Digital Historians: Engaging Students in Historical Thinking Through an Interactive Website

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which students engage in historical thinking through the use of an interactive website, and how the students understood and experienced its various features and how they incorporated technology in their final video project. In the spring of 2022, five students participated in a class workshop focused on historical thinking using their Chromebooks. Following a week of learning about the five elements of historical thinking, students were asked to create a multimedia final video project on a historical figure of their choice. Two students completed the assignment. Thematic coding analysis and case study investigations were conducted on various data points that included Google Form questions, researcher’s notes, and surveys. Results showed that participants were able to engage in historical thinking through the format of an interactive website at the same time as final video projects showed different SAMR levels related to technology integration