Program info

TECHNOLOGY - THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD - SUMMER ACADEMY - 2010

Technology the Double-Edged Sword is one element of a United States Department of Education Teaching American History Grant that was awarded in July 2007 and extends for a period of three years.

During the 2010 TAH Summer Academy, participants will approach US History through a focus on technology. We will study the social, political and economic effects of the employment of technology throughout US history. Beginning with the Colonial Period, our studies will include the American axe, the standard shovel, the Kentucky Rifle, the cotton gin, roads, canals, railroads, the American manufacturing system, automobiles, airplanes, penicillin, the military-industrial complex, DDT, computers, iPods and birth control as technologies that had tremendous intended and unintended consequences. We will employ lecture, small group discussion, and reading and writing , as well as introducing new and interesting pedagogy to present the material. In addition, participants will utilize primary sources and develop familiarity with their availability for use in their own classrooms.

The TAH Summer Academy is divided into two parts: a five-day intensive academic session, and a five-day independent research section. Teacher participants will study United States history during a five-day, content intensive summer academy incorporating the most current historiographic interpretations, primary documents, and instruction in building and maintaining professional networks. After the academic session is finished, participants will have approximately six weeks to complete five days of independent research in local archives. During the research phase, participants will develop five (5) primary source based classroom exercises grounded in the Colorado Model Content Standards in History. These practical classroom exercises will be compiled into an on-line publication and made available through the international library system through the Pikes Peak Library District.

To register for the program, merely go to the right-hand side of this page and complete the on-line form. Your registration will be confirmed within five to seven days.