Anders MacGregor-Thunell

I found your seminary in Toulouse very interesting. Since I'm a beginner with basically everything so I am with IWB as well. The group needs to have a plain Swedish amateur as the symbolic incompetent in the group... (don't mention golf) About half a year ago we started to install smartboards in a few classrooms at Hvitfeldtska Gymnasiet in Gothenburg (after the Gothenburg meeting...). One of the effects with these smartboards is the amount of teachers that now show an interest in learning more about how to use them. Several of these people have never showed a great appreciation for ICT! In that respect I see another positive use of the smartboards - it has open a possibility to get more educators involved in the idea of using ICT as a tool. Another part that has been good in the interaction with students is the fact that they are now able to show some of their work, comment on it, add reactions and comments from their audience (their classmates) and then produce a finished product during the end of a "mini seminar". This is just another tool - but it's an efficient one that engage student activity. You have been concerned about the different ways of learning which I think is often forgotten. The visual and audativ parts we seem to manage pretty well but the "doing" is usually worse. ICT brings many opportunities in this field (as we are all aware off) and I think it was great that you showed us some of the ways it could be done with the help of IWB. I think that this tool is one out of many that we will have good use for in many classrooms (but it is a bit expensive...). PS. Sorry for getting off the main topic but we have to have make some corrections here Russel - David was right. Jimi Hendrix played in Stockholm at the end of August 1970 (at Gröna Lund). The next day he played at Liseberg - Stora Scenen (in Gothenburg). The tickets were 15 kronor (less than a pound) and he played some of my absolute favorites Hey Joe, Purple Haze, Red House... Noel Redding wasen't with him but Mitch Mitchell was and anothe guy - I can't remember his name... I was broke at the time so I have only heard a recording of this event (on a small casette) - how could I know that one of my absolute favorite artists would be dead a few weeks later

Jag håller med om att det är glädjande att Historia äntligen har blivit ett kärnämne! Det borde det ha varit från början. Jag glädjer mig också över en ökad betoning på den svenska och nordiska historien eftersom det är en förutsättning att kunna sin egen historia för att kunna förstå vad som händer i övriga världen. Men sedan är det ju en del andra saker som just nu bekymrar mig lite: • Tid för Historia 1 (50 poäng) - Det är viktigt att varje skola får tillräckligt med tid för att kunna behandla denna kurs på ett vettigt sätt. Eftersom våra skolledare ofta stirrar på antalet poäng (som ofta översätts i ett visst antal timmar) så kan det bli mycket knappt om tid - otillräckligt för att klara en kurs med ett sådant digert program. Därför måste man låta innehållet styra antalet timmar inte poängen. Jag hoppas att Skolverket rent centralt kommer att inse sitt misstag och så småningom upphöja kursen till 100 poäng så att våra skolledare vågar ge kursen den tid den förtjänar! • Tid för samtliga kurser - För att det skall vara möjligt att erbjuda samtliga kurser i Historia: Historia 1, Historia 2, Historia 3 och Historia 4 så ser det ut som om man - måste starta Historia 1 under den första terminen i Årskurs 1 och att man - måste parallellköra delar av Historia 3 och Historia 4 om man lägger ut ungefär 2 lektionstillfällen per vecka (vilket är ganska vanligt vid våra gymnasieskolor idag). • Betyg - Skolverket ger oss beskedet att betyg skall sättas i ämnet Historia. Läser man flera kurser i Historia så skall ett betyg sättas i ämnet när den sista kursen är avslutad. Detta enda betyg blir då ämnesbetyget. Frågan som uppstår här är - skall det sättas ett betyg i ämnet som bygger på samtliga kurser, dvs. man har gått igenom samtliga tidigare resultat och sätter ett betyg som visar på elevens insats i samtliga kurser eller skall betyg sättas endast på den sista kursen som då också blir ämnesbetyget? Det verkar ganska självklart att de tidigare insatserna skall vägas in, men vad händer med elever som byter skolor, program, lärare etc... skall vi då begära mer detaljerade genomgångar av elevens insats (det kan ju vara en elev som ligger snubblande nära ett MVG i Historia 1 men som tilldelas betyget VG - detta kommer ej att synas i den nya klassen...)? Här finns inga klara direktiv från Skolverket. • Nya läromedel - Vi kommer behöva nya läroböcker för samtliga kurser. De äldre böckerna kommer att räcka under en viss tid men de nya betoningarna på vissa områden kräver nytt material. Det skall bli intressant att se hur våra läromedelsförlag möter detta behov under de närmaste åren... Detta var några samlade tankar - vad tycker du?

This is a typical Swedish strategy - Henrik Larsson has not been at his best in this game but Lagerbäck would never change him since he is one of the key players. Another one is Olof Mellberg who so far has not played very well either. Zlatan does not have the same status even if he is the "star"! He has a smaller injury (?) but he is also not in such good shape. Therefore it was relatively easy for Lagerbäck to substitute him for Marcus Allbäck. I think that England stands a fairly good chance on advancement but I don't think it will carry you all the way but that's not only because of Sven-Göran Eriksson. You have some very good players but not enough to be able to win the tournament unless they play more like a team than yesterday. If you do win somebody managed to get England to play like a team... It was kind of funny though to see the two managers yesterday. They both sat down very calmly without any real emotions. The only difference was Lagerbäcks chewing gum.

This is a typical Swedish strategy - Henrik Larsson has not been at his best in this game but Lagerbäck would never change him since he is one of the key players. Another one is Olof Mellberg who so far has not played very well either. Zlatan does not have the same status even if he is the "star"! He has a smaller injury (?) but he is also not in such good shape. Therefore it was relatively easy for Lagerbäck to substitute him for Marcus Allbäck. I think that England stands a fairly good chance on advancement but I don't think it will carry you all the way but that's not only because of Sven-Göran Eriksson. You have some very good players but not enough to be able to win the tournament unless they play more like a team than yesterday. If you do win somebody managed to get England to play like a team... It was kind of funny though to see the two managers yesterday. They both sat down very calmly without any real emotions. The only difference was Lagerbäcks chewing gum.

1968 - do I need to say moore? Seriously - Both these teams; Sweden and England will have a hard time in their further advances. At the same time I think this will fit both teams.... If England has a bad record against Sweden we have a worse one against Germany. The latest time we won against Germany in a competition was 1958 (in Gothenburg!). It would be good to change that statistic...

Thank you for the correction - I have changed the Church name.

It was great meeting everybody. Here is some e-help family photos that can hopefully awake some of the good memories from last week. Just click on the link: MacGregor Family e-Help Album

I samband med att den ”nya” gymnasieskolan kommer att starta år 2007 så kommer historieämnet genomgå en del märkbara förändringar. Istället för tre stycken kurser (Historia kurs A (100 poäng), Historia kurs B (100 poäng) och Historia kurs C (100 poäng)) så kommer vi att få fyra stycken kurser (Historia 1 (50 poäng), Historia 2 (100 poäng), Historia 3 (100 poäng) och Historia 4 (100 poäng)). Den första kursen (Historia 1) kommer dessutom att bli ett nytt kärnämne vilket historieämnet inte varit tidigare. Idag så ges ett slutbetyg i varje delkurs i ämnet Historia. Efter år 2007 så kommer ett samlat ämnesbetyg att utdelas. Om en elev läst flera delkurser så kommer det sist satta betyget att gälla som ämnesbetyg. Det vore nu mycket intressant att se hur olika skolor kommer att tackla denna 50-poängs kärnämneskurs. Här är vår (Hvitfeldtska Gymnasiet i Göteborg) försiktiga beskrivning av den nya kärnämneskursen Historia 1. Kursen är relativt lätt att identifiera. Den innehåller följande moment; 1. Kronologisk grund: En kortare genomgång av de större epokerna i rätt tidssammanhang 2. Modern historia (kan läsas på två olika sätt): a. Teman: Klassen/eleven väljer några teman som beskriver/diskuterar/ analyserar grunddragen i den historiska utvecklingen från 1800-talet och framåt inklusive världskrig och globalisering b. Översikt: Klassen/eleven gör en översikt som beskriver/diskuterar/ analyserar grunddragen i den historiska utvecklingen från 1800-talet och framåt inklusive världskrig och globalisering 3. Demokratins framväxt: En redogörelse över de mänskliga och samhälleliga villkoren för demokratins framväxt och utveckling i Sverige och några andra länder. 4. Tolkningar av historiska skeenden: En presentation av olika syner på några viktiga historiska skeenden 5. Källkritik: Utifrån de olika synerna/tolkningarna introduceras begreppet ”källkritik” – en presentation av de krav man skall ställa på texter, bilder, medier och andra källor samt övningar i hur dessa skall bedömas och värderas. Till detta har vi fört följande synpunkter: • Vårat ämne Historia kommer att förändras ganska genomgående i samband med den ”nya” gymnasieskolan. Därför är det absolut nödvändigt att avsätta både tid och utrymme för att vi på ett vettigt sätt skall kunna planera de nya kurserna. Ge ämneskonferensen i Historia tillräckligt med tid för att lyckas med detta uppdrag. • Innehållet i kursen Historia 1 påminner till viss del om den kurs som vi idag genomför i kursen Historia A – dvs. det finns en klar betoning av de senaste århundradena. Till detta har man från Skolverkets sida lagt en större vikt vid den svenska historien (demokratins framväxt), källkritik och olika tolkningar. För att detta skall vara praktiskt genomförbart så kan inte historieämnets timantal minskas i förhållande till dagens kurs Historia A. Vi är medvetna om att antalet gymnasiepoäng är hälften i förhållande till dagens kurs men här är det innehållet som styr antalet timmar – inte poängen! • Det finns som jag nämnde ovan en helt annan betoning av den svenska historien i de nya kursplanerna. Detta kommer att ställa krav på lärarna att mer grundligt gå igenom denna del vilket i sin tur innebär att antalet undervisningstimmar ej får minska. Snarast vore det bättre med en utökning av antalet timmar. • Eftersom vi kommer att läsa både Historia 1 och Historia 2 vid N-programmet, S-programmet, det Estetiska programmet och Handelsprogrammet så måste kursen Historia 1 startas senast i årskurs 2. Om vi dessutom har intentionen att genomföra kurserna Historia 3 och Historia 4 så måste vi kanske genomföra kursen Historia 1 i årskurs 1… • En av pelarna i historieämnet är momentet källkritik. Vi vet att detta ingår till viss del i en del andra ämnen, men det är historieämnet som klart går igenom olika former av källor med ett ursprung i olika tidsåldrar, från de allra första geologiska källorna fram till dagens IT teknik. Detta är en mycket viktig del för våra elevers samlade skolgång så därför bör de gå igenom denna del av historiekursen relativt tidigt. Detta är ytterligare ett skäl att tidigarelägga den första kursen i ämnet historia i förhållande till dagens kurs Historia A. Det skulle nu vara mycket intressant att se hur du ser på det nya ämnet...

A truly great meeting and fantastic arrangements. Thanks for the hard work you both put into it Richard and Les. I hope you both get some well deserved rest (and the opportunity to sleep...). One thing that hit me at the end of this meeting is how smooth everything seems to run so far - that comes from a lot of preparations, hard work, good meetings and a group that functions well together. It's a pleasure to be part of this. Thanks again!

Still a vegetarian (but not vegan)....

When I started teaching in the 1970's I had a very mixed experience here in Sweden. I met some history teachers who claimed the ability to be "objective" at the same time as I met the once conserned with a declared subjectivity. Some even went further and claimed the necessity of teaching history as a visible clear part of a political doctrine - the importance of educating the oppressed masses. This should be done at the same time you made sure you acknowledged which specific group/party you belonged to... Personally I have always beleived in a declared subjectivity where you just as John described, show different interpretations of a specific event. It's very rewarding when students after some exercises questions the material you picked for them and even better when they find some other interpretations that might contradict what you just said. Even if you don't get students to find other material as described above you at least get a student that can question whatever material that is used in the interpretations. This source criticism can develope into an understanding - we do choose the material that fit our philosophy (and ideology) of teaching. Everybody does - some aware of it others "unaware" (the "objective historians"). The "objective historian" is a much more dangerous teacher since he tries to hide his political views under an "objective cover". With this I claim the obvious thing - you can't teach history without influencing the topic. When I taught in the US (1989-1990 and 1991-1993) I was inspired by the ability to meet and interact with a lot of very alert and curious youngsters. At the time I felt that most things could be questioned and debated and I never felt restricted by the Universities where I worked (in Austin, Texas 1989-1990 and in Portland, Oregon 1991-1993). There seems to have been a bit of change during the last years and I think it's very important to monitor the development in the US so the administration will not repeat the McCarthy mistakes...

I would like to bring up another aspect which we discussed in Heerlen - the time factor for the individual teacher. We discussed the general development of teachers using more time for obligatoric meetings, administration, more actual lessons... at the same time as most of them are ICT illiterate. The possibilities of creating your own material, starting up your own project and learn new ways of approaching the actual learning process are less today. The teachers has less time, they are often quite stressed and they are therefore reluctant to do a "big leap" like starting their own website, creating new material and activities, learning more about different approaches etc... Some of them just tries to survive the schoolday, schoolweek, the semester - up to the next vacation... Ed tried in a calm way to remind us all about this. He then placed VLE as a step that might not be to big to take for the individual teacher. This might not be overwhelming at the same time as the teacher might gain some ICT literacy which makes him/her go further within this field. It was also good to repeat the fact that most students are not ICT literate. I did very much appreciate this since I see this development every day at my own school. Individuals and groups can be hostile to changes for many reasons but today the time factor has become more of an issue then it used to be. Maybe the VLE as presented by Ed would show an alternative that would be smoother for several teachers. At the same time I see E-HELP as another alternative that I think will show - on an individual basis - the way to make schools more ICT literate. I still believe that it's potential is very big!

So do I... but except the photographer and his limitations I noticed that this camera is not that great in situations where there is not enough light and most of the time we seem to have some shady business going on...

Through a computer magazine I received Conceptdraw MINDMAP Standard Version free (with registration). Here is the address to Conceptdraw MINDMAP: Conceptdraw MINDMAP Pro This version you can try free for 30 days. The free standard version I hope you can find in one of the Computer Magazines in your country. They seem to advertize it in quite a few magazines...

Here you can find the amateur version of the Heerlen meeting: Amateur Photos of the Heerlen Meeting

Thank you Nico for all the time you spent organizing this very pleasant conference. Very interesting presentations (your students did a great job!) and the cavesystem Sint-Pieter was really something extra (you did a good job finding that guide...). The success of this meeting was much due to all the work you had done. I want you to also thank Elizabeth for helping me and tell Thomas to practice his Swedish...

I started the project "ORAL HISTORY PROJECT - CHILDREN DURING WWII" on my website. Here is the address: E-HELP Oral History Project - Children during WWII I have some material that I'm going to publish but I would like a little input from the group before I do so. I will talk about this during my presentation.

I'm working with a presentation about "Oral History - Children during WWII". This will include the following parts; 1. Background 2. A short presentation of the main ideas of this project 3. Some general ideas about the interviews 4. Samples from three different interviews (using Adobe Premiere) 5. How to implement this project at a school... 6. Future ideas and hopefully - good feedback More details will follow after the presentation in Heerlen.

It is morally wrong for several top wage owners to have a way of not paying very much if any tax at all. I believe in progressive taxation up to a certain percent and that all wage earners should be included. This is a basic principle in a society based on solidarity. I also believe that we who pay should have a saying in how this money should be used...

This is for me a very interesting question. I think that we have an obligation to vote but at the same time I can see the dilemma in finding a party which you feel at ease with. I vote - blank! This is my way of showing that I agree with the basic idea of letting people decide about the leadership of the country and being able to participate in a democratic process every 3rd/4th year - but for me that is not enough. We need to be able to participate more often and the bourgeois concept of a parliamentary system built on political parties is (as I mentioned before) very limited. It allows a political elite - a new upper class - to fullfill their own needs and use the system. This system should be replaced by one based on the principles of federalism - where the political representatives should be given limited authority and the rotation of people in power should guarantee the whole group being truly represented.

I think the key word to whatever level you teach is "activity". There are several ways to get students within the active, but they very soon detect if you do not give them any worthwile content. Of course this vary from different High Schools as well. I have tought at Hvitfeldtska the last 8 years and my students are in general very motivated so they have high demands on the content. As long as you do go through what they believe is relevant you can use any form of presentation - from long traditional lectures (which I truly believe is necessary sometimes if we should be able to prepare them for Higher Education) to role plays and well prepared exercises using ICT. I personally think that Sarahs and Donalds samples could play an important role when you meet students with less motivation - I have tought several years at High Schools with "low producing" students as well. Here this more social approach which includes classroom activities becomes the way of trying to give them the content necessary. Very clear instructions with step-by-step targets/aims tought in a more varied classroom environment was for me a way to try to reach the national aims within my topic. I was fortunate enough to also work together with collegues who were willing to do the same changes. This meant that the classroom sometimes moved outside the classroom. We used half a day - sometimes a whole day together working with themes in the environment around applying some basic "topic skills" - so the students saw the practical use of their learning. This often demanded more planning, but it was sometimes easier to perform... Sorry for not getting back to you earlier Dalibor but I got to experience a week of vacation in Rome...

After a fantastic week in Rome I'm home again. When is the next meeting I could try to participate in? Since I usually teach during the day I would prefer the evening but we could check a few suggestions. If you keep an eye on either your email or the forum (unless we use a direct line on MSN Messenger) I could describe what happens if I don't manage to get into the room... I'm really looking forward to try this out.

I downloaded Marratech and tried to open it today so I could participate in some discussions in the "Harpo Room" but nothing happened. The program does not open. I tried to install once again - with the same result. I'm sorry David - I wanted to "take the plunge" but I obviously did something wrong... If it's possible I would like to try again in a week (when I'm home from Rome).

I will be glad to answer any questions - and debate my ideas but I will be gone the next 6 days (Wednesday 5/10 to Monday 10/10)...

Virtual Archive for practice purpose Since archives are quite important I have started to create a virtual archive for practice purpose. This virtual archive will eventually include both a tutorial (in detail adjusted to this specific archive) as well as several practical samples. In the Haga project I usually let the students pick addresses (houses) of their choise - I only decide which years they are suppose to cover. Since it's possible to use digital cameras in our archive I have now covered a whole block every tenth year during the 1800's. I went to the archive and I took all photos necessary, a process that went fast (basically just some hours). Not all of them have turned out the way I wanted them but as you can see the result is quite good at some documents: Virtual Archive Haga I will later publish this virtual archive on my website, together with the tutorial and several different tasks. These archive exercises will give the students a chance to follow the changes and the development in the block over a longer time period. After that they will be well prepared for going down to the archive on their own. I just need to start to create a good tutorial...