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At the Handheld Learning Festival I attended a session by Ollie Bray from Learning and Teaching Scotland, he went through a variety of websites that could be used to support teaching and learning.  One of his suggestions was Bing, Microsofts new search engine, Ollie didn’t mention it for it search capabilities but for the picture on its homepage.

When you move your mouse over the picture on the homepage there are several notes/questions about the picture.  As the picture changes daily this could be a nice activity at the start of a lesson.

The latest ictopus newsletter mentioned a website which enabled pupils to read newspaper style articles about the Tudoes, WWII, Victorians and Romans. So I headed to http://www.headlinehistory.co.uk/ to take a look. Its even better than that – pupils can read about selected events of these eras but then are encouraged to act in the role of journalist and write about the events themselves, to ‘interview’ characters – there are video clips and also transcripts of previous live hot seat interviews. This is a really excellent resource for KS2 and really worth having a look at!

The Great Fire of London is a topic in some of our primaries right now.  A great interactive resource produced by the Museum of London can be found by clicking this link.  It involves working through an amount of historical evidence and deciding which is relevant to finding out about the fire, as well as learning through the experiences of people who were actually there. There’s a quiz here too (at funtrivia).

Despite the obvious learning opportunities it offers, sometimes it’s difficult to justify buying a digital video camera for everybody.  There are limitations to using a DV camera; usually you need to connect the camera to the computer to get the video from it, and it’s unlikely that there will be enough for the whole class to use anyway.  What’s needed is a quick and easy-to-use portable device with removable storage, so while one pupil is editing their video, another can be using the camera.

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A new video conferencing programme for schools run by Parliament’s Education Service

As part of a new video conferencing programme offered by the Education Service at the Houses of Parliament, these pilot sessions focus on the issue of Prison Reform in order to bring to life the role of Parliament, both historically and in the present time.  The conferences include the opportunity to talk with a member of the House of Commons or House of Lords

Set amidst the backdrop of Victorian prison reform, the session is based in 1878 as the government takes control of the prison system.  Your students will meet a Victorian prison governor and a long-time prisoner as they talk about their experiences of life in Pentonville Prison.

During the workshop, your group are encouraged to engage with both characters, played by costumed actors, and to ask questions before being led into a debate on the issues surrounding the prison system and its purpose.

Students will explore what prison is for and whether it works from both historical and contemporary angles; developments in the prison system and the role played by Parliament in its reform; as well as the future of prisons today.

A member of the House of Commons or House of Lords will be invited to conclude the workshop and discuss the role of Parliament in relation to this issue*.

A pack of preparation materials will be sent to you in advance of the session, including background information and discussion topics, to help your students prepare their arguments in advance of debating the issues involved.

To book, please call the Education Service on 0207 219 2105

Available: 12 May – 23 May 2008
Duration: 1 hour
Cost: free of charge
Suitability: Years 8 and 9 (KS3)

*Please be aware that on occasion due to the nature of Parliamentary business, Members of both Houses can be called away at short notice.

Parliament’s Education Service
Parliament’s Education Service works with schools and Members of both Houses of Parliament to support young people in developing their understanding of Parliament and democracy. It runs a busy visits programme all year round and provides printed and online resources for schools.
http://www.parliament.uk/education

In February the SEGfL funded the development of a new VC workshop at the National Archives based on the English Civil War, and due to its popularity and success another week of Civil War videoconferences is being run this May.

The session is targeted at KS3, year 8 and will be based on a role play that will take you and your pupils back in time to 1642. The key characters will lead your pupils, who will be Royalists and Puritans alike, in an inspiring debate on the causes of the civil wars. Together they will argue the causes of the civil wars and the attitudes of people to them at the time.

In order to prepare for and research their part in the debate, a pack of preparation materials and teacher’s notes, are available online at http://www.learningcurve.gov.uk/workshops/civilwar.htm. The pack includes copies of original documents and simplified transcripts, such as the very important ‘ Petition from the citizens of London, Sept 1640’ on which the pupils structure their arguments.

A flyer can be found here with all the details on the workshop and how to book. The week of workshops will take place 14th May to the 18th May 2007 and are free and open to all.

Hurry to book your place!

Regards Heather
Heather Pettitt
SEGfL Project Officer
Easthampstead Park
Wokingham
RG40 3DF
Web: www.segfl.org.uk

If you have the latest version of Google Earth installed, you can now access a collection of historical map overlays, such as a 1790 world globe. In the layers section, select All Layers, then look for Featured Content > Rumsey Historical Maps. Then get ready to be wowed!

To mark this year’s anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, The Parliamentary Archives and Show Me (www.show.me.uk) are launching a competition to win a trip to Parliament.

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British History Online is the digital library containing some of the core printed primary and secondary sources for the medieval and modern history of the British Isles. Created by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust, we aim to support academic and personal users around the world in their learning, teaching and research.