Best of History Web Sites aims to provide quick, convenient, and reliable access to the best history-oriented resources online in a wide range of categories and has been designed to benefit history teachers and their students; however, general history enthusiasts will benefit from the site as well. Ranked #1 by Google for history web sites, Best of History Web Sitesd receives upwards of 100,000 visitors per month.
With links to over 1200 history-related web sites that have been reviewed for quality, accuracy, and usefulness, the site also includes links to K-12 history lesson plans, teacher guides, activities, games, quizzes, and more. Sites with engaging educational content and stimulating and useful multimedia technologies are most likely to be included in these pages. However, useful general resources and research-oriented sites have been included as well.
Suggestions are welcome and appreciated. (We receive many suggestions, so please understand that it may be months until your recommendation is reviewed.) To make any suggestions, comments, questions, or to be notified of updates to the Newsletter, please fill in the form located to the left. We respect` your privacy and will not provide any information regarding you to a third party.
Awards and Recognition
Best of History Web Sites has won many awards and recognition, including: Blue Web’n Blue-Ribbon Web Site Award from the Pacific Bell Knowledge Network, Yahoo Pick (July 15, 2002) by Yahoo.com, The Editor’s Choice Award (“Top 5% Site in K-12 Education”) from Awesome Library, History News Network Website of the Week, USA Today Education Best Bet Award, Education World Award for October 2002, 4Teachers Site of the Week, New York Public Library “Best of Reference”, UK Department of Education for Education and Skills “Useful External Web Sites”, National University of Ireland Web Site of the Month, Schoolhouse Site of the Week, and Schools Library Journal Site of the Week.
Best of History Web Sites has also been recommended by: The National Council for the Social Studies, Princeton University, The British Library Net, The Detroit Free Press, History on the Net, The Denver Post, The Washington Library Media Association, ABC News Radio, Teaching History Magazine, UNESCO, Academic Info, the United States government, Landmark for Schools, Merlot, MIT Libraries, Pacific Bell’s Great Links to U.S. History, City University of New York, HistoryTeacher.net, WWW Virtual Library, Babson College Horn Library, teachersfirst.com, Philadelphia University, Teaching History Online, California State University at Northridge, University of Queensland (Australia), University of Houston-Downtown, Herriot Watt University (Scotland), ISI Web of Knowledge, Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction, The Scout Report, Kingswood College Library, Teachnology, and others.
Founders and Contributors
Best of History Web Sites was created in 2001 by Tom Daccord, the Director and Co-Founder of EdTechTeacher. An educational technology speaker, instructor, and author, Tom has worked with schools, districts, colleges and educational organizations in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. He has presented on educational technology topics at national and international conferences, including ISTE (U.S.), FETC (U.S.), ELMLE (Europe), EARCOS (Asia), and NESA (Asia), as well as organized a series of sold-out international “iPad Summits” in the United States. Tom has also produced a series of online courses on Web 2.0 and iPad integration, as well as 21st century school leadership and classroom assessment.
A former social studies teacher who instructed in a 1:1 laptop classroom for seven years, Tom has been featured in the Boston Globe for his contributions to teaching with technology and invited to Singapore by the Ministry of Education as an “Outstanding Educator in Residence” in support of efforts to further 21st century learning in schools. Tom is co-author of Best Ideas for Teaching with Technology: A Practical Guide for Teachers by Teachers and iPads in the Classroom: From Consumption and Curation to Creation and author of The Best of History Web Sites. His articles on educational technology have appeared in various educational publications such as Edudemic and eSchool News. He is the creator of Best History Web Sites, an award-winning portal, and The Center for Teaching History with Technology, dedicated to helping K-12 history and social studies teachers effectively incorporate technology into their courses.
A graduate of Princeton University and the University of Montreal, Tom has taught in Canada, France, Switzerland, and the United States. He currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts.
Justin-Reich
Justin Reich is an educational researcher, investigates the future of learning in a networked world. As the Richard L. Menschel HarvardX Research Fellow, based in the Office of the President and Provost at Harvard University, he explores the possibilities and limits of online learning through the HarvardX platform. Justin is also a Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, a visiting lecturer in the Scheller Teacher Education Program at MIT, and the co-founder of EdTechTeacher – a professional learning consultancy devoted to helping teachers leverage technology to create student-centered, inquiry-based learning environments.
Best Ideas for Teaching with Technology: A Practical Guide for Teachers by Teachers and iPads in the Classroom: From Consumption and Curation to Creation, and his academic work has been published in Educational Researcher, Social Education, Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, and other venues. His opinion writings have been published in the Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, The Providence Journal, and other publications. He blogs for Education Week at EdTechResearcher.
Previously, Justin served as Outstanding Educator in Residence for the Academy of Singapore Teachers, a Digital Media and Learning Summer Fellow with the MacArthur Foundation, and a member of the 2012 class of Emerging Leaders for the International Society for Technology in Education. He earned his doctorate from Harvard University, is a member of the Digital Learning Advisory Council for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and serves on the advisory boards of the Chewonki Foundation and the Fay School.
Shawn McCusker
Shawn McCusker maintains Best of History Websites. He has 19 years of experience as a middle and high school teacher during which time he has taught in public, private, and alternative schools. In 2006, he was recognized as a finalist for the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. Shawn is an innovator in the creation of online learning communities such as #sschat and #1to1techat, a community that conducts discussions of effective leadership and teaching practices for 1:1 educational technology programs. He is also a longtime organizer of EdCampChicago and the co-creator and organizer of EdCampSocialStudies, the first content specific Edcamp. His writing appears regularly in Edudemic, Mindshift, and Free Technology for Teachers.
Shawn has presented at national and local conferences such as NCSS (the National Council for Social Studies), ICE (Illinois Computer Educators), NICE, and the ILCHE/IMSA Conference. He presented on incorporating 1:1 technology into his classroom at the iPad Summits in Boston and San Diego, and was a Featured Speaker at both the iPad Summit Atlanta and the 2013 iPad Summit Boston. Shawn continues to develop innovative tech-implementation strategies as he is an EdTechTeacher Instructor. He is a certified Google Instructor as well as a Microsoft Innovator. Shawn is co-creator (along with Tom Driscoll) of the Modern Civics Project, a hub of resources and stories from across the nation that explore innovative approaches to civic education. He is also co-producer of the PodCast “So We’ve Been Thinking”