A platform for location based learning

The teaching version of the HistoryCity platform offers a unique opportunity to do place-based interpretation inside and outside the classroom through group work that engages students with places, objects, and the social and cultural histories that give them meaning. Building app trails builds skills in critical humanities and approaches to public history and heritage with mobile multimedia. This short video provides an outline of our methodology.

The teaching app has to date been used in courses at Exeter, Venice International University and Ca’ Foscari, and Duke University in North Carolina. It has the same features as our published apps. It can be supplied as part of a new city project, or as a small standalone package with academic and technical support.

For more information get in touch with the HistoryCity team. Contacts on the Collaborate page.

What people say

“HistoryCity supports new pedagogies that challenge students to reconsider who constitutes the subjects and authors of history. It provides a unique experience, encouraging students to go beyond the book and explore the site itself. We used the app to help students research a neighborhood of Chicago architecture, where they could use historical newspapers and other sources to build out a fascinating story of urban history. I would recommend this tool for any educator looking to tell a people-centric story about our built environment.”
– Paul Jaskot, Professor of Art, Art History & Visual Studies, Duke University, North Carolina

“I really enjoyed this project because it allowed me to look at part of my daily life in Venice in a different perspective through a historical lens and it allowed me to form a stronger connection to the city and to the public spaces it holds.”
– History and Politics undergraduate, University of Exeter

“The app framework challenged us to articulate academic research into a more creative format which is more accessible for the public. The most exciting aspect was the ability to test our research on location and later share this with friends via a QR code.”
– History undergraduate, University of Exeter