Technology Debate Last Tuesday

Last Tuesday, we had a I think very important debate regarding whether technology was beneficial to History. I gave my opinion in class that the history field is dying in terms of young people losing interest in the subject. To them their losing interest stems from limited career choices in the subject  Also in general, young people are no longer taking an interest in reading history books. This is why history needs technology to save itself.
The public history field has grasped this. They have already started to incorporate technology. Museums have ventured into virtual world displaying their exhibits online in order to attract visitors to their terrestrial sites. Archives have ventured into the digital world to display digital copies of manuscripts and photographs to attract donors and audiences. When we went to Carillon Park, I was impressed with the exhibit featuring the Wright Bros, Deeds, Kettering, and Patterson. The museum really impressed me with the sound affects and the informational movie about 's contributions to both world wars and the space race. I was also impressed with how the museums restored the houses of famous Dayton dwellers. Overall the trip got me engaged. I learned a lot about the history of Dayton.
Technology benefits history in so many ways. New technologies have the potential to draw an audience. Today's kids are tech savvy. If a historical exhibit has technology in them, it draws their interest. There however, needs to be a wow factor. The right technology needs to be applied. This also has to apply to classrooms. When I was in high school, it was just straight lectures with PowerPoint and overhead sprinkled in. This isn't good enough. You need stimulated teaching tools to engage with the class. How about lecturing with PowerPoint and playing audio clips, movie clips, and animation. For example, lecture about Battle of Gettysburg could include a  animation video of the battle. Or a movie clip depicting Pickett's charge.
History does matter. I wold say its equivalent to math and science. History has given us important lessons. Historical events still are relevant today. Henry Clay's Compromise of 1850 teach us that compromise is still possible. Politicians take note. If history is not being taught with technology, then it will slowly be on its way to extinction.