Exploring East Texas Through TIDES

By John Dryden

In September of 2002, with the help of state and national grants, the Ralph W. Steen Library at Stephen F. Austin State University founded the Teaching, Images, and Digital Experiences (or TIDES) program, the first collaborative digital initiative in East Texas. With a focus originally on the humanities, TIDES has morphed into a series of partnerships with libraries, museums, archives, and zoos that now offers more than17,000 primary sources, K-12 lesson plans, and “virtual expeditions” to places around Texas and Mexico.

“By seeking and responding to input from educators, the program has now expanded to serve as a framework for learning communities in public schools, colleges, archives, libraries and museums,” explained Rachel Galan, associate director for library services at SFA and program director for TIDES.

“The purpose of the original Texas TIDES project was to make the humanities collections of East Texas accessible; link the expertise of museum, library, and archive professionals with the needs of educators; create a web portal designed by 4th and 7th grade Texas history teachers; and provide cultural and chronological access to the material that tells the story of eastern Texas.” [Editor’s note: Texas history is required teaching in the 4th and 7th grade social studies curriculum.]

The award-winning TIDES program has also recently added a science component and bilingual content into the mix and now serves not only as the regional center for the imaging of East Texas humanities collections, but also as a model for testing and implementation for K-12 teachers and students. Every lesson plan, from social studies to the sciences, relates the objectives back to concrete examples and sections of the TEKS test, Texas’s mandatory assessment test for school children.

“The development of the TIDES initiatives is based on the needs of our primary audiences: K-12 students and teachers; libraries, archives, and museums; and college faculty and students,” described Galan. “Stakeholders expressed specific needs, such as the preservation of digital assets, the need to turn textbook curriculum into neighborhood curriculum, and concerns regarding the recruitment and retention of students. Many of the needs are common among all targeted audiences.”

Those needs included elements such as connecting audiences with the digital world, increasing college preparedness, removing traditional research barriers of time and location, and bridging the divides between the diverse ethnic groups of East Texas. TIDES has attempted to broaden the cultural perspectives of its students by incorporating different histories and view points from its large African, Latino, and Filipino populations. One key to the program’s success has been the “virtual tours” section. Students and teachers hemmed-in by limited budgets and strict testing dates can study other cultures through pictures, videos, and histories about various areas of Mexico, and in the future, additional countries.

“The opportunity to experience relevant cultures first-hand is crucial to helping area teachers understand the needs of their diverse student community,” said Galan. “The TIDES program transforms mandated textbook curriculum into neighborhood curriculum by involving teachers in first-hand experiences with cultures relevant to their student population. This provides them with a venue to collaborate within a diverse learning community and enables them to create lessons and virtual expeditions for use in their classrooms.”

The TIDES Program has also helped fill in the gaps left by dwindling art programs in local schools. By combining art with traditional areas of study, such as Texas history, the schools have been able to integrate a fine arts component into the curriculum. One example is the unit about textured art, studied through hands-on gravestone rubbings. The lesson plan includes discussions on color and texture in art, incorporates TEKS testing suggestions, and expands knowledge of local history through field trips to historical cemeteries.

“In the future we hope to continue the expansion and enhancement of the TIDES program by closing the gaps in student success and achievement that exists at all levels, from pre-school through college,” explained Galan.

Access the TIDES site at http://tides.sfasu.edu.