Adjunct Professional Development 2015
Digital Assignments: Using Web-Based Tools to Go Beyond Just Writing Papers
Charlie Evans
Typically in history classes students:
- take exams
- write papers
Student struggles with writing (all different lengths and types)
My goal to broaden the assignment options:
One solution is to locate and use apps, digital tools, online software to help create new assignments for students
- still preserve content mastery
- still focus on research skills
- still have students write
- still focus on critical thinking
The online timeline (dates are an important course goal)
- assignment details and information about online timelines with online tools and student examples:
Here is one on the Zhou dynasty.
The online exhibit
- assignment details (with suggestions to use Weebly) and student examples:
Here is one on Cold War cartoon.
A Prezi, narrated, online presentation (could also be done in class)
- assignment details with detailed directions and examples
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Data Visualization
- assignment details with notes, suggested tools and some examples (most are Java based)
Here is one example that is not Java-based; another from a student using R.
Website creation
- assignment (lot of different ways to do this; different than an exhibit)
Banksy example
Map analysis/interpretation (three different ones)-still working to figure out GIS applications
Translation project (uses web translation tools)
Blogs/wikis (lot of possibilities here)
- assignment details for HIS 218
student example
Like anything:
- you get some better efforts, some not so good
- not as mind-numbing to grade as reading a lot of papers
- focus is on students to master whatever app/tool that they choose to use
- the really good ones, like the Zhou timeline, I get to use in my courses (works better than textbook info)
- I think that you encourage students to try things, especially those who are weak writers
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are copyright © 2015, C. T. Evans
For information contact charles.t.evans@gmail.com