EC&I 834 Course Profile Jan. 25/23
History 20 With Mr. P
The choices and decisions I made with this profile are based on the student population in my small K-12 school. I teach grade 7-12 Social Studies/History courses,(depending on the year), and I want to create a more interesting and interactive learning experience for ALL students in my classes and so my choices reflect this. Students that move on to post secondary education must be ready to learn in our blended/online, synchronous/asynchronous formats and so I hope to help prepare them for this with my courses.
Demographics
In my school, History 20 is taught every second year to grade 11 and 12 students. We cycle back and forth with History 30 each year in full year classes. These are still small classes, even in a double graded situation, consisting of 12 or less students per year. The age range would be 15-17 years of age. My school has a community base of mostly agricultural middle class socio-economic status and no EAL families at this time.
Platform
For this course, I have chosen to use Google Classroom as the primary delivery method, mainly because I use it in my class and I am familiar with it. I would also like to use some of these ideas that I develop here for my class in the fall. This is going to be a blended course with synchronous, face to face class time, combined with asynchronous online activities for students to work on after class. Parents can also be invited to the class which can help with communication and motivation.
For reminders and class discussion, a What’s App link will be provided and monitored. Google Classroom also can be used for communication between students and teachers via messages through email but this is not the most convenient way to communicate.
Objectives and Outcomes
As many of you know, Saskatchewan’s History curriculums are extremely outdated. However, History 20 does deal with some interesting topics to work with and so I have chosen to work on the Knowledge Objectives from Unit One of the History 20 Curriculum, P.62
The two modules I will present will focus on-
- How technology advancements during WW1 changed war?
- How did trench warfare affect soldiers during and after the war?
Materials
Materials will be provided in two ways: in person and posted in Google Classroom. This provides for loss of handouts and absent students due to illness etc. If attendance is not a concern and all students have accessibility at home, this course could be completely paperless as well.
Video materials will be delivered via Youtube.
Assessment
Formative assessment will be done of the discussions on What’sApp throughout the course, as well as during class discussions after in class and online activities. A summative assessment will be done in the form of a written assignment, “A Soldier’s Letter Home From The Trenches”. This can be adapted depending on the student’s needs.
Concerns
As with any online technology in rural areas, connectability is always an issue. Even in our school, the use of technology in some classrooms is difficult. However, we still have a computer lab that functions well for in school use. Student use of online resources at home would be my biggest concern. I have not tried a synchronous meeting online in two years with students and this would be a test.
Online Educational Tool Set 
I enjoyed reading your post, the thing which I liked most about the What’s App link, which you will provide to your learners to stay connected with for reminders. What’s App is a popular app everyone has access to it, parents can also check the activities which are going on in the classroom.
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Hi Eddy, I have not worked with the History 20 curriculum for a couple of years, but even I remember how challenging it can be to manage the outdated curriculum. I like your use of various multimedia applications (WhatsApp, Youtube) to engage students and wrap around your support.
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