Shane
Applying History Content through Technology in the Classroom
Numerous methods have emerged in recent years to facilitate student engagement with and learning in the subject of history.
From document based analysis to contextualization, students are increasingly challenged to not only master facts and figures but also draw conclusions and use this content to advance arguments.
Technology, when leveraged well, can be an invaluable tool in pushing this process forward.
Through the creation of memes, students can incorporate content into a witty remark that presses them to understand and critically use information.
Infographics
The development of infographics enables students to develop skills in identifying and synthesizing pertinent information and effectively presenting this content visually in a captivating manner.
In this assignment, students engaged with a text and a video on the Carolingian Empire and were subsequently tasked with employing this content to develop an infographic in small groups of 2-3 students. This output could ideally be used, for example, to accompany a textbook excerpt.
Canva is a free useful tool for students to create these infographics. Educators can create their own classroom and include students in their courses. The platform provides a range of ready-made templates or students can develop their own.
Memes
A regular go-to when the moment calls for levity is the student creation of memes. This assignment enables students to apply content in a critical and witty manner and proves an effective assessment tool. It could also be useful for unit review purposes. There are numerous meme generator websites like imgflip or kapwing.
A student created meme on Ancient Greece (Pericles)
A student created meme on Ancient Greece (women's rights in Athens)
A student created meme on peasant life during the Early Middle Ages (making a home)
A student created meme on the angst of knights before the Crusades.
This Tweet in History
This activity enables students to apply new content by immersing themselves in past events and taking on the role of different historical figures. The activity could be employed for any topic - in my class students first learn about the Punic Wars as part of our Roman Republic unit. Based on what they learn about this conflict from the assigned video, students are tasked in groups with preparing a day's worth of tweets (5-6 tweets) from the perspective of one of the participants. Tweets should follow the criteria of the platform (280 character limit, use of creative #s, relevant @s, etc...). A variety of "participant" options are provided: Hannibal, Salt Poured on Carthage, War Elephant, Scipio, Roman Soldier, Mediterranean Sea. Students make use of Tweet generator websites like TweetGen.
Digital Newspaper
The creation of a digital newspaper is an excellent project for students to critically engage with content and practice tech skills. In my classes, students design them in groups as part of our Ancient Rome unit. Immersing themselves in the time period of our study, students are required to prepare a variety of sections (e.g. business, travel, current events, op-ed, arts and culture, life) incorporating both feature stories and interactive supplements (advertisements, weather/stocks, political cartoons, comics, sketches, recipes). Making optimal use of the digital space, the newspapers should also integrate different mediums (e.g. podcast, video interview, graphic art). A variety of tools are introduced to students as part of this project including Canva, which includes useful features for newspaper design and editing, Sway (a terrific hosting platform), and Wix (an easy to use website builder).
Students can choose to include a variety of different sections in their newspapers including comics.
Padlet Maps
Padlet is a tool that provides numerous avenues, from gallery walks to discussions, to explore history. The map feature, in particular, can enable students to engage with place as part of this interrogation (e.g. mapping out the Silk Road). A potential year opener activity that I use with my students involves giving them the power of a time machine. They are asked: what particular time period and civilization/place from the past would you want to visit? Students are provided some time to research/reflect and then pin their places on the map, share a 75-100 word explanation on their choice, and include a relevant image.
