Review of Making History Come Alive (November 2003)

Making History Come Alive, by Howard Levin

This article describes a project in a San Francisco high school in which students interviewed Holocaust survivors, produced videos of these interviews, and published them online.

Q1: How applicable is this approach to a wide variety of different schools?
A1: In short, not very. This project took place at an independent high school that had access to funds that are simply not present at most schools. For instance, every student receives an Apple iBook laptop, whereas in some school districts even providing a computer lab with reasonable access for students is a struggle. Additionally, they received several grants and donations which allowed the purchase of a professional-quality camera, tripod, lighting equipment, and digital video tape. However, the trend in technology is always towards greater availability and lower prices- as time passes, perhaps this type of project would become more easily applied to a greater diversity of school settings.

Q2: How effective is this project at teaching students about history?
A2: I think that the project would certainly teach students about their chosen subject's experiences in World War II. It would give them an understanding of the emotional and personal impact of the Holocaust. However, I'm uncertain as to how much this project contributes to the overall history education of the students. The amount of time this project would require necessitates a certain focus on a specific event that occurred in a very limited period of history. If the course were intended to teach specifically about the Holocaust, this would seem like a worthwhile project. However, in a course about World history or Western Hemisphere history 1900-present, I feel that it would pull too much time away from other important topics that are equally deserving of attention.