- The Maerlant Project has been discussed earlier in this journal as a research project which aims to establish a digital learning environment focusing on the development of historical skills among pupils in secondary education. The main idea behind it was to formulate a concrete response to two main challenges that face history teachers in Flanders today. It is taken for granted that they teach historical skills on the one hand while making use of ICT during their lessons on the other. Due to the growing conviction that historical understanding can only be developed when students become familiar with the research methods of the historical discipline, the constructive nature of historical knowledge pervades the minds of scholars who have to be able to cope with an over-supply of sometimes questionable (historical) information. Beginning with the assumption that hypertext and hypermedia could stimulate this critical attitude we consulted with several schools to test the strengths andThe Maerlant Project has been discussed earlier in this journal as a research project which aims to establish a digital learning environment focusing on the development of historical skills among pupils in secondary education. The main idea behind it was to formulate a concrete response to two main challenges that face history teachers in Flanders today. It is taken for granted that they teach historical skills on the one hand while making use of ICT during their lessons on the other. Due to the growing conviction that historical understanding can only be developed when students become familiar with the research methods of the historical discipline, the constructive nature of historical knowledge pervades the minds of scholars who have to be able to cope with an over-supply of sometimes questionable (historical) information. Beginning with the assumption that hypertext and hypermedia could stimulate this critical attitude we consulted with several schools to test the strengths and weaknesses of the multimedia cd-rom that the Maerlant Centre had developed for pupils aged fifteen. How well were they able to investigate the historical sources and secondary information available to them in large quantities and in a layered and personalized manner? Did the program succeed in its attempt to narrow the gap between the source, the historical reality it represents and the prior knowledge of our target group?…
