From Civil War battlefields to Civil Rights demonstrations and from the National Mall to local museums and historic sites, an app created by one of Marshall University’s faculty members is connecting thousands of people to the history that surrounds them.
Dr. David Trowbridge, associate professor of history at Marshall, said he hoped his app, Clio, would create something that could help people discover places and information they might otherwise miss.
“During my travels, I found I could easily access information about nearby restaurants, but it was difficult to find information about historic buildings, monuments, public spaces and art, and historic markers,” says Trowbridge. “I wanted to create a way for people to connect-really connect-to the history and culture that surrounded them.”
So in 2013, the smartphone app was born and remains free to use as a personal guide through history and culture. Similar to other popular locator apps, Clio picks up one’s location and offers information about nearby places. Unlike commercial apps, however, Clio entries offer links to reliable books, articles and websites. Many include embedded videos and oral histories, Trowbridge says.
In addition to discovering nearby sites, users can also search Clio’s vast and growing database by location and interests. Clio also includes thousands of “time capsule” entries that reveal how a city or neighborhood changed over time. There are even entries that reveal information about historic events that occurred right where the user is standing. For example, users can “go back in time” to witness labor strikes and sit-ins right where they occurred.
“With a growing library of about 10,000 entries created by historical societies, museums, libraries and educators, the Clio app is like holding history in the palm of your hand,” says Trowbridge.
Like other volunteer efforts to record and preserve our history, Clio depends on a growing network of educators, institutions, individual contributors, and supporters. Educators, organizations, individual contributors and other supporters can submit entries to the app to be reviewed. Educators can also use the “Clio in the Classroom” feature to create entries related to their topic of study.
“These students learn research and writing skills as they bring history to life and share their work with the world,” Dr. Trowbridge says. “Once approved by their instructor, each classroom entry includes the name of the author, the instructor, and the school.”
Clio is supported by grants and donations and is free for everyone. Dozens of new entries are added to Clio each day.
“By helping more people experience the joy of discovery and by creating a fun place to discover and share information about the places and stories that matter, I hope that Clio will cultivate a more active and informed view of the world around us,” Trowbridge says.
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This is great-works well in Baltimore and I can’t wait to try it out this summer. There’s a new edtech startup each week, but the best stuff for teachers comes from other teachers.