Making History in the Digital Age

The Making History group project is a new, innovative component of the first year history programme at UCL. In a radical departure from the traditional educational approach of students learning in isolation, using traditional learning materials and being assessed solely through essays, students in the 2013-14 session were encouraged to engage in collaborative, research-based learning 1 . Each group was given the choice to select a topic from a range of titles representing London’s rich historic landscape, such as perceptions of London during the ‘Jack the Ripper’ Whitechapel murders or the cultural, political and social significance of the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum. Tablet devices (iPads) were purchased for the purpose of the project and students were encouraged to borrow these to collect data ‘in and around London’. This enabled them to present their research findings using a range of media including digital stories 2 in MyPortfolio (Mahara). Students were also required to give a group presentation. The project was designed to help the students develop historical skills such as analysis of primary and secondary texts and synthesis of research findings, as well as employability skills 3 such as teamwork, communication, time management, critical thinking and digital literacy. Two focus group discussions were held with a small group of student volunteers and a survey was administered to all students to gain insight into learners’ experiences. The collaborative aspect was viewed positively although students would have preferred smaller group sizes. Students were generally satisfied with the assessment process but requested some changes, such as the ability to award their peers individual marks based on input, having expressed dissatisfaction with receiving a common group mark irrespective of individual contributions. Uptake of iPads was less than anticipated – potentially due to restricted loan hours and because most students have their own mobile devices capable of media capture. Attitudes towards MyPortfolio were mixed in terms of ease of use. Interestingly, despite its rich multimedia capabilities, and the fact that students engaged with the subject in diverse ways including art, role-play, interviews with experts and oratories of important texts, the majority of respondents disagreed that they felt able to express themselves more meaningfully than in a traditional essay. MyPortfolio was also limited in the fact that it served as a showcase space rather than an active communication and collaboration space, for which students relied on other social media. Despite some student reservations about the project in relation to using MyPortfolio and working collaboratively, educators praised students for their strong engagement with the project during an informal review immediately after the group presentations. Follow-up interviews with individual tutors confirmed their primary role as facilitators, and students’ development of employability skills. However, some groupworking issues were apparent, including a tendency to ‘sanitise’ accounts of groupwork which contributed to the assessment. The module will continue to be refined in the light of evaluation findings. The authors are also investigating other electronic platforms that might help with the organisational aspects of groupwork as well as providing a virtual space for productive online collaboration.