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

• Simpler St. Petersburg Map
• Harder St. Petersburg Map
• Reston Historical Map

Translation project (uses web translation tools)

• assignment

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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For information contact charles.t.evans@gmail.com