ActiveHistory.co.uk (est. 1998) provides interactive simulations, decision-making games, self-marking quizzes, worksheets and lesson plans for teachers and students of World History. It provides materials on scores of topics from the Middle Ages to the present day, aimed at every age range between 11-18 years. It provides a highly effective means of teaching history using all the benefits of modern internet technology.
ActiveHistory is a practical, continually evolving resource produced by a
full-time history teacher for his students and his colleagues.
All of the top activities have been produced with the classroom in mind, and are
continually amended after being tried out in class by myself and other visitors. As a result the site has earned some glowing testimonials from its loyal subscribers and praise from newspapers such as the Sunday Times and the New York Times.
The Head2Head Interviews were awarded first prize in the BECTA / Guardian Educational Website Awards, beating off competition from over 320 other sites
and described as a "brilliant concept" that won "hands down". I
was presented with an award at a ceremony at BAFTA in London. The promotional film which accompanied the ceremony can be
seen here. Based on ActiveHistory, Wolverhampton Grammar School was given membership of ENIS, the European Network of Innovative Schools.
Journalism and Public Speaking
I write a regular column in History Review Magazine designed to show how ICT can improve the teaching and learning of history.
I
regularly write academic articles for the same magazine (articles here).
I have been a speaker at SFE conferences
in Bradford and London, and have provided courses for Mill Wharf and New Horizons.
I run training courses for groups of teachers on a freelance basis several times a year in the UK (Manchester, Birmingham and London being the most frequent venues).
Other websites / projects
I am also author of Classtools.net, a popular website which provides free, customisable flash templates to embed into blogs, wikis and websites.
How to get in touch
ActiveHistory is updated on an almost daily basis with new worksheets, games, lesson plans and quizzes. The best way of getting a feel of what the site is all about is to keep an eye
on the "What's New?" page on
the site; if you prefer, you can subscribe to its RSS Feed, or follow its Twitter Feed, or follow the site on Facebook Fanpage.
I would very much welcome any suggestions for improvements to the site - mail me using the Feedback Form. You can also follow me on Twitter (@russeltarr) and on Google+.
About the Author
