Tag Archive for 'History'

Google Docs for Collaboration (Part 3)

Published on 12 July, 2009 in Google Docs and History. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

Well here we are again looking at ways that Google Docs can be used to help improve teaching and learning. My History class students recently wrote an essay in Google Docs which they shared to me as a Collaborator.

I was able to write directly into their essays with feedback (in teacher red of course). I gave them the obvious grammar and spelling corrections along with tips on how to improve their essay structure and writing. I was also able to link them to a model writing plan and essay for this particular answer. This exercise allowed for direct feedback to the students on their written work which, according to a major international study this year, is the key ingredient to effective teaching.

But the collaboration allowed for in Google Docs did not end there. Earlier in the year I had the students create a personal assessment record document from this published template. They collaborated this back to me which I keep in an assessment folder in Google Docs. The students were tasked with reading the feedback I had given them in their online essays and to summarise this in their personal assessment records. Next time they write an essay they will first read what they need to do to improve on their last effort.

Here are some examples of what the students wrote in their summary for their first essay. Students are Year 11 (age 15-16) and the essay was about the reactions to the Treaty of Versailles in the Origins of World War Two Topic:

Student 1: [Merit "B" Grade] – Good structure. Introduction is very good. Sometimes irrelevant, so need to work on cutting down information until only the key points remain. Don’t write the essay like a story, focus on the why as much as the who, what and how. The conclusion was too brief and rushed the end of the essay. It needs to sum up every aspect of the essay, rather than a general overview. The key to getting Excellence is to refine the essay.

Student 2: [Achieved "C" Grade] – Writing style is fine but need to work on content and focus on all the parties involved. I need to stick to my plan and not lose my focus on the question. I also must not give my opinion directly.

Student 3: [Achieved "C" Grade] – In my detail and content i was (waffeling) and much of my content wasnt relavant to what my essay was about. I did this quite alot in my essay and i will have to make sure i dont do it in future. I also should not have used ‘I’ and ‘me’ in my essay because it isnt about my opinion. My spelling also needs some work i shouldnt be in such a rush while writing.

How many times do we hand back marked work where students look at the grade and no further? At least the students have a permanent record of their essay, teacher feedback, a link to model essay, their own summary of where to improve and their grade.

Well, I hope this very practical use of Google Docs is of some use to you.

Google Docs for Collaboration (Part 1)

Published on 26 April, 2009 in Cloud Computing, Cool Tools, Google Docs and History. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , .

This is the first of a sequence of posts that I am going to make about how I am using Google Docs with my classes. We often hear about how wonderful web-based tools are for collaboration and learning in theory, but not so often in practice.

I am fairly new to Google Apps having been convinced by other 2008 eLearning Fellows to give it a try. I just looked at my oldest document and Gmail and they date back to Beginning September 2008 so 8 months experience is what I am giving.

First, I must say that I have become a huge fan of Google Apps, and Google Docs in particular. Here are a few examples of their use with my Year 11 History class:

The students all have their own Google Accounts (our school has a planned shift to Education Edition in the future). With the students quite new to Docs I started them off with a simple task of notes building, to help them become familiar with the environment.

TASK ONE: As the students worked through their online course I provided them with a brief set of notes published online (yes you can publish a document as a web page) which they could copy and paste into their own set of notes. These publish notes were formatted with Headers 1 and 2 – this is important as the students could create an easy table of contents using this formatting.

The requirements that they were given were simple: Go online and find relevant images to embed into their notes. They were studying “The Origins of World War II” topic. With the collaboration facility in Docs I got the students to share their notes document to me as a collaborator. This meant that I could monitor their progress and give them assistance, if needed, and feedback.

One of the students has published his final product. Follow this link to view.

The next History topic (just started) has led to an increase in collaboration between students and the difficulty level of the task.

TASK TWO: Students have now been placed in groups of three (in my view this is an ideal number for online tasks such as this – they can be help more to account by others in the group for their contribution, or lack of). The students were tasked with writing a new set of notes on the new topic which is “New Zealand’s post WW2 Search for Security”. They are given suggested headings and a theme for them to write their content – example here. Students have only just started on this topic/task – it will be interesting to see how they progress.

I will post more on my experiences with Google Docs over the coming month. I can only recommend that you give it a go…..Good Luck!

Timelines using Dipity

Published on 20 December, 2008 in Cool Tools and History. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Hey I just discovered this cool timeline tool which I intend to use next year with my History classes. It is called Dipity and allows the user to create timelines over any period and to post events with multimedia embedded. There is even a function which allows for the presenting of timelines in a “flipbook” format.

This was clearly made as a free social software tool for people to share their travels with each other. I could just imagine getting students either individually or in groups to present a historical topic to the class or via their blog etc. Of course it can be embedded. Here is a sample one that I found on the History of Technology:

Why Choose Moodle?

Published on 26 September, 2008 in Moodle and blended learning. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , .

At a recent presentation I was asked by a Secondary School Senior Manager: “How do I decide what Learning Management System to use?” I have come across this question many times and my answer is to at least NOT let your school technicians influence the decision. The decision should be made on the basis of an investigation of Management Systems and whether or not they provide the tools that the users require. The next question is “who are the users?”

An LMS should first and foremost be considered a Learning tool rather than a management tool and thus it should meet the pedagogical requirements of the users who are the Teachers rather than the Senior Management or Technicians. I have listed below a set of requirements that I looked as a teacher when evaluating different LMS’s:

  1. Content can be organised in the way that I want
  2. It is highly interactive for students
  3. There are many features available from which I can choose from
  4. It is highly intuitive for the users – both the student and the teacher
  5. It is robust enough for anyone to use without breaking
  6. It is reliable and can handle many users
You will note that I did not include cost. As a teacher this is not a concern for me – it is management’s job to make sure that the best LMS is used and to then consider how to cover the cost of implementation.
I chose to use the Moodle LMS because it met the requirements set out above. I will be making additional posts about Moodle and its many features and advantages regularly. Below is a snapshot of one of the courses that I have taught using Moodle with a Year 11 History class. I have also included some labels to highlight some of the features of the course homepage: