DigIT: Kent Schools Use New IT Skills to Investigate the County’s Past
Project Overview
During the summer term 2009, an innovative partnership project known as 'DigIT' was delivered to primary schools across Kent, led by History and ICT Advisers from Kent County Council's ASK team (Advisory Service Kent), supported by Canterbury Archaeological Trust (CAT) and English Heritage (EH).
The aim of 'DigIT' was to improve and develop literacy levels among Key Stage 2 pupils (7 to 11 year-olds) through a range of motivational activities using new Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills to enhance teaching and learning. The results illustrate some very successful outcomes.
Three of Kent's key sites were the focus for the project - Richborough Roman Fort (east Kent), Lullingstone Roman villa (west Kent) and Bayham Abbey (Kent/East Sussex border), all in the care of EH.
Four hundred pupils from twenty two schools across the county took part - from Adisham, Ash, Bexley, Boughton, Canterbury, Cranbrook, Dartford, East Peckham, Folkestone, Gravesend, Maidstone, Margate, Ramsgate, Tenterden, Tonbridge and Wrotham.
STEP ONE: gathering information in a variety of ways
On-site activity days
Groups of schools were assigned to the historic sites and Ian Coulson (KCC) devised workshops, supported by ASK colleagues, CAT, EH, and at Richborough, John Smith in the role of Marcus the legionary. Children addressed questions such as - why did people live here, what was life like and how do we know it happened?
They gathered data with cameras, video-cams and digital recorders, notes and sketches.
CAT Kits
Each school also took away a CAT KIT of archaeological 'finds' on loan from the Trust.
'The children were thrilled with the opportunity to look at and discuss the finds.' Shipbourne Primary School, Tonbridge
Web conferencing with the experts
Back in their classrooms, children composed lists of questions and using the software Flashmeeting, put them to Ian Coulson (in his office) and myself (at CAT).
The variety of questions was impressive and developed into a dialogue between the parties. I showed them skulls, pots and poo on the webcam and sent pictures via Flashboard. Subsequently, teachers could select details from their Flashmeetings to do further work.
'Just wanted to thank you for yesterday's Flashmeeting. Our Year 4's were really impressed...! I was delighted with the questions our lot asked, and you answered really clearly to help them understand.' The Brent Primary School, Dartford.
'They were impressed you could send them a picture there and then...Honestly it was fab.'
The DigIT microsite (hosted by South East Grid for Learning)
This is a password-protected place where teachers and children can find resources (pictures, video clips) and publish their work.
Blogging
Individual children posted their questions in the DigIT Forum to be answered by the team.
Using a Visualiser
A Visualiser is a video camera on a stand connected to a computer. An object or picture is placed under the camera and the image projected, via a data projector, onto the classroom screen.
ABOVE RIGHT: Flashmeeting video conference from the classroom. RIGHT: Flashmeeting video conferencing from CAT HQ.
classroom interactive whiteboard.
Schools borrowed Visualisers for the project and children used them to look at Roman and medieval themed pictures, examine CAT KIT finds and show their work to the rest of the class.
'We used the Visualiser to view the artefacts. The children were able to take the part of Marion Green, as seen on our Flashmeetings, to imitate how she spoke about an artefact. They became archaeologists!' Hadlow Primary School, Tonbridge
The computer can capture still images and record video clips. A Visualiser was used at the Trust to create 'Roman Life' and 'Medieval Life' video clips using finds and images. The clips were then added to the DigIT microsite.
STEP TWO: developing cross-curricular skills
Literacy
With information gathered, the DigIT classes worked on a whole variety of written and oral work in class - stories, poems, accounts and letters, practicing their ICT skills as they did so.
There were many examples of really creative work drawing on evidence and imagination. In these short extracts from stories about Bayham Abbey, children have incorporated archaeological evidence seen on the activity day.
'...I finally found the parchment...I was amazed at how easy it was to pull out of the ground...I spent a couple of minutes trying to work out which language it was in...Striding swiftly, I made up my mind to take it home and find out what it meant!' Alexander, Colliers Green CE Primary School, Cranbrook
'Thomas Bons at first did not know how to pray or worship and actually didn't know the proper meaning of God. But the other monks at that time were good to him and took him in and taught him...' Georgie, Allington Primary School, Maidstone
Art
Some children were inspired to produce paintings and sketches. Others created dynamic models. Some used the image capture option on their Visualiser to photograph their artwork.
STEP THREE: presenting and publishing
'We also used the Visualiser to video our poems and to give explanations about any work we had done during the project. The children then made this into a Movie using Movie Maker.' Hadlow Primary School, Tonbridge
At the close of the project, 145 examples of children's work had been published on the Making the News website (developed by South East Grid for Learning, linked to the DigIT microsite). A variety of audio, video, text and pictorial formats was used with software such as MS Word, Comic Life, Krazy Talk and iMovie. The range and quality of work was very impressive.
STEP FOUR: celebration time!
Children in each of the site groups - Richborough Roman Fort, Lullingstone Roman Villa and Bayham Abbey came together for Celebration Days to share their work. They brought artwork, read their stories and gave digital presentations.
It was a great way to celebrate a creative and very successful partnership project.
'They say it is the best thing they have done and learned this year!' Allington Primary School, Maidstone.
Marion Green
Education Officer
Canterbury Archaeological Trust
ABOVE LEFT: Bayham Abbey celebration day with models and stories.
LEFT: Richborough Fort celebration day showing Comic Life work.