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Material:
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Rating:
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Classroom Use:
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Not used in classroom
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Submitted by:
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Pia Marks (Staff), Nov 08, 2002
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Comment:
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I spent about 45 minutes exploring this resource, and thoroughly enjoyed the
experience. It provides a window into 19th century
colonial life in British Columbia by looking explicitly at a historical murder
mystery. The murder provides an engaging context from which to explore what
amounts to a treasure trove of primary source information surrounding the case
itself as well as more general sources which
anchor the story in a specific time and place.
Information about the settlement of BC and Canada, the importance of land, the
dispossession of aboriginal people, justice, racism,
family life, relgion etc in 19th century Canada can be explored via the primary
source material.
It is student-centred in its approach -- users can choose their own path through
the materials, and draw their own conclusions from the vast array of primary
source information available.
Critical thinking skills are engaged in the final section, "Interpretation"
which provides links to secondary source material, documenting how historians
have traditionally viewed the case. Part of the excellence of this resource is
that the learner has direct and immediate access to the primary source material
on which the interpretations were based, enabling them to critically evaluate
the conclusions drawn by the experts. This section is password-protected --I
assume passwords can be obtained from the authors.
I think this is an excellent resource for history instructors--excellent
quality, a well-designed interface, an archive of primary source
material available to the learner to explore as s/he needs it. Discovery is left
entirely up to the learner. The interface is simple to navigate and
instructions are clear and readily
available.
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Technical Remarks:
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The interface is simple to navigate and instructions are clear and readily
available.
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