Historical Reminiscents EP 18: Using Wikipedia As A Teaching Tool

Hands holding a Wikipedia globe. Right side reads "Episode 18: Using Wikipedia as a Teaching Tool"

New podcast episode! In this week's episode I chat about the potential ways Wikipedia can be used in the classroom and other educational settings.  I discuss what skills can be learned from editing Wikipedia and I dive into what support is available to instructors wishing to create Wikipedia focused assignments. Do you have experience using Wikipedia … Continue reading Historical Reminiscents EP 18: Using Wikipedia As A Teaching Tool

Self-location and Concepts of Place

During a recent workshop on active archives and archives in the classroom my co-presenter brought up the idea of using self-location as a starting point for talking about residential schools and reconciliation. In subsequent days I've had a few conversations with colleagues about the value of using self-location as an instruction tool and how it … Continue reading Self-location and Concepts of Place

Interactive History: Indigenous Perspectives and the Blanket Exercise

As part of Orientation Week at AlgomaU students, staff, faculty and community members were invited to participate in the KAIROS blanket exercise.  Originally developed in the 1990s as a response to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples the blanket exercise is a participatory teaching too that invites participants to learn about Canadian history from an … Continue reading Interactive History: Indigenous Perspectives and the Blanket Exercise

Archival Literacy and the Role of Universities in Archival Instruction

My most recent post on archival literacy, learning archival research skills, and the role of universities in archival instruction can be seen over at Activehistory.ca.  In this post I looked at the publicly funded English language universities in Canada to learn more about what type of archival skills are being taught at the undergraduate level … Continue reading Archival Literacy and the Role of Universities in Archival Instruction

Archives and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Workshop

I recently facilitated a workshop on Archives and the TRC as part of Huron History Day: An Active History Pre-Conference for High School and First Year Students. The workshop focused on the history of residential schools, the unique challenges of residential school archives, the TRC, and reconciliation more broadly.  When planning this workshop I was … Continue reading Archives and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Workshop

Introduction to Archives

As my last post indicated I've been thinking a lot about archival instruction and introducing students and other new users to archives.  As part of this process I've been gathering resources that explain how archives are organized, introduce the basic of archival processing, and explain different aspects of archival theory. Some of the best resources … Continue reading Introduction to Archives

Archival Competences and University Archives

As September approaches and campus begins to bustle again I've been thinking a lot about outreach from the perspective of university archives.  A pair of American Archivist articles , "Archival Literacy Competencies for Undergraduate History Majors" and "Archival Literacy for History Students: What Do Students Need to Know About Primary Source Materials" both speak to … Continue reading Archival Competences and University Archives

Changing Roles: Archives Supervisor

I've been back from parental leave for a bit over a month.  When I left in October 2014 I was working as a Researcher/Curator in the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre.  I spent a year and a half in that role and had the opportunity to work on a number of great creative projects.  While in … Continue reading Changing Roles: Archives Supervisor