FAQ

How is your site different from a conventional document reader?

First, our site has 1,200 primary documents and counting—more than could ever fit inside any printed reader. But just as crucial, we pair those documents with in-depth analysis and commentary written by historians. You can hide this commentary from your students, ask them to do their own assessment, then reveal the analysis so that students can compare their work with that of the historians that wrote our commentary. In short, Milestone Documents is more powerful and flexible than any traditional document reader.

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What is the cost?

When used in conjunction with a class, the site costs $19.95 per student per semester. In most cases, students pay the fee on their own, just as they would pay for a printed book. However, we do offer the ability for secondary schools and colleges and universities to pay the fee on behalf of their students.

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I want to use the site for my own purposes and not with my classes. What are my options?

We have a great solution for you: Sign up for an individual Educator plan instead. This will give you full access to all of our documents and commentary as well as our large bank of teacher resources, including lesson plans and handouts (which you are free to print and distribute to your students). Click here to learn more.

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How do students get access to the site?

Once you list the site on your syllabus, students come to our site and create their own account. For schools or institutions that prefer to pay for their students, we can create the student accounts on our end and e-mail the individual access information to each student. If you prefer to work through your institution’s bookstore, contact us and we will get in touch with them.

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Can your site be used in high schools?

Absolutely. Our content is appropriate for high schools in addition to community colleges and universities. It is especially useful for AP history courses that emphasize the teaching of history through primary sources.

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Can I turn off the analysis and commentary?

Yes, educators can hide and reveal some or all of the analysis and commentary if you so choose. This will allow you to have students analyze a document without any aid. You can then reveal the analysis, enabling both you and the student to compare his/her analysis to the commentary by our scholars.

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I don’t see a particular primary source that I want to include. Will you add it for me?

In most cases, yes. We ask that you send us the title of the document you’d like us to add. Keep in mind that we typically need a few weeks to find and digitize the document text, make sure it is formatted properly, and secure permission to reprint it if necessary. You are not responsible for any permissions costs; we will pay those fees.

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Which kinds of courses can your site be used with?

Our site is extremely well suited to U.S. and world history surveys, Western Civilization introductory courses, African American history courses, and courses related to world religions. Our coverage can also be used for courses on American government, the American presidency, woman’s history, Asian history, and Latin American history.

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How do I assign readings to my students?

We will assist you in the creation of a class page, and you can also list your assigned documents on your syllabus. Not sure which documents to use? We’ll suggest readings for the course you are teaching. We’ll also send you our complete coverage of the subject so that you can refine your reading list as you see fit.

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Can the documents be printed out?

Yes. Simply print from your browser bar or type Ctrl+P while viewing the desired content.

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Does your site work with the iPad?

Yes! Milestone Documents looks and functions great on the iPad. Simply access the site through the Safari browser.

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Does your site work with Blackboard?

You can link to our site from within your Blackboard account or other Learning Management System. Our site is on the open Web and can be linked to from any source. You can also list our site as a required text for your class through Blackboard (version 9.1); when you assign your textbook, choose “Manual Entry Textbook” and be sure to include our URL. At this time, our site’s content cannot be viewed directly in Blackboard or any other Learning Management System.

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Can your site be used with home schoolers?

Most definitely. We suggest that parents purchase an Educator plan (monthly or annual), which will give them access to all of our teacher resources, including lesson plans and handouts. Parents can then simply share their account login/password with their children (maximum of 8), allowing the students full access to our documents and commentary.

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Is there a way to highlight and bookmark passages on your site? Can passages be annotated?

Yes. Our site works very well with Diigo, a free Web service that allows you to highlight and annotate any Web page. Visit Diigo.com to create a free account and download a browser toolbar.

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Where can I see a complete list of the documents you include on the site?

Simply send us an e-mail, and we will pass along a spreadsheet containing our complete list of more approximately 1,200 documents, organized by subject area.

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Who wrote the analysis and commentary on your site?

Our analysis and commentary was written by a global team of nearly 300 historians from around the world. Their bylines and affiliations are on view near the top of every document page. See our contributor list.

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Does your content database include images, video, and audio?

Our site includes several hundred images of individuals, documents, and political cartoons. As yet we do not offer a repository of audio or video clips or a searchable image bank. However, we are working on developing these features and look forward to making them available in the near future.

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