible focus point for me. It is one of my favorite time periods. An often overlooked or under-appreciated era of history, it intrigues me immensely. The Gilded Age is arguably the birth of America as we know it today, and specifically American culture. The dawn of the entertainment industry and print media played a large role in this phenomenon; and so their is great potential for students to encounter this, engage with, and maybe recreate this time period and the print culture using technological tools and mediums.

For my African American History class, it might be interesting to have students compare and contrast the way leaders of the Civil Rights Movement rallied and engaged their followers to the ways activists employ the used or technology and media for similar ends.

Not long after the birth of our nation and the ratification of the Constitution, presidential elections were becoming more competitive and many times contentious. Comparing political slander in the media between then and now could be another interesting focus.

Another couple of focus points could be industrialization and urbanization, since I have written an inquiry lesson on the subject for my Methods class. I could certainly bring in technology as a way of introducing the new sources. I have also written a concept formation lesson on de facto segregation. I'm sure I can connect this to technology as well; if not directly, then as part of a follow-up lesson/assignment.