Is the Medium the Message? Investigating the Impact of Digital Information Settings on Historical Thinking

• In Event: New Directions in the Teaching and Learning of History

Abstract

Historical thinking is a complex activity that is deeply rooted in the way we know and understand the past. Existing research indicates that it is context dependent, with factors such as learning settings, learning communities, and learning tools mediating understandings of what constitutes credible historical information. Despite the emergence of the internet as a major site of historical learning, there has been little empirical research on how the medium itself may be shaping historical understanding. This paper will report on the findings of a qualitative research project that investigated novice and expert evaluations of digital historical sources, and found that the type of thinking occurring did not fit neatly within existing models of either historical thinking or website evaluation.

Author

• James Goulding, The University of Sydney