Putting it all together -

Creating engaging digital

resources for the classroom

Andrew Payne
Head of Education & Outreach
The National Archives
Our Vision
• Lead and transform
information
management
• Guarantee the survival
of today's information
for tomorrow
• Bring history to life
for everyone
11,000,000 boxes
1101000101100101 bytes (1 Petabyte)
Magna Carta - 1225
Declaration of Independence - 1776
Stephenson’s Rocket - 1822
Henry Cole’s Rat - 1838
New Requirements for History
• investigate personal, family or
local history in relation to a
broader historical context
• appreciate the role of museums,
galleries, archives and historic
sites
• use ICT to research, process and
present information about the
past

History Programme of Study

QCA 2007
Where do teachers get source material?

In tests 48 out of 49 student

teachers at Cambridge University
went straight to Wikipedia via
Google
Context is everything…

Thinking critically should be taught in the context

of subject matter…an important part of thinking
like a historian is considering the source of a
document – who wrote it, when and why. But
teaching students to ask that question,
independent of subject matter knowledge, won’t
do much good.

Daniel T. Willingham
Critical Thinking: Why is it so hard to teach?
American Educator Summer 2007
Key principles for creating
great digital resources
Investigate, don’t illustrate!
Use sources for enquiry-based investigations
Use key questions to drive the activity…
Let the students provide the answers

How did Henry VIII get up in the morning?

Visual and audio literacy is not simple…
You need to support student learning
• Use call outs to support investigation
 Who is Whose
this? hands are
these?

What Which
does this countries
represent are listed?
Visual and audio literacy is not simple…
You need to support student learning
• Use call outs to support investigation
• “Flash an image”
What Did You See?
Visual and audio literacy is not simple…
You need to support student learning
• Use call outs to support investigation
• “Flash an image”
• Tell the story of the picture 1 step at a time
Visual and audio literacy is not simple…
You need to support student learning
• Use call outs to support investigation
• “Flash an image”
• Tell the story of the picture 1 step at a time
• Remove the text to reveal the meaning
What was Granville Sharp trying to say in 1772?

There is no instance whatever, which requires more immediate redress, than the
present miserable and deplorable slavery of Negroes and Indians, as well as white
English servants in our colonies. To be in power and to neglect, even a day, such
monstrous injustice and abandoned wickedness, must necessarily endanger a man's
eternal welfare, be he ever so great in dignity or office.
 
The laws of England (God be thanked) are sufficiently clear with respect to slavery in
this island. With respect to the Colonies, the evil practice of slaveholding being tolerated
by distinct laws of their own, cannot with propriety fall under the consideration of the
British Parliament ; for I am well aware, that no Parliament can have a just right to enact
laws for places, which it does not represent.

The remedy of these notorious abuses therefore, rests entirely with the King and his
Privy Council, to recommend to the assemblies in the colonies a formal repeal of those
unjust laws of which I complain.
What was Granville Sharp trying to say in 1772?

There is no instance whatever, which requires more immediate redress, than

the present miserable and deplorable slavery of Negroes and Indians, as well
as white English servants in our colonies. To be in power and to neglect, even
a day, such monstrous injustice and abandoned wickedness, must necessarily
endanger a man's eternal welfare, be he ever so great in dignity or office.
 
The laws of England (God be thanked) are sufficiently clear with respect to
slavery in this island. With respect to the Colonies, the evil practice of
slaveholding being tolerated by distinct laws of their own, cannot with propriety
fall under the consideration of the British Parliament ; for I am well aware, that
no Parliament can have a just right to enact laws for places, which it does not
represent.

The remedy of these notorious abuses therefore, rests entirely with the King
and his Privy Council, to recommend to the assemblies in the colonies a
formal repeal of those unjust laws of which I complain.
Visual and audio literacy is not simple…
You need to support student learning
• Use call outs to support investigation
• “Flash an image”
• Tell the story of the picture 1 step at a time
• Remove the text to reveal the meaning
• Use Photo Story to turn images into animations
Visual and audio literacy is not simple…
You need to support student learning
• Use call outs to support investigation
• “Flash an image”
• Tell the story of the picture 1 step at a time
• Remove the text to reveal the meaning
• Use Photo Story to turn images into animations
• Write a voiceover to a silent film
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/focuson/film/editors-room/
Visual and audio literacy is not simple…
You need to support student learning
• Use call outs to support investigation
• “Flash an image”
• Tell the story of the picture 1 step at a time
• Remove the text to reveal the meaning
• Use Photo Story to turn images into animations
• Write a voiceover to a silent film
• Edit the same film to 2 different sound tracks
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/focuson/film/editors-room/
For more examples and great resources…

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education
Andrew Payne
Head of Education
The National Archives
andrew.payne@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk
020 8392 5319
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education