British: e-learning or how to use Moodle

Moodle is a "Virtual Learning Environment", the platform or tool used to provide online courses (in universities, businesses, government ...). It's like bringing class home with Professor inside. Communication is easy, because it has different tools (forums and chat), and different ways of organizing content area (lessons, web, wikis ...), and even activities (surveys, tests ...). And it's free!

Some of the advantages is that the students can work together to resolve questions and solve problems and also can keep improving the content of study and completing the matter according to current needs.

Probably, you are now familiar with this environment thanks to our own IES but... would you like to go deeper inside? That's your new task... and you shall be responsible to upload the contents to the "course", turning you into your own teachers! But obviously, I will be the webmaster and I will decide the final markt... ;-)

How? I created a special course called:

• 3º British: Case study

These courses are "closed", meaning only accessible if you are registered with your user name and your password (be carefull not lossing data!). So, nobody outside the class is allowed to participate.

We will completing this "academic course" gradually. As you see, the index and instrucctions are yet organized, and also include the short version of Moodle Manual for Teachers (Read all of these things carefully!). From now on you who will have to go to them completing sections "content and activities". We will use several class sessions to work in the computer lab, but you can also do some work from home.

Go on! Good luck!

You can see more information on this presentation of Moodle in Mª Jesús Camino’s blog.

1ºBritish: Photos from Metalica Vetona

After visiting the Museum, here you have a zip file with your pictures. Remember that you will nedd a password for opening the file.

Have a nice day! 

Cover photo

Illustration by JR Almedida: Blog the arqueología virtual

4º British: YOUR Historical newspaper

As promised, here you have the zip file with your wonderful historical newspapers from 1851. They look even better than the original ones! Enjoy the reading! :)

1º British: YOUR Historical comics

As promised, here you have the ZIP file with all your comics. As usual, you will need a password for opening it... Enjoy the reading! :)

4º British: First World War on Twitter

You are about to start the new edition of your favourite historical activity... twitter in class! 

You must create a special twitter account as you were one of the participants in the Great War (a militar commander? A politician? A soldier? A war journalist?... there are many possibilities and several useful links in THIS DOC). With this “historical account” you become follower of @auladeadriana

You will have this weekend for having a look and decide. The application period will start on Monday at 15:30. Just send an email to acarriles@educa.jcyl.es with your chosen character and I will answer you back with the confirmation. Once that you have it, you can start making your character back to life :) You will have a couple of days for creating the twitter account; the more “realistic” that you do it (portrait, biographic info, etc.), the better for your final mark.

You have to create a minimum of 20 tweets (12 of them base on real primary sources: texts, maps, photos...) in the name of your chosen character. Try not to be independent, but “talk” with the others (a soldier complaining to his superiors? Soldiers talking about their life in the trenches? Politicians exchanging messages and speeches?...)

I would also recommend you to use the hastag #HistoryatVasco in your tweets, to facilitate its reading.

The previous years, this experiment was a total success and your partners really did good performances, so you will have to work hard for leading them...

This work is individual and mandatory and will be part of the score at the end of the term. If you fail to finish it, do it out of date, or just copy from a webpage, the mark will be a 0 for this work.

Be creative and enjoy it! J

3º British: Create your own case study

Here you have your new online task of the term! In groups, you have to create a case study activity about the primary sector. You can choose ONE of the following topics (Each one has some helpful links for stating, but you can find out your own online resources):

Option A. Vineyard cultivation in France (Global production, plantation’s needs and map)

Option B. Cocoa cultivation in Ghana (Sustanaible Cocoa farming and Ghana business news)

Option C. Is there a butter crisis in France? (BBC explanation and Solution from Asturias)
Option D. Tulip flowers cultivation in India (Plantation’s needs and Kashmiri case)
Option E. Cheese production in Asturias (Food & Drink sector, varieties and 2015 production)

Option F. Mussels cultivation in Kerala, India (Kerala case and Oyster Opera)

Remember that the best one will be selected to be part of this term exam (with a maximum value of 2 points) J Your activity MUST include:

- One question about vocabulary (0’25 points)

- Two short questions for working with maps, photos or diagrams (0’25 each)

- One question about description of maps or photos (0’25 points)

- One question about “suggestions” or “personal opinion” (0’5 points)

- One question “From a named country…” (0’5 points). Here you have also to include a link to a possible answer or example.

Obviously, you HAVE TO include also visual resources (maps, diagrams or photos) that will allowed to solve the questions.

When finish, send it as a attached file to blogeducativo08@gmail.com. This activity is mandatory and you will receive a mark for it. In case you fail to finish it, do it out of date (21  January) or just copy, the score will be 0.

Ready? Let’s go! J

1º British: The myth of Atlantis / the fall of the Minoans

More than two thousand years ago, the Greek historian Plato wrote about Atlantis, the fabled civilization that was swallowed by the sea. But the origins of Plato’s story have never been identified… until now?

Five thousand years ago, the Minoans, Europe’s first great civilization, flourished on Crete. The sophisticated inhabitants, named after the legendary King Minos, were the first Europeans to use a written language, known as Linear A, and the first to construct paved roads. They were an advanced society of highly-cultivated artisans and extremely skilled civic engineers. The Minoans were excellent ship builders and sailors, and their maritime empire was so vast, it rivaled that of the ancient Egyptians. But inexplicably, at the height of their power, the Minoans were wiped from the pages of history.

The island of Santorini, 70 miles north of Crete, was home to the wealthiest Minoan seaport... next to the volcano Thera. Around 1600, B.C., an eruption occurred. The Theran eruption was one of largest in human history — blasting more than 10 million tons of ash, gas, and rock 25 miles into the atmosphere. And it was followed by a tsunami...

The following documentary film from BBC (2011) is a good review of what happened in Thera: ATLANTIS: End of a World - Birth of a Legend. You can watch the trailer here.