c. Selecting ICT Resources

The teacher in the case study is completely at home with the skills behind most of the options we have looked at above, though he does not know an expert he would email in the final option. He has used videos, already has some word-processed materials, he has seen some good sites on the World Wide Web, and he knows how to use a CD-ROM.

You may not be in the same positions as he is, so we shall look at the options in the context of your school and your experience. Think about the following points as they apply to you:

Using discussion only, and not using any ICT (or other technology) at all.
I have a bit of a problem with this (I would say that, wouldn't I?) in as much as my own experience of working with this area of work is that it is both hugely enjoyable - on its own, without technology - and very challenging for young people. Especially in terms of the objectives set for this case study, there is such a wealth of material available from the World Wide Web and CD-ROM, and so much you can do with a couple of good imported images, that I really would want to get the most out of the syllabus, the technology and the pupils by combining some of the options.

Using a word processor package to create worksheets on the area of work, placing some images into the worksheets.
Here the question is one of how much the pupils will learn, retain and organise if the teacher spends his time on creating learning and testing resources using a word processor, and how much they would have done so anyway. My own view is that a picture can paint a thousand words, or at least that a picture can give an extra stimulus to the understanding of features of life in a historically distant environment. It also seems likely that the time spent on creating high quality resources of the sort the teacher wants is likely to be returned in the adaptability and re-usability of the resources.

Using some video and print material, for example news footage, contemporary publications, bespoke learning materials for the area.
This isn't strictly an ICT option, but it would be if it were done in conjunction with the word-processed worksheets or some work on the World Wide Web looking at other materials. The best thing about it is that looking at video and published material provides a range of stimuli to the learner - especially our younger learners with high levels of 'teleliteracy' - and that the videos are themselves presentations of reality and opportunities to discuss how reality has been edited.

Use a CD-ROM to gain access to background material - either general material such as can be found on typical encyclopædias, or more focused resources in CD-ROM Newspaper collections.
The kinds of CD-ROM currently, readily and cheaply available to teachers and the general public really only allow the most general level of understanding about the past. The Encyclopædias such as Encarta, Compton and Hutchinson, the educational materials produced by DK and one or two other companies, and the vast range of other CD-ROM resources, all fall short of real focus on what we want pupils at KS 3 to learn. The newspapers that can be accessed as library resources are better, but they take a great deal of time and money to archive effectively. However, in combination with other techniques, even the most general CD-ROM product can be of use.

Use the World Wide Web to gather resources.
The following web addresses provide interesting sources of information:

General History - Wales and Industry

www.bbc.co.uk/knowledge/voyager/history/index.shtml

www.great-britain.co.uk/wales/htm

www.aber.ac.uk/~spk/tourwales/industry.html

History of Swansea

www.swansea-gower.demon.uk/01TOUR.HTM

www.swansea.gov.uk/aboutswansea/historic.htm

www.swep.co.uk/index.html

www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/GLA/swansea/

When you come to use the World Wide Web to deal with this area of work, you should try to restrict yourself (and the pupils) to these sites. Wandering off into hyperspace can be a waste of time without the right focus and the right discipline.

Use the World Wide Web for the resources, and locate an expert or a peer working on the subject for e-mail communication.
The obvious problem here is the location of an expert. Some web sites invite exchange of observations by email, and these may be included in your list above. You still have the problem of managing this type of communication, though, and especially of ensuring that the respondents in cyberspace really are the experts they claim to be.

Now that you've looked at my ideas about the options available, you need to make your own choices. The teacher in the case study has decided to use all options including e-mail, and to combine two or more in particular sessions over a three-week period. You need to plan to do something of this sort. On the next page, make a copy and fill out the summary to help you get focus on what you will do. I've put in some suggestions - you can use these as you like. Think of some uses of your own, and make a short note on what you will have to do to make it work, what you expect the benefit to be to your pupils, and what difficulties you expect to encounter when you do it in the classroom.

Resources Selected for Local History and the World of Work