World History Teachers' Use of Digital Primary Sources: The Effect of Training

Through surveys, interviews, observations, and field notes, I examined the beliefs and practices of six high school world history teachers regarding the use of digital primary sources and the potential added value of formal training in technology as a tool for instruction. Access to equipment (namely computer projectors and school computing facilities) was paramount in terms of digital primary source use; teachers with high levels of access to computing equipment were high-frequency users of digital primary sources, while those without access were not. While formal training did not necessarily result in an increased use of digital primary sources, it did affect the manner in which they were used. Teachers with low levels of technology training tended to use digital primary sources as an additive to their instruction instead of as a vehicle from which to engage students in historical thinking.