The History of California CD-ROM
 

This CD-ROM covers the history of the Golden State from ancient times to the new millennium.  It provides tools to create presentations on all aspects of the state's history.  Every image has a descriptive caption at two levels: elementary reading level (fourth/fifth-grade), or adult reading level.  Includes narrated Overviews of time periods, film clips, maps, and sound recordings, all organized in a unique, flexible format.  Students and teachers can use the presentation-making software included in the CD-ROM, or export many images for use in PowerPoint® and other applications.

  Resources In The History of California CD-ROM

The Image Library. The CD-ROM contains an rich and varied library of 1,759 images. Each image has captions (articles) written at both the elementary (fourth/fifth grade) and adult/teacher levels. The images include historical events, important people, paintings and other works of art, political cartoons, charts and maps. The content is compatible with leading California history textbooks.

  
Overviews. There are twelve full-screen, sound-and-image introductions to major periods in the history of California. 

Sound bytes. There are dozens of brief sound bytes embedded in the articles, so you and your students may hear original recordings of California people and events. Along with reading about The Grapes of Wrath, for  example, students can hear John Steinbeck talk about the 1930s migration of dust bowl refugees to California.

    
The Historipix Game  lets students have fun while being tested on what they’ve learned and what they’ve seen.  It challenges students’ recollections of both the key concepts in the captions and the visual information in the images.
  

  
The Electronic Index is one of the tools to help you instantly find the items you want for your presentation.  The index is used to locate items you want by name, but it also contains extensive subject headings which can be used to prepare presentations on many different subjects, such as Paintings, Transportation, and Agriculture.
  

Importing your own images into a presentation. You can add your own digitized pictures (or pictures from other sources), write captions for them, and sort them with your selections from the CD-ROM’s image library. You can thus create your own unique presentation, for display on your computer screen. 

Exporting.  More than 800 of the images may be exported. You can print these images and use them in PowerPoint^® and other computer programs, for non-commercial use within your school classroom.  Students may use the images in reports, and teachers can create handouts and even overhead transparencies.  

 
Printing out a lecture script. You can revise the captions you have selected, and then put them in any desired order. You can then print them out as a lecture script, in large type. If you are  using the History of California Videodisc (LaserDisc) and our presentation-making software, the script can also include a barcode for each item, to call its videodisc image to your classroom TV screen.  
  

Save time, and be sure of rights.  Why spend hours searching the Internet, when we have already brought together all the high points of California's history, digitized, indexed, and organized with articles in an easy-to-use package?   The History of California CD-ROM provides one-stop shopping for big, carefully selected images of consistent size and format - unlike the range of images on the Internet.  Buy it once, and you and your students can use it again and again throughout the year.

Contents
The History of California CD-ROM

  
When you purchase The History of California CD-ROM, images and articles covering all the content areas below are included, plus 60 film clips,  narrated Overviews of time periods,  dozens of historical sound recordings with transcriptions, quizzes at 3 skill levels, a game, pop-up definitions, and presentation-making software.
   

Section A, The Natural History and Geography of California

Satellite Images and Maps · Tectonic Plates, Earthquakes, Volcanoes · The Land and the Climate · The Coast Region · The Central Valley · California’s Mountain Areas · The Deserts

Section B, Native Californians

The Tribes · The Foods of Native Californians · Homes of Native Californians · Canoes · Money · Women and Children · Dances, Games, Customs

Section C, Spanish Exploration and Colonial History

Christopher Columbus · Explorers Who Followed Columbus · Cortés and the Maya · Pizarro, De Soto, Coronado · The Spaniards and the Indians · The First Explorations of California · Francis Drake and the Other Early Voyagers Along the California Coast · The First Spanish Missions · The Sacred Expedition and the San Francisco Bay · The Early Mission Period, 1769 Through 1781 · Moving Into the Bay Area · The Later Mission Period, 1782 Through 1817 · The Russians in California

Section D, Mexican California, the Emigrants, War, Independence

California, a Mexican Province · Traders and Trappers · Life in Mexican California · American Emigrants Headed West · California Life in the Mid-19th Century · Texas Becomes Independent; the Mexican War · The Bear Flag Revolt and the American Conquest

Section E, How the Gold Rush Changed California

The Years Just Before the Gold Rush · The Discovery of Gold · The Gold Rush · The Work of Finding Gold · Life in the Diggings · Toward Statehood · The Constitutional Convention · The Early Days of Statehood · The Growing City of San Francisco · Tensions Between Racial and Ethnic Groups · The Californians and the Indians · People and Events, 1848-1859

Section F, The Frontier State, 1860-1890

Agriculture, Fruit Growing, Ranching · Emigrants and Immigrants · Urban Life · Mining · Business, Industry, Labor · Transportation · Politics, Politicians, Courts · Architecture · California’s Many Cultures · Women, Women’s Rights · Writers, Publications · Art and Artists · Schools and Colleges · California’s Natural Beauty · Health and Medicine · People, Places and Events 1860-1890

Section G, The Progressive Era, 1890-1920

Agriculture, Fruit Growing, Ranching · Urban Life · The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake · Business, Industry, Labor · Transportation · Politics, Politicians, Courts · Architecture · California’s Many Cultures · Women, Women’s Rights · Writers, Publications · Art and Artists · Schools and Colleges · California’s Natural Beauty · Science · Wars and Defense · Sports and Recreation · People, Places and Events

Section H, Boom Times, 1921-1929

Agriculture, Fruit Growing, Ranching · Urban Life · Business, Industry, Labor · Motion Pictures · Transportation · Politics, Politicians, Courts · Architecture · California’s Many Cultures · Women, Women’s Rights · Art and Artists · Schools and Colleges · Science · Wars and Defense · Sports and Recreation

Section I, The Depression Years, 1929-1940

People, Places and Events · Agriculture, Fruit Growing, Ranching · Dams and Floods · The Depression · Business, Industry, Labor · Transportation · Politics and Politicians · Architecture · California’s Many Cultures · Writers, Publications · Art and Artists · Science · Sports and Recreation

Section J, World War II

California’s War · Persons to Remember · The Japanese-American Relocation · Agriculture, Dams, Canals · Urban Life · Business and Industry · Motion Pictures, Radio · Writers, Composers, Artists · California’s Many Cultures · Science

Section K, California, a Postwar Mecca

Urban Life · People to Remember · Civil Strife · Business, Industry · Motion Pictures · Politics and Politicians · Writers, Publications · California’s Many Cultures · Schools and Colleges · Musicians, Composers · Wars and Defense · Sports and Recreation

Section L, California Today

Urban Life · Agriculture · The Restless Earth · Business and Industry · Motion Pictures and Television · Musicians · Politics and Politicians · Writers · California’s Many Cultures · Sports and Recreation · Toward the Future

History of California Master Guide

Many CD-ROM users purchase a copy of the 408-page Master Guide.  Designed for use with either the Videodisc or the CD-ROM, it contains a written copy of the 1,759 captions (articles) which accompany the images, as well as 60 captions for the film clips.  There are two sets of captions (articles); one at a 4th/5th grade reading level, and the other at full adult (teacher/AP) level.  The Master Guide also includes suggestions for use, and a very thorough index.  PowerPoint users often use the Master Guide to locate items quickly, then pull the items directly into their presentations.