A case study of high school students who researched and produced a digital video for National History Day

Studies indicate that high school students do not find history interesting and that our students lack basic historical knowledge. In a post 9-11 world it is critical that American high school students have historical knowledge. Constructivists believe that new approaches to history instruction should be investigated. Educational technology is one promising approach in social studies education. This qualitative case study focused on high school students in grades 9-12 who researched and produced a digital video for National History Day during the 2004-2005 school year. The participants of the study attended the National History Day contest at the University of Maryland in June 2005 and were chosen by random sampling. Ten students were interviewed, each between 60-90 minutes. The study found that the participants were actively engaged as they learned history, developed historian skills, increased their historical understanding, and used the video editing software as a Mindtool which helped them learn history. As a result, a digital native historian was developed. The researcher believes that high school history teachers should be encouraged to give their students the opportunity to use educational technology in a constructivist way using the historical inquiry approach.