Learning about primary sources in an archives where students can see and examine materials is a unique opportunity. This exercise aims to provide a similar level of hands-on active learning while students attend a synchronous class online.

This text is intended to help students understand how to use primary sources and how to research at the University of Baltimore Special Collections & Archives in order to explore potential research topics regarding 20th century social history, arts history, cultural history, and more, in Baltimore, Maryland. The class activity is designed to be completed synchronously in an online learning environment using video conference tools such as Zoom in order to provide students with a collaborative group based experience.