An Exercise on Creativity and Evaluation Group-work and discussions Good practices in History teaching Ileana Racoviceanu Belgrade, Serbia, Octombrie, 2007 Good practices in History teaching Ileana Racoviceanu Belgrade, Serbia, Octombrie, 2007

Students’ opinion on ICT in History Teaching and Learning Do you appreciate that ICT could be used in teaching history? Do you appreciate that ICT could be used in learning history?

Students’ opinion on ICT in History Teaching and Learning Do you appreciate that ICT could be used in teaching history? HOW? Watch documentaries Using additional materials that can be found on the internet Develop multimedia presentations and exercises Make online tests Try introducing more real-life explanations, with the help of virtual reality components Introduce historical strategy games (eg: Rise of Nations, Cesar, Heroes of Might and Magic) Develop teaching platforms Use more visual aids, more pictures and animation

Students’ opinion on ICT in History Teaching and Learning Do you appreciate that ICT could be used in teaching history? WHY? Helpful in reducing boredom Learn more while you’re in the classroom Any other materials are more interesting than schoolbooks Find more efficient ways of making the information reach the students Make lectures more attractive and dynamic Bring more action with the lessons Get a clearer view about the way the events are connected Easier to concentrate on the “big picture”

Students’ opinion on ICT in History Teaching and Learning Do you appreciate that ICT could be used in learning history? HOW? Ask students to do more web research, help them define a personal point of view Watch more videos, see pictures Watching historical movies Reading articles found on the internet Using modern technology to attract students’ interest Using discussion forums and sharing opinions Organize on-line debates on historical issues and subjects with students from the countries involved in a certain event (with both those who won and also with those who lost)

Students’ opinion on ICT in History Teaching and Learning Do you appreciate that ICT could be used in learning history? WHY? Make learning more fun by accessing new learning methods Things you discover yourself are easier to remember A multimedia presentation is much more effective then a written course You could get a better view about the past. It can help in finding different sources of information very easily and that could lead to a better objectiveness It would make learning easier and more appealing. It would be more like a chess game. Could make me understand better how things are linked together, I remember more if I see the continuum and not separate pieces

Students’ opinion on ICT in History Teaching and Learning Helpful in understanding evolution You can learn about how to avoid some mistakes in the future Facts and battles that lead mankind to progress If we could learn about and understand the past better, we can understand and act better in the future One gets less scared about the future if s/he learns from the past Some stories can be really fascinating, especially if you read or saw movies about those events It makes an interesting subject if you want to impress people, especially when you go to other countries As a student, what do you find most interesting about history and why?

Students’ opinion on ICT in History Teaching and Learning Learn by heart a lot of unnecessary data You have to remember too many dates and years Too much data is presented in a short period of time and in an unattractive mode Dating events and trying to keep them in mind Loosing track while you jump from one event to another Not very clear how certain events can become the cause of some other events Lack of logic exercises – some Discovery Channel documentaries are definitely more clear and eye-catching As a student, what do you find less interesting about history and why?

Students’ opinion on ICT in History Teaching and Learning Use modern ways of teaching Find more pleasant ways too make the student learn history, and concentrate more on the story, rather than on the time when it took place Try teaching using the geographic approach (start with your country, then neighbours, etc.) not chronologically Use modern technology and more interesting materials to get more attention from students Ask students to read more and to present in an interesting way what they read Use more visual aids, animated maps and strategy games Make students curios about the events What developments/improvements would you suggest for teaching?

Participants in the Focus-group Madalina – 18 (secondary school) Mircea – 21 (Political Sciences) Raluca – 22 (Languages) Stefan – 21 (History) Valentin – 21 (Polytechnic) Cristina – 25 (Psychology) Cornel – 31 (Telecommunications) Ana – 22 (Philology)

Focusing on students Would it be useful to develop a portfolio for history learners? (define levels, descriptors, strategies, how to use, structure, etc.) Would it be (more) eficient to teach history with ICT? (quality of materials, evaluation methods, development continuum, etc.)

A Creativity Exercise “What I desire is man's red fire To make my dream come true”

The exercise is aiming to: Use random combination of problem attributes Create associations that can lead to breakthrough ideas Help you in generating as many creative ideas as possible Draw on analogies, relationships, associations Derived from Michael Michalko’s (1991) “Circle of Opportunity”

Reflect on the following: Was the exercise too difficult? What was the most challenging? What was the most helpful? What did you learn? Will it be helpful for you in the future? Could you use this type of exercises in class?

Thank you for your interest and effort!