World Hisory Through The Eyes Of A Child.

The seventh grade curriculum, written in conjunction with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards, requires students to research various world history events. In the past, it was difficult for my students to see the relevance of these events. The places seemed distant and people very different.
Many of our students have a home life that does not provide them with a context to understand or relate to world history. It has been a challenge to bring these historical events to life for my students so that they can make the connections necessary to prepare them for the future as it relates to themselves, society and the world. A good working knowledge of world history is essential in developing citizens that are prepared to function in the global and multicultural society.
Then it came to me - interactive technology. I could bring historical events to life through Mac and I-Movie software. Students are asked to learn about a world event so that they can create an authentic multimedia presentation to be shared with an authentic audience. The authenticity of the task gives it real meaning to the students and it empowers them to learn more and be creative.
Students are able to summarize the event, script and produce the documentary to share with others what they have learned using this information, equipment and software . Each documentary will include: voice narrations, jpeg pictures from various sources, (scanned from textbook, designated websites, and student created pictures) The documentary will also include video that will demonstrate their perspectives on the historical event. Students will also publish their documents through podcasts.
Since the inception of this project I have seen classroom participation increase, student engagement increase, class grades improve and discipline problems decrease. I have found when I empower my students and allow them to use technology as a tool in their learning the classroom becomes more dynamic and rewarding for students.
Learning in the content field is learning through participation and practice. By developing a historical documentary, students enhance their perceptual and technical skills, and learn collaborative techniques that apply to a successful completion of the task. Not only is there a focus on historic content, but also it provides a challenging and integrative technique that motivates students to understand important events. In the end , a documentary could be made of each unit that is presented in our textbook.
Through the integration of technology student engagement has increased and students are excited about learning. One 7th grader said, “I always hated history, it seemed so boring. Now I love it. I even see how I can relate it to my life!” Since the use of interactive technology, average grades have improved by 25%.
In addition, student behavior has improved. Overall students are more on task and I have had less office referrals since the integration of interactive technology. Students are more involved in their work and therefore less likely to be distracted. Students that complete the projects are asked to share their unique perspectives about the world history event. They use higher order thinking skills to make connections to their lives, synthesize and evaluate the effects of these events. Students that have had difficulty thinking about these events critically have shown marked improvement when completing these interactive technology tools.