The Nixonian King
It was Henry Tudor’s Birthday on Saturday!! Or would have been, if he had possessed a sort of rarefied human longevity that matched his legendary wealth. The man who founded England’s most famous and popular dynasty, the all-conquering Tudors, was born on January 28th in 1457. His mysterious, secretive personality, grasping acquisitiveness, extraordinarily canny political nouse and ceaseless intelligence gathering secured the throne for him in the most febrile of circumstances throughout 24 years of sinister rule. He bequeathed England his son, Bluff King Hal, and grand-daughter, Gloriana the Virgin Queen. He remains relatively unknown, but the brilliant book by Thomas Penn, “The Winter King”, has come as close as anything to unravelling the secrets of the first Tudor’s rule. A sort of Nixonian king who isn’t particularly likeable but is endlessly fascinating.
The Battle of Hastings - According to The Sun
The Sun has got into History, with a sequence of mocked up front pages on its special website, “Hold Ye Front Page” about various significant historical events. These include:
The best WW2 blog on the web?
Laurence Rees’ World War Two blog is a hugely useful resource. Regularly updated it provides indepth analysis and comparisons - all drawing on Rees’ expert knowledge. I’d recommend it as an excellent extension resource for A Level students.
Who’s who in Tudor History
This site is particularly helpful for those starting A2 courses in Tudor History. It allows you to keep track of the main figures of the period, showing in particular how their titles and job descriptions changed over time. It comes from tudorhistory.org which has a wealth of other useful information, including a blog
Civilisation: Is the West history?
I attended a talk by Niall Ferguson at the RSA last Thursday - a launch event for the new Channel 4 Series which kicks off on Sunday 6th March. The audio of his talk can be found here. In the series Niall Ferguson explores how Western civilization - a clear minority of mankind - secured a lion’s share of the world’s resources, and examines whether the West is about to be overtaken by the rest. More details here - the series will be available through Channel 4 on Demand (4OD)
Valkyrie at the History Film Club!
Most teachers are aware of the history film dilemma. There are an increasing number of really good ‘history’ films out there, both the reasonably accurate and the laughably inaccurate, and all types offer a chance to invigorate a bit of classroom work on the relevant topic. But with increasing pressure on classroom time - much of it seeping away due to January modules, university open days, the odd snow day, field trips by other departments – it really is difficult to justify devoting whole lessons to the showing of a film (if it ever really was, but who hasn’t occasionally taken refuge in one!). One solution, of course, is the glorious ‘watch this film’ homework, worth setting for the looks of bemusement followed by delight on student faces. That’s one homework that gets done! But solution number 2, and a more collective one, is the History Film Club. Some of my sixth form historians have set one up after school on a Monday evening, using the interactive whiteboards as a decent substitute cinema screen, and it is not only proving quite popular but is provoking interesting discussions afterwards. First off was “Valkyrie”, the controversial Tom Cruise vehicle.
read more...»Untold Stories: Survivors of the Rwandan genocide interviewed by students
To mark Holocaust Memorial Day, Survivors Fund (SURF) has launched a new education microsite which conveys the untold stories of an array of UK-based survivors of the Rwandan genocide through film.
The microsite features excerpts of interviews with an array of UK-based survivors, all of whom are playing an active role in raising awareness of the genocide and the situation of survivors today as part of SURF’s Speaking2Survivors project. Supplementing the interviews are a series of specially designed lesson activities.
London History Network
The London History Network made its debut on Friday night at the Department of Education. Organised by Esther Arnott from Lampton School, the meeting saw around forty History teachers from around the capital hear excellent talks detailing example of brilliant resources and active and engaging enquiries from Richard McFahn and Neil Bates.
The next meeting will be held sometime in March. The Network’s website has more details for anyone interested in attending.
The King’s Speech, Hollywood History And An Unconstitutional Act
Hollywood is in love with the British monarchy again. The King’s Speech is the surprise Oscar nominee that seems to be sweeping all before it with a heart-warming tale of a reluctant king over-coming his stammer to lead his country in defiance against one of the twentieth century’s worst monsters. There’s even a cameo for Britain’s Greatest Ever Prime Minister, as he offers sage advice to the introverted future monarch. Well, quite. Just as the film is beautifully made, wonderfully directed and sublimely acted, and rightly on course for its Oscars, it also manages to show just how much history is surrendered to art in the making of historical dramas. A backlash is already beginning against its re-writing of history, and few are more trenchant than British ex-pat and enfant terrible, Christopher Hitchens, in this article for online magazine Slate.
read more...»In Parliament we trust
read more...»
HOD History vacancy - Sha Tin College, Hong Kong
Interested in teaching in Hong Kong? A (very rare) HOD position is available at Sha Tin College in Hong Kong.
If interested, please visit the school website for further details.
Dressing up a Victorian Pharmacy
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t3zhy
I feel that Historical Re-enactors do not get the recognition they deserve for developing Historical ideas, this is due, I think, to the majority being interested in Military History. This BBC Two Programme Victorian Pharmacy is from the people who made Victorian Farm, and thus comes with many of the weaknesses of that programme. This has, I feel far more educational potential, the practices and remedies of the Victorian era are explained simply, this is the benefit of BBC programmes produced with half a mind to the Foreign, and especially American re-sales; the commentary in simplified, allowing us to use it in the classroom. The Programme can currently be viewed on the BBCi Player, which is available in the more enlightened schools and colleges, but I personally feel that it needs editing for use in the classroom, where it can be used for the KS4 Medicine Through Time, or more generally when looking at the Victorian Era.
There is, obviously, a ‘Book to accompany the series’, [Link to Amazon Books] at £10, this is reasonable for a reference book. The book would probably be of even more use than the TV series, especially in providing good information on Jesse Boots and detailed recipes of lotions and potions, but I do not feel safe in recommending a book I have not seen yet.
This has been decribed by the BBC as ‘An Historical Documentary’, to be fair, it is of a type of Programme, not really designed as a Documentary in the usual sense, but of this type of programme, despite the drawbacks, such a having to address current Health & Safety concerns, it can be used in a useful way to demonstrate some parts of medical understanding in the Victorian era, it can also be used to demonstrate Historical re-enactment, and our attitudes towards representations of the past.
Making History Website
The Institute of Historical Research have produced a new website called Making History which should come in very handy, especially for UCAS personal statement writers and A-Level students looking for historical interpretations. It has a database of significant historians, and examines the significant themes that have affected history over the last hundred years, such as Cultural History, Marxist History, Social History, etc and the leading historians associated with them. There are also plenty of articles on all kinds of subjects such as Family History, Film History, History and Computing, and so on. It should make an excellent starting point for those considering historiography or preparing for university interviews and tests.
5,000 maps to choose from
http://etc.usf.edu/maps/index.htm
Maps ETC is a part of the Educational Technology Clearinghouse, produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education, University of South Florida.
A friendly license allows teachers and students to use up to 25 maps in non-commercial school projects without further permission. All maps are available as GIF or JPEG files for screen display as well as in PDF for printing. Use the GIF or JPEG maps for classroom presentations and student websites. Use the PDF maps for displays, bulletin boards, and printed school reports.
Put simply these maps are available for educational use. The maps are grouped, and then presented in a chronological order, although there are some anomalies, it is rather time consuming to search through the maps, but the thumbnails help. This is certainly a service that can be made use of. I especially like the Google Earth Help page, which help one use these maps in Google Earth.
Speaking2Survivors - an Interview with a survivor of the Rwandan genocide: clips now live
The Speaking2Survivors event - when students from two schools put questions submitted from schools from around the country to a survivor of the Rwandan genocide took place on Monday. Clips from the interview, arranged by question can be seen here.
Wild about the Frontier
http://apps.facebook.com/frontierville/
Ok I know Facebook is blocked by most institutions, but only someone living in a cave for the past 10 years would be unaware of Facebook. Frontierville, is an app, continuing on the Zynga games label, games such as Cafe World and Farmville had me wasting time. I saw the educational benefits of Farmville for KS2, although had difficulty taking it further due to the 13 year limit for Facebook. With Frontierville, these problems have been overcome, as KS4 has an SHP depth study, the American West. I can see how Frontierville would be a a wonderful incentive, becoming a talking point for students studying the American West. I admit it is only a bit of fun, but have found that a bit of fun goes a long way in persuading people to put in a little extra effort. Thus this is not really a site which can be used for strictly pure educational purposes, but, rather highlights a way to communicate with students and inspire them to think differently.
Speaking2Survivors: An opportunity to interview a survivor of the Rwandan genocide
July 5th 2010 sees the opportunity for young people from schools around the UK to speak to survivors of the Rwandan genocide in a web chat hosted by Survivors Fund (SURF).
Questions submitted by students will be answered by survivors now living in the UK. The responses that the survivors give will be filmed and posted on the SURF website for schools to view and learn from.
As well as young people from schools, a number of dignitaries, will be asking the survivors questions and talking about the importance of remembering the terrible events of 1994. These will include Jon Snow, Emma Thompson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Michael Mansfield QC, Lord Carey, Dan Snow and Tony Blair.
For more information on how to access the event please see the Survivors Fund website
WW2history.com: A new resource from Laurence Rees
Laurence Rees, the man behind TV series such as The Nazis: A Warning From History that I use in the classroom a lot, has recently launched a new multimedia website on World War Two. Rees uses an interactive timeline, bite-sized films and interviews with eye-witnesses and leading historians to cover the entire conflict. The site is based on a subscription model but the rate that we pay as a school is very reasonable and a big discount to that quoted.
History Pin, Just what I was looking for
As you may have guessed I have a soft spot for Google Streetview, well now they have stolen my idea and posted it as an application, seriously though, I like this adaptation of streetview, it is something I was looking to do as soon as Streetview became available. Basically one posts old photographs, and places them on the current streets, doing the then and Now I tried a few years back, see http://thenandnow.edublogs.org/about/additional-resources/history-pin/ for how it links to this work. I am certainly going to be using it when looking at local History, the only drawback I can see is the copyright issue of using old photographs that belong to someone else, and the ‘story’ that goes with it does not explain where the photo comes from, there are some good examples (Newcastle Theatre) is a good one.
It is certainly worth a look although it would be useful to be able to embed the link into a website.
History and Policy do mix
http://www.historyandpolicy.org/
The History & Policy website aims to connect historians, policymakers and the media, it claims it has been providing policy-relevant history since 2002.
The site was set up by Cambridge historians Alastair Reid and Simon Szreter as a forum for historians to discuss the policy implications of their research and make it accessible to non-academic audiences. It certainly has some very interesting articles from well respected and renowned Historians. This site is certainly of interest for those of us looking for the relevance of current events to Historical events, it appears that this site is not aimed at educators, but despite this I still feel it is useful.
The major strength of the site is the H&P papers section, as these are not especially long, they are almost summaries of latest thinking, something useful for those of use pressed for time, for example the Genocide: twentieth-century warnings for the twenty-first century paper did not provide me with anything new, but it neatly summarised the arguments and ideas we have been discussing regarding linking the Holocaust to other genocides, at first I though the accompanying reading list was rather limited but then quickly realised (when I looked at the publication dates) that the reading list is of the current thinking, a bonus for those of us outside Academia who are looking to keep abreast of the latest research. A further gem on the site is the News section which links the papers very strongly to news items. The events section is also of some interest. personally I would have liked to have seen an RSS feed of the News section, alas I will have to settle for Twitter updates.
A wonderful vision of Britain
http://visionofbritain.org.uk/index.
This website A Vision of Britain through time provides maps, statistics and historical descriptions of almost every settlement in Britain, it is a treasure trove of statistical information which can be used for Local History study. The Historical maps section provides maps from the 19th and 20th Centuries, allowing change and continuity activities. The election results are particularly useful, providing a one stop site for comparison over time or place. The links to census reports can also be used in conjunction with the other two sections. I found the Travel writing most interesting, it is certainly a section of the site which can be used for classroom resources. The Learning resources on the site are very limited, despite this I think this site has huge potential for those of us willing to use the information provided to produce good quality classroom resources.
The History of Nuclear Weapons - Interactive Timeline
A neat interactive timeline here charts the development of the arms race and subsquent negotiations and treaties on disarmament.
The BBC Archive collections
What a wonderful opportunity to explore the BBC archives, through these themed collections of radio and TV programmes, documents and photographs. One advantage of this site is that there can be no reason for SLTs in schools to block this site, making some interesting and sometimes unique broadcasts available. For example the ‘Chamberlain returns from Munich’ clip gives us a full six minutes of Dimbleby observation and explanation, before Prime Minister Chamberlain makes his now infamous statement and waves the piece of paper. Certainly this broadcast is an invaluable resource, I feel that the BBC has provided us with some special resources here.
The Synopsis for each clip provide valuable provenance, making the whole package useful. The only drawback with the site, I would foresee, is that, I for one, will be exploring in detail the interesting material, and would probable quickly fall off-task.
I think that this site can be used by teachers to provide interesting and unusual classroom resources, and can also be given to students for independent research. I would love to be able to download or embed the video and audio clips, but understand why this is blocked. The ‘Meet the Experts’ section can also be used for examining the increasingly popular aspect of assessing audio and video sources of information, an Historical skill.
Magna Carta close up and personal
http://www.bl.uk/treasures/magnacarta/index.html#
Magna Carta is one of the most celebrated documents in history. Examine the British Library’s copy close-up, translate it into English, hear what our curator says about it, and explore a timeline.
The British Library, like The National Archives have gone a long way to publish their treasures electronically. These series of pages devoted to Magna Carta are wonderfully thought out, providing educators with a series of resources. The Virtual Curator provides answers to most questions one will need asking about this special document, with Claire Breay presenting a nice and friendly face, although I don’t think they have chosen the best photograph. The translation is very useful, enabling copy & paste.I especially like the Themes and People sections as these can be used for depth studies, as well as setting the document in it’s historical context. I do feel that the Magna Carta is so significant that it deserves special treatment, and the British Library has done so here.
Timelines and 3D Models
The TimeRef website is a useful source of detailed information about Medieval and Tudor England. It has plenty of timelines and allows you to customise your own. It also has a section of 3D models and “tours” of castles and cathedrals, and a useful guide to heraldry.
Video History Today
http://www.videohistorytoday.com/
Maurice Savage had an idea, as school trips became increasingly difficult he thought he would allow students to see footage of visits he had made. He quickly set up http://www.videohistorytoday.com/ the first web site dedicated to providing schools with modern, adaptable video clips recorded at places of historical interest. The site contains video images recorded on the actual sites of major historical events, his aim was to provide students with the basic ingredients to produce video essays and mini-documentaries. I became involved when he looked to publicise his materials, unfortunately this was just as the Youtube hysteria set in, so we had to find another way to allow access. This is when Maurice had the idea of putting the clips into collections, there are now seven Video Collections, designed to be used by teachers and students to help in the study of four major events in World History, and as each collection is provided on a 4GB USB memory stick these can be accessed by students and teachers. There is also a new Download facility on the site.
There are numerous ways in why the clips can be used; from the simple presentation of material to more detailed analysis, thus they can be used for KS3, KS4, A Level and University students. For example a study of the White House pits at Auschwitz-Birkenau ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sgoNS0jTL4 ), can be enhanced by the use of Video History Today footage of the site, linked to a Google Earth Placemark, setting the information in context, as well as providing an interesting alternative presentation of the information. This site contains a virtual treasure trove of material, and fully deserves recognition
Streets of Pompei in Google Street View
As you may be aware I am a fan of Google Street View, Google maps and Google Earth. I was therefore pleased to find Pompeii added to the list of locations. Now we can send our students on a short virtual educational visit, without the expense of hotels and flights. The ‘User Photos’ option will be useful, allowing students to take images from the site for annotation. I admit the tour does not get into the buildings, and as such is not really a virtual tour, but I do feel this is a wonderful addition, that can be used to compare and contrast. As a starter activity a search around Pompeii would motivate most teenagers. The theatre and amphitheatre are the most spectacular places to visit, but a simple stroll down some of the streets will add so much to a study of Pompeii. I even feel that the tourists and the building/restoration work, adds to the feel, giving students a greater context in which to study the site. I think this is a wonderful addition, and will enable Google maps to be used effectively in the classroom.
Crime and Punishment Online
http://www.crimeandpunishmentthroughtime.co.uk/index.htm
Like its sister site on Medicine through time from Dan Moorhouse, this site is being developed to provide links to the best teaching and revision materials available for the SHP development study of Crime and Punishment through time. Initially this will consist of linking to materials elsewhere, with regular updates and additions. In time it is planned to develop pupil guides to the key elements of the course and interactive materials to support teaching and learning.Still in its early development this site will quickly become the first stop for teachers and students following this SHP development study.
The link to other sites has become a key aspect of very good sites, for teaching has become much more collaborative, this site highlights the best of this collaboration.
Google Earth’s WWII aerial images
I have used the Google Earth overlay a few times now, but usually with images of the past I have found, thus to find that Google has ‘stolen’ my idea, came as a suprise. In all seriousness, this World War Two overlay is a development of their overlay policy, and it certainly works, the image above of Dresden is particularly significant to me, as I used Google maps to do this some four years ago, and the resulting image had a positive impact on the students. The Warsaw Ghetto, the bombed centre of Berlin and Dresden will be the most popular images I feel, but it certainly shows what can be done. I feel sure many educators will find these overlays useful, I look forward to Google exploring other Historical events in this way.
Prezi’s new Educational License
http://blog.prezi.com/2010/01/24/new-release-features-educational-license-reuse-learn-center/
Just after Christmas I received a message (via Twitter) asking me to write to the CEO of Prezi, to ask, nicely, if they would consider reducing the cost for educational use. I had heard about the power of Twitter, but this was the first time I took an active part - within hours there was a reply, and within days Prezi announced an Educational Licence.
As mentioned in a previous review, I have moved from Powerpoint’s linear presentation to using Prezi for my presentations, and have a few times used it in the classroom, but only as ones and twos, as I signed in for them, giving them an opportunity to play. The Educational licence, at just $59 for the EduPro, will allow schools use Prezi to its highest potential.
The educational licence has three main aspects: upgrade - EduEnjoy (500MB) had the added feature of allowing students and teachers to Choose if a prezi is private, published, or shared with selected individuals, making it useful within a school network; EduPro (2,000MB) has the extra feature of offline production.
Prezi Reuse is the second new feature, this allows a prezi to be edited by multiple users, allowing for collaboration, but also allows for updated prezis, effectively we can load a prezi, alter it and save it as a new Prezi, allowing teachers to see student progress.
Lastly the Learn Centre allows for the sharing of ideas, and information, which should allow even greater use of this tool. Overall I have been impressed by the Prezi, not just the wonderful tool, but also their response to educationalist, giving us a resource we can make use of in the classroom. My thanks go to Peter Arvail, CEO of Prezi for showing us what can be achieved with 2.0 technology.
Lesson Planning - this is Learning Score
Learning Score is an amazing multimedia lesson-planning and delivery tool. My Twitter network highlighted this to me, and although it is not a History resources, I thought it was worthwhile highlighting it. I, like many begrudge writing out lesson plans for observed lessons, interview lessons and (rarely) general lessons, I see the lesson plan as a plan of what I will do in the lesson, not as seems to be the view of SMT as a rigid blow by blow prediction of what is going to happen. I therefore think this tool will be of great benefit, after just 10 minutes on the trial version I was confident I could use it to plan and deliver lessons using it, in fact I think it would improve my lesson planning, getting me to think about the aspect of the lesson, rather than get bogged down in the aims, objectives and outcomes. I think this would be ideal for teacher training, and at just £35 it is not outside most departmental budgets. This has the feel of a tool produced by someone who knows what teaching is about, and for that reason alone I think John Davitt (the inventor) should be applauded, well done John, I am sure you will find many appreciative teachers out there.
Medicine through time Online
http://www.medicinethroughtime.co.uk/
Again I must confess my interests in this site, Dan Moorehouse is a friend and Colleague, thus I have been following the production of this site for some time. He states:
This site has been established to offer support to pupils following a GCSE course that incorporates the SHP development study in medicine through time.
and as someone who teaches this SHP development study I have been watching the resources available carefully. Dan has utilised the new Web 2.0 technology, making the integration of the resources into schemes and lessons easier, I for one follow him/this site on twitter, and would encourage students to do so also, this is but one part of the site. The recently introduced Timelines are very good for independent student research, for that end of period Homework assignment. The revision activities draws on some of the best, newest and most innovative activities available, providing useful links to valuable sites. Although still a ‘work in progress’ this site will surely become the first stop for those of us guiding out students through the SHP Development study, Medicine through Time
David Rumsey’s Map Collection - what a collection
The David Rumsey Map Collection was started over 25 years ago and contains more than 150,000 maps. The collection focuses on rare 18th and 19th century maps of North and South America, although it also has maps of the World, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. The collection includes atlases, wall maps, globes, school geographies, pocket maps, books of exploration, maritime charts, and a variety of cartographic materials including pocket, wall, children’s, and manuscript maps. Items range in date from about 1700 to 1950s.
What we have here is genius, this is something I have done on a local level, and found it to be very useful in getting students to see and explain changes and continuity. The opacity function on the maps works excellently, enabling use of the site for presentations and student research. To be honest this feels like an early Christmas present, a new toy I can spend hours playing with, the drawback is that I feel over use would diminish its impact and it certainly has an impact.
CIA codebreaking
If you or your classes like code-breaking you might enjoy this site from the CIA. There are chances to look at and solve various famous codes from history. Perphaps people who crack them quickly enough get offered a job!
The main site is full of interesting information and primary sources, especially documents on the cold war, including recently declassified Soviet material.
History Books for Christmas
If you are thinking of doing some wider reading over Christmas, or have been asked what you want in your stocking, you may find inspiration at these websites. The Guardian and Telegraph History books sections have excellent reviews, often by historians, and give you a good idea of what is currently being published. Amazon.com of course has a vast range of books and you can see a few of them here.
Here is a specific selection of Tudor History books and here is a guide from tudorhistory.org to useful authors.
Warfare (1) - Auction House Starter Activity
Many thanks to Andy Lawrence for producing this Auction House starter activity quiz on warfare…
read more...»Interactive Illustrated Holocaust Glossary
A Friend and Colleague, Sharon Artley has spent the past two years producing this, for the IWM Fellowship in Holocaust education. She has made this illustrated Glossary available for educational use.
It can be found at: http://smartleydoesit.co.uk/illustrated-holocaust-glossary/
Starter Activity - Cold War Wipeout Challenge
Here’s a great starter activity from Andy Lawrence using tutor2u’s Wipeout Challenge quiz format…
read more...»Historical Ignorance
This article from the Daily Mail has provoked quite a reaction amongst my history students this week. It reports on a survey which states that “Adolf Hitler was Germany’s football team manager, according to youngsters aged nine to 15,” and 12% of the children surveyed thought Remembrance Sunday is represented by the McDonalds logo. Clearly the methods used in the survey have been designed to score an easy headline, and it may help to stimulate a debate about historical significance, and the nature of using evidence in newspaper reports…
Its more than a Modern World History GCSE revision site
John D Clare is a prolific textbook writer, his latest textbook is for the AQA Modern World, this Heinemann published book is part of the new generation of textbooks, but this is not all, the website, which is also well established provides a much needed extra dimension for GCSE.
John will admit to teaching for a number of years, this site provides support and practical advice for students and teachers, John shares his experience. The huge advantage of this site is that one does not need to be taking the AQA course to take advantage of this experience, the advice to teachers is used by experienced teachers as well as newbies, the advice to pupils is clear and concise.
I have used some of the activities and quizzes on the site,despite not taking AQA or Modern World, the self-test activities can be used with KS3 & A Level Students, as they are can be used as they are or as foundations for later activities, I have certainly steered my GCSE & A Level students towads this site, to use it as a tool for good revision. I will also continue to use the site to stucture my courses and revsion activities for my students.
