Interactive History using ICT - 'Interactivities'

An 'interactivity' is a web based application that can be adapted and customised for specific uses. This means once the activity has been developed, it can be applied to any topic or task as required by a teacher or instructor.

So far, I have created three major interactivities as shown below, but all of my Flash games and quizzes can similarly be adapted as interactivities.

Interactive Diagrams	Interactive Storyboards	Practice Paper
Create your own diagram summarising key events and ideas around a central question. Use the hint buttons for immediate assistance and customise your notes using colours and text formatting. Many potential uses such as mind-mapping, essay planning and structured work.	Proving students with a storyboard framework to plan their ideas and thoughts. Unlike the freedom of PowerPoint, students are given a limited range of images and presenters, forcing them to focus on the content of their work rather than the presentation.	Using a powerful rich-text formatting interface, a student answers an exam-style question with an optional time limit. They can then compare their ideas with suggested answers. A powerful way of revising key questions. These will be expanded and developed further for additional GCSE topics.

My commercial website - ContentGenerator.net - allows anyone to purchase and generate their own versions of my activities. I will continue to develop the programs available on the ContentGenerator.net site. I will also continue to release free versions - such as the free Multiple-Choice quiz generator.

I am very keen in the potential of programs such as Macromedia Flash as you can create activities that can be customised for specific topics and very easily updated. My interactive diagrams are a key example use of such technology. I am currently updating the SchoolHistory.co.uk site with version 3.1 of the diagrams making them much more interactive and productive.

The interactive diagrams can be used in many different ways - helping students structure their ideas, offering assistance via the hint buttons, and even providing model answers to revise from. With further adaptation they can be used for key questions and mind-mapping exercises. Interactive diagrams

As the technology improves and develops further SchoolHistory.co.uk aims to continue to innovate in the effective use of ICT within History. Please feel free to contact us via the feedback page if you have any questions or queries.

Andrew Field, June 2005