Images can be an extremely useful tool in a history classroom. Whether they are paintings, photographs, or political cartoons, they can serve as primary sources for inquiry or analysis, hooks for a lesson, or centerpieces of discussion. They help students experience how historical understanding can come from something other than the written word, engage visual learners, and teach students analytical skills that will reflect well on their future political and cultural literacy. Simply being able to understand a political cartoon or have an interpretive opinion on the significance of a photograph is a tool that will help students be more politically engaged and demonstrate a key analytical skill to employers. In my classroom I will use images regularly and ask students to think about them to form their own hypothesis and interpretations. For example, when I teach students about 9/11 I would incorporate analysis of the following image:
Photo Attribution:
Original Image: "WTC 9/11"
http://www.flickr.com/photos/slagheap/132113924/sizes/s/in/set-72057594112589148/
By: slagheap
Released under an Attribution Non-Commercial-Share Alike License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en
This is a photo I licensed with creative commons. It is of Chewy, my fiancee's shitzu-pug mix. He is adorable:
Photo Attribution:
Original Image: "Chewy!"
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59322699@N04/5431878924/
By: andyv24
Released under an Attribution Non-Commercial License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/
That picture is adorable. I'm glad you figured out how to do it! I love you! :-)
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