UT Arlington Maps and Teachers

Improving Teaching through the Use of Historic Maps   The University of Texas at Arlington's map collection is widely recognized as is their association with the Texas Map Society.  A considerable effort, with some funding from the Houston Endowment, has enabled their mounting of a special program especially amenable to teachers - Cartographic Connections.   It's self-description reads: "The University of Texas at Arlington is conducting a project entitled Cartographic Connections: Improving Teaching through the Use of Historic Maps. Funded by a grant from the Houston Endowment, Inc., Cartographic Connections is a three-year, interactive electronic pilot project. Its goal is to connect secondary school students and teachers to a primary source--historic maps of Texas, the Southwest and beyond, dating from the 1500s through the 1900s. Through the use of maps, students gain a better understanding of history and the sources that reveal it. The social studies and other programs in Texas schools can also benefit from the use of these historic maps. The project involves UTA faculty, library staff, and selected teachers from across the state. The teachers and UTA staff and faculty are identifying curriculum needs and devising strategies that meet those needs through the use of historic maps. The project's objectives include: determining curriculum needs in light of local, regional, and statewide requirements selecting appropriate maps from among UTA's large collection of historic maps to help meet these needs developing strategies and lesson plans to integrate the use of maps into the curriculum sharing with other educators the techniques learned in the project creating a website that incorporates historic maps, text, and ideas/strategies on how best to use maps in the classroom " Read more at http://libraries.uta.edu/ccon/ The sidebar clicks include