ActiveHistory Training Day: "Web 2.0 in the History Classroom" 21st May 2010
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I would like to discuss and highly recommend an extraordinary tool for teaching history, Active History, by Mr. Russell Tarr. It can be found by following the link below:
http://www.activehistory.co.uk
ActiveHistory.co.uk is the number one rated history site in the UK, and for good reason. I was so impressed with it last year that I paid for a subscription and recommended that my school do the same so that it could be used by all history teachers. Here are a few examples of the praise it has received:
The "Virtual Interview With Adolf Hitler" [is] an interactive activity that lets you type questions and receive responses...it has drawn a wide audience and inspired controversy in some quarters...But a greater number of visitors, including many teachers, have praised Mr. Tarr's effort to help explain Hitler's rise to power and to show that "Hitler could have happened in any country" ---New York Times on the Web
"To see teaching creativity bubble onto the internet, and regain any lost joy for school, take a trip to Active History...discover an enjoyable, intensely hands-on learning environment...The exercises are witty, irreverent and often brilliant...a labour of love and a genuinely helpful service" ---The Sunday Times
"ActiveHistory.co.uk...aims to provide students and teachers with engaging and original materials to 'spruce up' traditional schemes of work...providing fresh approaches which would be impossible to achieve in a traditional classroom environment"---National Grid for Learning, UK
So what exactly is this site and what makes it so amazing?
It is a resource treasure trove for teaching history to students, targeting those 11 years and older. It is broken down into two year sections, such as 11-12 year olds, 12-13, etc. Each section contains tools, lessons, strategies, games, and activities, all using online technology through the site, and each geared toward that specific age group. For example, these are a small sampling of items available for 11-12 year olds:
1. Coat of Arms: Design your own coat of arms by answering a series of detailed questions about your personality and interests. The computer uses the information to design your shield, choose the colour scheme, and recommend the symbols you should use. A great classroom project which turns into a brilliant display of finished projects!
2. Battle for the Throne: How would you have fared as King of England in 1066? A popular decision-making simulation game designed to get students thinking about the issues rather than just learning the facts.
3. Time Machine Journey: A unique game for learning about life in the Medieval Town and Village. Talk to people, trade objects and use your wits to find the missing pieces of the time machine and return home!
4. Castle: Defence and Attack: A game of strategy: Spend your budget on your choice of features, then read a story of how your castle fares when faced with attack!
Other fantastic resources for older students include:
Interactive Essay Planning Tool: Professor AJP Sailor takes 5 factors and connects them together in endless combinations to help students consider the Origins of World War One and how to link factors in essays.
History Essay Marker: Following from the essay planner, this essay reader provides students and teachers with some initial points to consider about the structure, phrasing and content of the first draft of a history essay. It provides some very detailed ideas about how a written piece can be improved.
An Adventure in the Ottoman Empire: A unique simulation for learning about the Ottoman Empire in the age of Suleiman the Magnificent. Journey around his empire, meet key people, deal with important issues, and try to survive!
Soviet Economy Simulator: Students design their own "5-Year Plans" designed to prepare the USSR for war with the West. They can then compare the results with what actually happened in Stalin's USSR.
History in the News: This widget can be added to your blog, website or wiki. It is updated daily with the latest history-related headlines from around the world. A great way of establishing the contemporary relevance of the subject! ***This one is free so try it out and see what you think.
The most popular activities of all, however, are the Head2Head interviews that students conduct with historical figures. Using artificial intelligence techonlogy, the historical figure answers questions typed by the students. It is hard to do justice to this technology by simply describing it, so see for yourself by using the links below. The first takes you to the Active History site and allows you to question Dr. Fox for free. The other is a youtube video of the Active History site being used in Russel Tarr's class.
http://www.activehistory.co.uk/Miscellaneous/free_stuff/head2head/index.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBZGfEIqyJQ
Target Audiences:
As far as the audience for this tool, there are activities like this for each grade level from middle school through high school. Most of them can easily be adapted for use with the entire class through a powerpoint projector, though if your school bought a license to use the site then each student would have their own login and could do homework own their own, either at home, at a library, or internet cafe.
Teachers of history are also, of course, a major target audience.
Disadvantage:
The only real disadvantage of this tool is that without a computer it is useless, usually either a downright deal-breaker if computer availability for students is an issue, or negligible if the opposite it true.
Advantages:
If you want true engagement and active, deep learning this is the site to help you achieve that with your students. Even the quizzes, exams, and review games are extremely entertaining, often incorporating a game feel. It is fun, interesting, and content-driven. I do not know of a better history teaching resource.
Hope this has been worth reading.
Casey
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