Of the myriad of industries, vocations and pockets of society that could benefit most from innovation and the integration of technology, educating the next generation of world changers is definitely at the top of the list. Understanding the importance of teaching and education, a forward thinking school in Amsterdam called 4e Gymnasium has harnessed the potential of Facebook’s Timeline feature to teach its students history lessons.
Uniquely created pages allows students to add historically relevant posts, incorporate media and other interesting content as well as communicate directly with fellow students in a collaborative environment. The class that is involved in the project is focusing on four historical subjects; Magellan’s voyages, inventions of the 20th century, the history of fashion since 1950 as well as the rise and fall of the Soviet Union. The Timeline feature has allowed students to get a true visualization of the chronology of events along with a full understanding of the events over that time. This in concert with students being responsible for populating the page has created an extremely powerful and socially relevant teaching tool.
Perhaps the most innovative aspect of the entire project has to do with people outside of the classroom. The students have sent invitations to members of the public requesting that they too add content to the page. Outside contributors can include the likes of historians, post-secondary professors and others that have a firm grasp and keen interest in the subjects being covered.
We deeply commend the staff and students of 4e Gymnasium and their desire and ability to harness Facebook for improved learning.
SOURCE: PSFK