A document camera makes a great addition to a history classroom with a video projector or TV. A document camera captures anything under its lens and projects it on the screen. While this technology has been around for a few years, I have noticed it has been a little slow to catch on for a variety of reasons.

Some teachers may be hesitant to embrace the document camera because they believe it to simply be a glorified overhead projector. The document camera beats the old overhead projector in many ways, the first being that the document camera does not require one to make transparencies. A teacher can project artifacts, photos, worksheets, and anything else that can fit under the camera lens. In addition, students are better able to see the image produced by a document camera as it is much brighter and clearer than the image produced by the overhead projector. Best of all, you no longer leave school covered in overhead marker!

The cost of the document camera may also make this teaching tool seem out of the reach of many teachers and districts in these lean budget years.

While document cameras range in price from $200 to $2,000, this should not preclude one from having their own document camera. You can find a used document camera on eBay or a surplus property store for under $100. I bought mine at one such surplus property store, associated with the
University of Maryland, for $25. Another option is to make a document camera yourself using a webcam and available USB port. The only drawback to this setup is you have to be able to load software on your computer attached to the video projector in your classroom. A ready-made version of this runs about $69. It is also possible to obtain grant money for document cameras from places like DonorsChoose.

Once you have your document camera installation is straightforward. Some document cameras come with a freeze image button which is a great feature to capture a page in a book or map that might be difficult to hold in place. If the document camera does not have this feature, you can hook up the document camera directly to the video projector, which often has the ability to freeze an image. If your document camera is not one that hooks up to your computer via USB, you can also set up the document camera directly to your projector. This allows you to toggle between the image on your computer screen (assuming it too is attached to your video projector) and the image from your document camera. You can also connect most document cameras to a television using an S-video cable or component video cable. It should be noted, however, that the clarity is not as crisp when using the S-video cable or component video cable compared to using a VGA or DVI connection.

The document camera has vast instructional possibilities. I have used my document camera every day in my history classroom. One of the benefits of having a document camera in a history classroom is having the ability to analyze primary sources together as a class. I am able to zoom in on important components of a photograph or text and can invite students to the document camera to annotate pictures or text without bulky markers or transparencies. I am also able to share maps in books easily with students, in color. Students are able to share work they have created immediately with the class without having to scan an image or make a transparency of the document.

This means that jigsaw activities work very efficiently, with each group able to share what they have written on nothing larger than a worksheet. Collectively, classes have created essay outlines and timelines together. The document camera allows students to share storybooks they have created, projected large enough for the class to see. From a classroom management perspective, the document camera allows me to easily show students the worksheet we are working on or the question I want them to focus on. I am also able to place my stopwatch under the camera to show students how much longer they have to complete a task. Finally, my favorite use of the document camera is allowing me to spotlight and share exemplar student work. I am able to give specific praise to a well-written essay or project.

I hope you are able to get your hands on a document camera and share your tips and tricks with others. You can find product reviews for document cameras in this article from Scholastic.

On Sunday, April 25, the History Channel premiers America, the Story of Us, a 12-part, series airing over six weeks, "the epic tale of how America was built from the ground up," and focusing on how everyday Americans harnessed technology to advance human progress.

The History Channel describes the program as "...the first television event in nearly 40 years to present a comprehensive telling of America's history. Elaborate, ambitious and cinematic..."

We're hoping the adjectives accurate, thought-provoking, and balanced also come into play.

An early review, History From Unexpected Characters in the New York Times emphasizes that the program is definitely not your typical PBS-style documentary and clarifies the backstory and techniques utilized to create the series. The series is not intended for the scholarly audience, but is an attempt "to rope in viewers whose experience of United States history may be limited to their school history classes," according to the Times.

History Channel provides episode guides for the inaugural programs, Rebels and Revolution. An Articles section links to related essays and videos on topics such as Exploration of North America and Valley Forge. According to episode trailers, historian Danial Walker Howe, journalists Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams, and fashion consultant Tim Gunn (yes, THAT Tim Gunn—of Project Runway, etcetera) are among episode narrators. In fact, businessman Donald Trump kicks off commentary on Jamestown and the tobacco business.

Just for fun, take the Ultimate History Quiz at the History Channel. You have the option of signing up and challenging others and sharing scores. Speed and accuracy both count, and be forewarned: pop culture and world leaders figure prominently—at least in some rounds.

It's one thing to introduce primary sources in the K-12 history classroom; sometimes it's quite another to engage students in exploring them. H.S.I: Historical Scene Investigation, a joint project of the College of William and Mary School of Education, the University of Kentucky School of Education, and the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Program helps you involve your students as historical detectives.

H.S.I offers fourteen open cases (not all of which are complete), collections of primary sources organized around themes such as Constitution Controversies, the Boston Massacre, and School Desegregation.

Provocative questions induce student engagement and inspire critical thinking.
Each case opens with a provocative question. Dropping the Bomb, for example, gives a brief contextual statement about the Manhattan Project and asks "...did Truman decide to drop the bomb, or was the use of the atomic bomb inevitable?" The investigative challenge follows a student path and a teacher path through a four-step instructional model: Becoming a Detective, Investigating the Evidence, Searching for Clues, and Cracking the Case.

Commentary from historians, worksheets guiding student investigation, and descriptive questions are integral to the instructional model. Primary sources are both textual and visual, and documents are presented in their original language and in a modern, adaptive version. (See John Smith's Description of the Powhatans, 1612, for example). Pedagogical resources for working with documents in elementary school as well as in the higher grades appear in the Teachers View of each investigation.

"The Historical Scene Investigation Project (HSI) was designed for social studies teachers who need a strong pedagogical mechanism for bringing primary sources into their classroom," according to project creators. They invite educators who use their materials to comment on how the project meets their needs.

Howard Zinn is perhaps not a historian's historian. Scholarly judgments of his publications frequently challenge his factual foundation as well as the tunnel vision of his ideology.

Zinn is, however, a people's historian, and artists such as Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Morgan Freeman, Viggo Mortensen, and Rosario Dawson spotlighted Zinn's emphasis on social change and the power of protest throughout American history with the documentary The People Speak on The History Channel on December 13, 2009.

Two-minute vignettes of celebrities performing letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans from the program are available at the History Channel. They include actor Michael O'Malley reading the words of a Revolutionary War general, Matt Damon reading and discussing the Declaration of Independence, Jasmine Guy reading the commencement address of Marian Wright Edelman, and Christina Kirk reading Susan B. Anthony's statement at her suffrage trial.

A DVD of the program is scheduled for release shortly, and Amazon is one source for the soundtrack and other Zinn audiovisuals.

Additional video appears at Voices of a People's History, informal readings of more primary source materials from people categorized as rebels, dissenters, and visionaries from our past—and present—with Howard Zinn's comments.

Chapter-by-Chapter free PDFs of A People's History are offered through History is a Weapon website.

Zinn's opus, A People's History of the United States, 1492-Present, has gone through five editions, multiple printings, sold more than two million copies, and has been assigned in thousands of high school and college history classes since first published in 1980. Zinn is quite clear about the bias of the book: "With all its limitations, it is a history disrespectful of governments and respectful of people's movements of resistance."

Even historians who don't agree with Zinn's historical perspective acknowledge him as the most influential historian in America. But Daniel Flynn, executive director of Accuracy in Academia says Zinn puts theory first and facts second because he simplistically divides "mankind into two groups—and only two: oppressors and oppressed." Public historian Larry Dewitt decries the lack of balance in Zinn's work, "...we study history to find out what happened in the past and why. For Zinn, and like-minded historians, the discipline of history is merely a tool to be used in the pursuit of political cause."

The eminent Eric Foner wrote in his 1980 New York Times review of A People's History, "The book bears the same relation to traditional texts as a photographic negative does to a print: the areas of darkness and light have been reversed."

Howard Zinn excites history students. He involves them. He provokes discussion, controversy, argument. He encourages them to think about whether and how they have the ability to create direction and change.

Like any material, the effectiveness of teaching with A People's History (or any Zinn publication) depends on how the information is taught. Eric Foner continued in his review to state, "At issue here is not simply a question of 'balance' or of comprehensive coverage; every work of history is selective. What is needed, however, is an integrated account incorporating both Thomas Jefferson and his slaves, Andrew Jackson and the Indians...in a continuing historical process, in which each group's experience is shaped in large measure by its relation to others."

If lessons are rooted in promoting critical thinking skills, examination of multiple perspectives, and cross-checking and evaluating facts, Zinn's narrative offers rich opportunities for point-and-counterpoint discussion, projects, and papers encouraging students to challenge evidence of primary and secondary sources and to draw conclusions.

Teaching a People's History from the Zinn Educational Project offers lesson plans and teaching materials by theme and time period. The site also provides a thorough explanation of Howard Zinn's ideas for Teaching for Change.

And if you'd like to ask Zinn himself a question about his life and his ideas, submit them via email to zep@zinnedproject.org by FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 2010, for consideration for an "Ask Howard" hour radio broadcast of Authors on Air.

Now you can find and read full text legal opinions from federal and state district, appellate, and supreme courts at Google Scholar.

Google's announcement of their new feature, Finding the laws that govern us, supports civic awareness and activism. "We think this addition to Google Scholar will empower the average citizen by helping everyone learn more about the laws that govern us all. Laws that you don't know about, you can't follow—or make effective arguments to change," they explain.

To find legal opinions relevant to your curriculum, visit Google Scholar and select the radial button Legal opinions and journals below the search field.

You can search for specific cases or query through topical phrases and refine your results through the Advanced Scholar Search—a detailed filtering questionnaire. (In fact, guiding your students through the advanced search feature may help clarify where legal information is available and the structure of the court system.) Each legal opinion links to related articles and citations. Search results will also lead you to other online repositories that include each cited case.

Interested in reading more about individual Supreme Court Justices, other judges, or attorneys? Search for them by name through this new database, and your results will include articles they've authored, opinions they've rendered throughout their careers on various courts, and cases they've argued.

Google Scholar promotes the accessibility of full-text legal documents with language that encourages their use in the classroom: "Court opinions don't just describe a decision but also present the reasons that support the decision. In doing so, they explain the intricacies of law in the context of real-life situations. And they often do it in language that is surprisingly straightforward . . ."

Their introductory materials point to Korematsu v. United States, in which the Supreme Court justices present a fascinating and easy-to-follow debate on the legality of internment of natural-born citizens based on their ancestry. And in United States v. Ramirez-Lopez, the dissenting judge illustrates the key issue of the case using an imagined good-news/bad-news dialogue between the defendant and his attorney.

Looking for historical perspective on pirates? the fate of Detroit and the automobile industry? the importance of 1989?

Each month Origins, an online publication from the Department of History at Ohio State University, analyzes and gives historical context to political, cultural, or social issues in the headlines. Materials include a background essay by an academic expert, images, maps, graphs, and other primary and secondary materials.

Topics are global and are valuable for educators and students. Professors Nicholas Breyfogle and Steven Conn, editors, follow the dictum of John Dewey quoted in their welcome, "History which is not brought down close to the actual scene of events leaves a gap."

Origins links to ehistory, an earlier and ongoing project of Ohio State's Department of History, a multifaceted repository for a variety of history resources. It includes a monthly reviews of current books from members of the History Department. Get a perspective on A Cruel Wind: Pandemic Flu in America, 1918-1920 by Dorothy Pettit and Janice Bailie or read a review of Sweet Land of Liberty: The Forgotten Struggle for Civil Rights in the North by Thomas Sugrue.

Explore Primary Sources which includes comprehensive materials from the Civil War, oral histories, and a growing catalogue of photographs and other historical artifacts. And visit ehistory's other resources as well, including multimedia exhibits, and maps and images.

Mexican Americans comprise almost 10 percent of the population of the United States. Learn About Mexican American History, a website produced by Steve Mintz, John and Rebeca Moore Professor at the University of Houston, provides resources for weaving their voices into the history curriculum. The guide is a directory to resources of the Gilder Lehrman Institute.

Mexican Voices from Digital History and A History of the Mexican American People by Julian Samora and Patricia Vandel Simon, provide extensive online textual narratives. Primary source documents, a supplemental bibliography, and links to other internet resources round out the extensive materials consolidated on this site.

At the Smithsonian, the interactive Smithsonian Latino Center showcases collections from diverse Latino cultures. The new Kids Corner Site emphasizes Mexican history through interactive activities exploring history, art, artifacts, music, customs and beliefs. The site includes user guides for teachers, K–8.

On November 21, 2008, the Smithsonian Museum of American History (NMAH) reopens its doors, ending renovations updating the 42-year old building's infrastructure and creating exciting exhibit galleries and architectural elements.

The Museum blog enables fans to follow the processes of museum renovation and to learn about new and redesigned exhibit space where displays will hint at the breadth of the museum's more than 3 million objects.. People from behind-the-scenes of NMAH talk about their work from the construction of the Star Spangled Banner display to menus of newly-opening cafes and restaurants. Inside the Renovations provides photos and details about changes at NMAH.

In the meantime, the NMAH website remains a vital resource for educators, including materials in The Object of History. This web project developed with George Mason University's Center for History and New Media features artifacts from the Museum’s collections, related high school curriculum materials, and opportunities for students to participate in live online forums with Smithsonian curators. The materials on the site aim to improve students' content knowledge of standard topics in U.S. History and to improve their ability to understand material culture objects as types of historical evidence.