Social Studies and the Virtual History Museum

¶ … Virtual History Museum and Special Needs Learners

Web-based tools like the Virtual History Museum (VHM) are great ways for students with special needs to develop an appreciation for and understanding of the social studies field. Because students with learning disabilities often benefit from visual mediums and methods of instruction that incorporate visual cues, the VHM is a perfect tool to facilitate these students' process of comprehension.

The primary reason that VHM is so effective is that it "encourages multiple means of engagement for students" via its variety of features -- from its "built-in historian's notebook," which allows users/students to take notes digitally as they move through a visual learning exhibit, to the "text-to-speech function" that allows students to not only have access to the text copy but also to be able to hear the words spoken to them, which does in turn help the information to penetrate more deeply into the mind (Bouck et al. 18).

The website is also interactive, which is a perfect way for students with learning disabilities to get involved with the curriculum and be more engaged. Students can literally "construct their own exhibits" and take part in the process of presenting material about an age, era, civilization or society by hand-picking sources, events, people and issues that they view as important or essential (Bouck et al. 19). It not only puts the student in a learning role by presenting access to information but it also puts the student in an educative role by challenging the student to process information and present it in their own way. Such a method of visual learning coupled with interactivity is a great way for students with special needs to gain a better grasp of social studies knowledge that otherwise might remain inaccessible for them.