Engaging Students with Virtual History

Online learning has become a reality in education during this global pandemic that everyone must now subscribe to regardless of personal preference or previous experience with these technologies. There are many challenges to virtual learning such as accessibility to technology, reduced socialization, and student engagement. Local schools have worked hard since March to make sure that students have access to wifi and a working computer. Teachers have been hosting synchronous classes to help with acquainting the students to each other and building community in their classrooms. One of the biggest challenges has been motivating students when classes are completely virtual. Many teachers have gotten creative and found new ways to engage their students. One thing that I, as an education student, have learned is that students will be more excited about learning if they feel like what they are learning is relevant and important in their daily lives. This is something that we, I’m sure, can all agree on and relate to. Nobody wants to do busy work that feels like a waste of time. The next logical question: how can teachers educate their students virtually while using relevant examples and allow the students to do work that matters to them? How can teachers motivate their students when they may not see them face to face? I have found that by showing students how their education will be used in their respective communities, students will become more invested in what they are learning.

This is where virtual learning can be beneficial.  Students can do localized research on their own neighborhoods, looking into the local economy and environmental issues for math and science, discuss local artists and musicians in art or music classes, and talk about social justice and local history in english and history classes. This is where The Baltimore Story can come in. The Baltimore Story not only helps to educate people about their local history but also proves to students that history is not only based on major events that one learns in a history book but is also the narratives of their grandparents and the stories of how their neighborhood developed. It is also important to show to students how history can be told by different perspectives and allow them to see their local history told from people in their neighborhoods. Another reason that The Baltimore Story can be a great tool for virtual learning is that students who are informed on the events that led to the formation of their area as they know it today are more likely to understand how english, history, law, science, technology, and economics work together to influence their daily lives and the lives of the people around them. By exploring local history, students can better understand how the subjects that they are learning in school affect their lives, hopefully providing them with a more engaging reason to learn other than to get good grades.

— Emily Manzo