Bringing History to life with digital technologies

I love teaching History and I love using digital technologies (ICTs) to teach History concepts. However, for some teachers, the thought of trying to integrate digital technologies into their curriculum subjects can become overwhelming. In this post I'll show you where to start and outline the benefits of using ICTs to bring history to life in your classroom!

With the introduction of more 1:1 iPad and laptop classrooms, it's easier than ever to obtain access to ICTs in the classroom setting. Teachers who work in 1:1 classrooms know there are huge benefits to using digital technology for learning within the primary classroom. In fact, an independent case study of 6 Australian primary schools using 1:1 laptops, noted that students that used ICTs were more engaged, on task and better differentiated for than non ICT classrooms (Fluck, 2011). Using laptops is fine for upper primary students, who can type and undertake independent research, however, how do you integrate ICTs into lower primary?

Marrying ICTs with a subject such as History is easy, as long as you keep your references and materials focused around the Inquiry questions. Focused historical questions lead students to learn to find evidence to support a statement and this is where QR codes work perfectly with young students.

This is a new product from TechTeacherPto3 and you can see how the QR codes have been used with a scavenger hunt game to keep engagement high. The essential historical element of this activity, is the use of real photographs. Each QR code sends students to a photograph of a real historical item with notes on how each item was used. The recording sheets pose questions that get students to think more deeply, moving them towards higher order thinking, allowing them to create a response based on historical knowledge and understanding rather than guess work.

Try the QR code out below now to see how it works!

Here is another example of using QR codes from the Then and Now Interactive Notebook (also a fantastic way to engage students). The QR code links to a video on how telephones work, which allows students to see how items were actually used, thus allowing them to again think more deeply about how historical items have been replaced or remodelled since then.