ABSTRACTS
English: While many historians have not yet embraced the Internet, several others have begun to explore what technology has to offer. The World Wide Web presents historians with several dilemmas: how to integrate it with their courses, how to convince students to view it selectively, and how to preserve its contents. It also provides them with a vast cultural record, if it can be preserved, for future historians to analyze. The bibliography below is a collection of sources relevant to academic historians, their research and teaching, and their use of technology.
Though many historians no doubt remain skeptical of the benefits of information technology, at least with regard to their profession, more and more historians are beginning to explore its possibilities. The Internet has evolved into the largest, most democratic cultural record ever. Today’s university professors are encouraged to maintain their own websites, publish their research in both printed and electronic journals, and even teach courses on the web, simply because the Internet is currently the most effective means of connecting with today’s breed of student. Not only must historians keep current with their particular specializations within history, but now they are being asked to keep up with the trends of technology. The even greater challenge facing historians is this new generation of students, born with a PC and raised on the Internet, many of whom are much more techno-savvy than their professors. But it is these same historians who must teach them the skills necessary to use all types of information sources in their research. The vast stores of information on the web have presented historians with another problem. Online information is still tenuous, and the long-term solution to preservation problems continues to be a question mark. Those in the historical profession cannot afford to ignore developments in technology.
