1、s a parody （maybe not much of one） of how thedebate proceeds. Both supporters and opponents of the digital share moredisciplinary common ground than either admits. When provided with merely a textbook as a supplemental learning tool, testresults have revealed that most students fail to pinpoint the
2、significance ofhistorical events and individuals. Fewer still are able to cite and substantiateprimary historical sources. What does this say about the way our educators arepresenting information? The quotation comes from a report of a 1917 test of 668Texas students. Less than 10 percent of school-a
3、ge children attended high schoolin 1917; today, enrollments are nearly universal. The whole world has turned onits head during the last century but one thing has stayed the same： Young peopleremain woefully ignorant about history reflected from their history tests. Guesswhat? Historians are ignorant
4、 too, especially when we equate historicalknowledge with the Jeopardy Daily Double. In a test, those specializing inAmerican history did just fine. But those with specialties in medieval, Europeanand African history failed miserably when confronted by items about FortTiconderoga, the Olive Branch Pe
5、tition, or the Quebec Act all taken from atypical textbook. According to the testers, the results from the recent NationalAssessment in History, like scores from earlier tests, show that young peopleare abysmally ignorant of their own history. Invoking the tragedy of lastSeptember, historian Diane R
6、avitch hitched her worries about our future to theidea that our nations strength is endangered by youth who do poorly on suchtests. But if she were correct, we could have gone down the tubes in 1917! There is a huge difference between saying Kids dont know the history wewant then to know and saying
7、Kids dont know history at all. Historicalknowledge burrows itself into our cultural pores even if young people cantmarshal it when faced by a multiple choice test. If we werent such hypocrites（or maybe if we were better historians） wed have to admit that todays studentsfollow in our own footsteps. F
8、or too long weve fantasized that by rewritingtextbooks we could change how history is learned. The problem, however, is notthe content of textbooks but the very idea of them. No human mind could retainthe information crammed into these books in 1917, and it can do no better now.If we have learned an
9、ything from history that can be applied to every timeperiod, it is that the only constant is change. The teaching of history, or anysubject for that matter, is no exception. The question is no longer whether tobring new technologies into everyday education; now, the question is which Thereis a huge
10、difference between saying Kids dont know the history we want then toknow Historical knowledge burrowsitself into our cultural pores even if young people cant marshal it when facedby a multiple choice test. If we werent such hypocrites （or maybe if we werebetter historians） wes students follow in our
11、 ownfootsteps. For too long weve fantasized that by rewriting textbooks we couldchange how history is learned. The problem, however, is not the content oftextbooks but the very idea of them. No human mind could retain the informationcrammed into these books in 1917, and it can do no better now. If w
12、e havelearned anything from history that can be applied to every time period, it isthat the only constant is change. The teaching of history, or any subject forthat matter, is no exception. The question is no longer whether to bring newtechnologies into everyday education; now, the question is which
13、 technologiesare most suitable for the range of topics covered in junior high and high schoolhistory classrooms. Fortunately, technology has provided us with opportunitiesto present our Civil War lesson plans or our American Revolution lesson plans ina variety of new ways. Teachers can easily target
14、 and engage the learners of this generation byeffectively combining the study of history with innovative multimedia-PowerPoint and presentations in particular can expand the scope of traditionalclassroom discussion by helping teachers to explain abstract concepts whileaccommodating students* unique
15、learning styles. PowerPoint study units that havebeen pre-made for history classrooms include all manner of photos, prints, maps,audio clips, video clips and primary sources which help to make learninginteractive and stimulating. Presenting lessons in these enticing formats helpstechnology-driven st
16、udents retain the historical information theyll need toknow for standard exams. Whether you are covering Revolutionary War lesson plans or World War IIlesson plans, PowerPoint study units are available in formats to suit the needsof your classroom. Multimedia teaching instruments like PowerPoint sof
17、tware aregetting positive results the world over, framing conventional lectures withcaptivating written, auditory and visual content that helps students recallnames, dates and causal relationships within a historical context. History continues to show us that new times bring new realities. Education
18、is no exception to the rule. The question is not whether to bring technologyinto the educational environment. Rather, the question is which technologies aresuitable for U.S. and world history subjects, from Civil War lesson plans toWorld War II lesson plans. Whether youre covering your American Revo
19、lutionlesson plans or your Cold War lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations areavailable in pre-packaged formats to suit your classrooms needs. Meanwhile, some academic historians hold a different view on the use oftechnology in teaching history. One reason they hold is that not all facts canbe recor
20、ded by film or videos and literature is relatively feasible in this case.Another challenge they have to be faced with is the painful process to learnnew technology like the making of PowerPoint and the editing of audio and videoclips which is also reasonable especially to some elderly historians. Qu
21、estions Reading this passage has eight paragraphs, A- G Choosing the correct heading for paragraphs A- G from the list of headingbelow Write the appropriate number, i- x, in boxes 28-34 on your answer sheet List of Headings i unavoidable changing facts to be considered when picking up technologymean
22、s ii A debatable place where the new technologies stand in for historyteaching iii Hard to attract students in traditional ways of teaching history iv Display of the use of emerging multimedia as leaching tools v Both students and professionals as candidates did not produce decentresults vi A good c
23、oncrete example illustrated to show how multimedia animates thehistory class vii The comparisons of the new technologies applied in history class viii Enormous breakthroughs in new technologies ix Resistance of using new technologies from certain historian x Decisions needed on which technique to be
24、 used for history teachinginstead of improvement in the textbooks 28 Paragraph A 29 Paragraph B 30 Paragraph C 31 Paragraph D 32 Paragraph E 33 Paragraph F 34 Paragraph G Question 35-37 Do the following statements agree with the information given in ReadingPassage? In boxes 35-37 on your answer shee
25、t, write YES if the statement is true NO if the statement is false NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage 35 Modem people are belter at memorizing historical information comparedwith their ancestors. 36 New technologies applied in history- teaching are more vivid forstudents to mem
26、orize the details of historical events. 37 Conventional ways like literature arc gradually out of fashion as timegoes by. Question 38-40 Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, usingmore than three words from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in box
27、es 38-40 on your answer sheet. Contemporary students can be aimed at without many difficulties byintegrating studying history with novel. .38. Conventional classroomdiscussion is specially extended by two ways to assist the teachers to interpret.39. and at the same time retain students distinct learning modes.
