This year has been a
year of new ideas. Firstly, this is the first year I have fully implemented the
History subject within the new Australian Curriculum. Secondly, it is the first
year that I have used iPads in my classroom as a tool for learning and
assessment.
Looking back at the
year which is rapidly coming to an end, I am excited about the success I have
had in using iPads with students to engage in historical inquiry in ways that
would not have been possible without digital technology.
Digital technology has
enabled me to collect numerous photographs of our local area that students have
been able to explore, sort, order and select. Using the iPads, students have
been able to examine the images closely. The photographs have inspired
questioning, imagination, inquiry and inferring. Photocopied images in black
and white would have reduced the quality to the point that many of the photos
would have been unrecognisable. Using the original images (if I could even get
hold of them) would be impractical and could be potentially damaging.
At our planning
meeting for Term 2, we had agreed that students would be required to create a
sequence of images and describe how our local war memorial had changed over
time. Teachers not using digital technology gave their students three small,
poor quality photocopies of images preselected by the teachers and had the
students glue these in place and write about the changes. The many students who
struggled with writing gave little detail in their descriptions and could only
show limited understanding of what this local site reveals about the past.
Students using an app
called Sonic Pics on the iPads were able to self-select and sequence three to
five images from a collection of about twenty images that they believed best
revealed particular aspects of local history. They then spoke freely about the
images they had selected, justifying their choices and describing in detail
things that had changed in the local area and the significance of the war
memorial for the community today.
The iPads enabled
young learners to employ higher level thinking skills and to express their own
opinions about what they believed was important in the story about the past.
This term, students
have been exploring changes in technology (particularly toys) and how these
changes have affected the ways people work, travel, communicate and play.
Students are now using
Pic Collage (a free iPad app) to manipulate and annotate images before
transferring them to Sonic Pics to add audio explanation about how toys and
games have changed. Students are able to search for their own images so their
choice of subject is much more personal and not restricted by the teacher’s
choice.
Of course, the
historical inquiry is not restricted to what is able to be done solely with the
iPads. Students have examined artefacts from the museum and those brought in
from homes, and they have also written to their grandparents and posed
questions to them. The grandparents (and aunts, uncles, mothers and fathers who
have also responded) have been an invaluable historical source for the
students. All of this valuable information collected by the students is now able
to be skilfully collated and presented by the students who have become experts
in using technology to create and communicate their ideas.
As a teacher, this
year’s journey into the past using technology of the present, has been a great
learning experience. For the students, using technology has empowered them to
participate in genuine inquiry and to share their ideas with others within the
classroom and beyond.
This is a great post. We haven't started using the History subject within the National Curriculum but I've flagged this post for myself for next year! You're doing some great, innovative things with your class!
ReplyDeleteKylie
Down Under Teacher
Hi Kylie
DeleteFunnily enough, I was just thinking about you and wondering what you are up to.
I will pop on over to your blog and check out your "peek at last week".
I am excited by the learning I have done with my class next year, but mostly because of how I can see much better ways of doing things next time.
This year is the first year I have chronicled my thoughts on my teaching practice and the process has been useful for professional reflection.
I am sorry that not so many other teachers yet see the benefits of it.
The ability to read about other people's journeys is an added bonus.
It makes the journey much more fun with a friend or two.
I am happy to find this post useful for me, as it contains lot of information. Of course, teachers should teach the students new things as well as old things. Thanks though.
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I'm glad I found this post informative because it provides a lot of information. We haven't started using History in the National Curriculum yet, but I've bookmarked this page for next year! You're doing some amazing, creative things with your students
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