The Troubled Century

Publisher: Films for the Humanities and Sciences

www.films.com

Grade Level(s): 9-12

Subject Area(s): Social Studies

Reviewed by: Sarah Ellsworth

Software Description

The Troubled Century is a program that brings students through periods of struggle in the 20th century. A good portion of the program is dedicated to the period of time from 1900 to 1945, investigating World War I and World War II, and the remainder of the program examines post-World War II, in particular the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union. The program is divided into three major sections: the struggle for peace, societies in change, and superpower relations. The student is exposed to pictures, short essays, and video and audio samples from different time periods. A unique feature is something called the 'Trailsaver' which allows a student to save a particular page of interest in one common file, creating a collection. The student can then share or export to another program for further modification. The student is also exposed to activities that incorporate role-playing and decision-making.

Accuracy of Content

The historical content of The Trouble Century is quite broad; however, it does not go very deep. For example, the event most people know as the Holocaust is never referred to as the Holocaust, and the effects of this period of time are not addressed. In addition, the section that speaks about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II does not note the fact that a national apology was issued in the 1980s. The program does cover a lot of material. For example, in the 'Societies in Change' section, a student can learn about a particular period of time from the perspective of three different countries (i.e., Germany, Russia, and the United States). The content and presentation of the content would be appropriate for a 10th or 11th grade social studies class. A teacher, however, might need to provide extra guidance and resources for students who have difficulties with reading.

Technical Quality

Once you understand the different functions, the program is fairly easy to use. Navigating through the program is difficult at first because on-screen instructions do not exist. There is a "Back" button, but no indication of how to move to the next screen in a sequence. Because of this, students will need guidance until they are familiar and comfortable with the program. Without any guidance, it could be a very frustrating experience.

In addition to the "Back" button, there are other navigation buttons including Menu, Index, Help, Export, and Trailsave. These buttons do blend in with the background making it difficult to notice them.

A positive aspect of The Troubled Century is its export feature. Students can export a selected slide into another program such as Microsoft Word. In addition, the software has a feature called Trailsave. This allows students to save specific slides or pages to a file within the program, and then view them together at a later time either for personal review or to share with classmates.

Use of Technology

During several portions of the program students can choose to listen to an essay while they read it, read the essay only, or only listen to the essay. This feature could be helpful to a student who struggles with reading. Hearing and reading the essay could serve as a form of assisted reading. Other students may be audio learners who prefer and benefit from hearing information. This feature, therefore, addresses the multiple intelligences that can be found in one classroom.

Technology is also used in a way that will grab the students' attention. For example, there are several opportunities to view a video clip of the topic at hand (e.g., JFK's assassination). This feature provides the students with an eyewitness account of the history they are learning. This feature also helps those students who need a visual representation to better comprehend a concept.

The Troubled Century utilizes technology in a way that involves the student. In two of the three sections ("Struggle for Peace" and "Superpowers") there are opportunities for students to participate. In "Struggle for Peace" students can answer questions as if they were the leaders of the world. This places the students in the shoes of leaders such as Hitler, Stalin, and Roosevelt, thus creating a personal tie to the moment in history. After responding to the questions, students can view what the possible outcome might have been. In "Superpowers" students are able to determine the motives of the world leaders and then compare their choices with that of an historian.

Role of Students

To use this program students at first will need to follow a pre-established guide. Once they are familiar with how the program works, the students could then venture out on their own to acquire information from the program. The program does not seek to construct a final product, only inform and educate students about this period of history. If a final product were needed, the "Trailsave" feature could be incorporated into a lesson plan. In some areas of the software, the students are given the opportunity to interact. This interaction is for a limited amount of time and the teacher does need to introduce and demonstrate the activities for the students.

Role of Teacher

The teacher needs to demonstrate the program first. After this, the teacher should create several guided activities to familiarize the students with the function of the CD. Because of the enormous breadth of information on the CD, the teacher should also always use some guiding activity to lead the students toward the objective(s) of the lesson. Without this, the students do have the potential to become lost and/or frustrated.

Classroom Usage

This program would be of greater benefit if a maximum of two students worked together. Any more and much of the information and features could be lost because there would not be enough hands-on experience with the program. The Troubled Century is a program better suited to use as a resource, not as a tool for creating a project or helping students to improve a skill. While there is opportunity for interaction between the student and software, it is limited and short-lived.

Critical Summary

Overall the program needs to be used carefully. Because of the technical deficiencies of the program, the students could have a frustrating experience. The technology could actually obstruct the students' learning. If used correctly and with the appropriate guidance from the teacher, the program is a good source of factual information for the students and can be used as a resource for class projects. It also presents the information to students in various media (literature, audio, and video), which does tap into the different learning styles that can be found in a classroom.

Overall Rating (based on a scale of 1 to 10): 6

Explanation of Rating: The Troubled Century does contain a lot of information that could be useful when introducing a unit and familiarizing the students with the concepts of the unit. The content is presented using a variety of media, which is helpful for addressing the special needs of some students. The technology, however, is distracting and could discourage a student in a way that reduces actual learning.

Last revised: January 15, 2003