How To Use Georgia Stories
The Georgia Stories website is made up of many different types of web pages. As you get to know the site, you’ll find that you can access these web pages individually, or you can view them in compiled web pages called “Story pages.” For example, if you’re an educator and you’re interested in teaching about Sherman’s March to the Sea, you can view all content about this topic by navigating to the “Sherman’s March to the Sea” Story page. This compiled page will feature the video plus related content such as a Study Guide, a Field Trip, and Teacher’s Resources. You can view the videos full screen by clicking on the small square icon in the control bar. (Or click here for a quick tutorial on using the full screen feature.) If you don’t need all the extras associated with the Sherman’s March Story, you can search and view the video on its own individual web page. Likewise, if you only want to view and use the Study Guide for Sherman’s March, you can search and view that Study Guide by itself. This “modular” website approach is important to understand because it gives the user the ability to engage and present the Georgia Stories educational content in multiple ways.
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This Week in Georgia History
The home page of the Georgia Stories website is called “This Week In Georgia History.” Every week, visitors to the site will notice a new, brief description of an important historical event in Georgia’s History. Visitors can then watch the related Georgia Stories video segment on the home page.
Story Pages
Video segments of Georgia Stories are organized on the site into “Story pages.” You can browse Story pages by clicking on the “Stories” link in the navigation bar that appears on every page. By clicking on the “Stories” link, you will be taken to a comprehensive list of all Story pages. To view a Story page, click on a title. On the Story page, press the play button beneath the video to watch a segment. You can also pause, fast forward, or rewind the video. Video segments run about ten minutes. For teachers who want all the information about a particular topic in one web page, the Story pages are very useful. Rather than compiling a series of related web pages or stringing together components about a topic, the user can bookmark one web page and have all his related content in one easy to access location. A quick technical detail. You will need Flash to play videos. This is standard software on most computers. But, if you don’t have it, you can download the software for free by clicking here.
Additional Resources
Story pages are composed of the videos as well as additional educational material. Additional information includes more about the topics and issues raised by the featured Georgia Stories video. Additional information can include links to “Georgia Performance Standards,” “Field Trips,” “Historical Documents,” and “Study Guide.” To view any of these resources, click on their icons or the links beneath the icons.
If you are an educator, you may be able to view special additional resources to help in writing lesson plans and showcasing the Georgia Stories series. These are called “Teacher’s Resources.” These additional resources can be useful in the classroom. For example, if you’re giving a lesson presenting material related to a specific GPS, navigate to the GPS page and select the relevant number. A page will be displayed that features a list of all Georgia Story pages related to the standard. Each Story is clickable and can be viewed or presented from this GPS page.
Georgia Performance Standards
There are a total of 107 Georgia Stories video segments, and each is linked to a specific Georgia Performance Standard. This is to aid educators who need to teach state-mandated topics in Georgia history. If a teacher knows what topic from the “GPS” she’ll be teaching during any given week, she can do a search for that GPS on the Georgia Stories site and be provided with a list of all related Stories. There are a total of 25 Georgia Performance Standard pages, one for each standard. Each individual GPS page contains a list of the Georgia Stories related to that standard. From the GPS page, click on a Georgia Story title to view the corresponding Story page.
Field Trips
The Georgia Stories site features many Field Trips. A Field Trip is a brief description of an important historical locale in Georgia and links to related websites about the place. Many Field Trips are related to a specific Georgia Story or video. For example, a student encountering the “Atlanta Race Riot” Story could find out through the Field Trip that the Atlanta History Museum is an excellent place to learn more, either virtually or in person, about this significant turn-of-the-century incident. To access a Field trip from a Story page, click on the link or icon at the bottom of the page. To view a list of all Field Trips, click on “Index” in the navigation bar and select “View Field Trips” from the drop-down menu. A Field Trip index can be viewed by county, city, or title.
Historical Documents
Many of the Georgia Story pages are supplemented with “Historical Documents.” These include primary documents such as old newspaper clippings, magazines excerpts, or intriguing photographs. Historical documents can also include reports, art work, or legal documents. Often times, a student can investigate these artifacts from the past to discover some of the answers to questions posed in a Study Guide. To access Historical Documents from a Story page, click on the link or icon at the bottom of the page.
Teacher’s Resources
Each Story page also features a “Teacher’s Resources.” This is a set of questions and a list of activities related to a Georgia Story, and it’s designed with educators in mind. Teacher’s Resources provide ideas on how to engage students in the material covered by a segment of the Georgia Stories video series and the associated GPS. To access a Teacher’s Resource from a Story page, click on the link or icon at the bottom of the page. Only approved educators will be able to access this resource. Educators will need a password and login, which they can request by emailing GPB at education@gpb.org or by calling, 888-501-8960 or 404-685-2550.
Study Guides
Each Story page features a thoughtful review of the material called a “Study Guide.” The Study Guide is intended for classroom students, and it contains questions, activities, and additional information like related web sites. To access a Study Guide from a Story page, click on the link or icon at the bottom of the page.
Index
