Question 1 1. Briefly describe the particular activity or lesson you would like to create, improve, or change.

Grade level (or age of students) and subject: I am teaching a Year 9 Class Humanities Subject. The students are 15 year olds. The Class has 25 students. I teach at an all boys school. Overview of the Activity: The activity that I am facilitating is a project that the students will work on over a 5-week period. Each student is required to create a presentation that can be used at a Parent Night at the end of term. For the event, the classroom will be turned into a Medieval Village. The students will come dressed in the clothing/costume of the period. They will present themselves as the particular individual who they have been researching. Parents are going to be able to ask questions of the character. The students will be able to answer questions that are posed about the life and times of the Black Death in Medieval Europe. They will be required to establish the links between each of the characters and where they fit in within the period of the Black Death in Europe 1348-1350. We will have food and music of the time to create the ambiance for the occasion. Up to three student-learning outcomes this activity will address. If your institution is required to meet specific government-established standards, please also note them accordingly: The following objectives are based on the Key Learning Criteria from the AusVELS website. AusVELS is the Foundation to Year 10 curriculum in Australia that provides a single, coherent and comprehensive set of prescribed content and common achievement standards, which schools use to plan student-learning programs, assess student progress and report to parents. (http://ausvels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/) During this set of lessons student should: 1. Unpack information about aspects of the living conditions and religious beliefs in the 14th century, including life expectancy, medical knowledge and beliefs about the power of God (ACDSEH015) 2. Consider the role of expanding trade between Europe and Asia in the Black Death, including the origin and spread of the disease (ACDSEH069) 3. Scaffold the causes and symptoms of the Black Death and the responses of different groups in society to the spread of the disease, such as the flagellants and monasteries (ACDSEH070) Reason for creating, improving, or changing the activity: The purpose of this activity is to engage students in the learning process to gain an

understanding of the effects and ramifications of the Black Death in Medieval Europe. Being in Australia and teaching about Europe is often challenging because we are on the other side of the planet, do not have the same location specific examples to visit and our students come from a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures (often not European). It is sometimes difficult to get students to fully comprehend the society and lifestyle of Europe between 1348-1350 when one of the most overwhelming pandemics in the history of humanity was playing out i.e., THE BLACK DEATH. It is easy to provide students with statistics of the cumulative death totals of between 75-200 million people but I am attempting to get my students to acquire a real sense of what life was like at the time. I am facilitating the lesson to enable them to drill down further and consider the life of particular individuals or groups and how they contributed to overcoming the devastation of the Black Death or, to identify many cases of individuals or groups who contributed to it. I wish to use digital technology to create a situation where the students will be able to investigate the past in an engaging and dynamic way. By doing so, the students will be able to create a digital artifact that will act as a springboard for them to discuss the learning they have been doing in class and to consider and answer questions posed about the individual they have researched. Often in the past, I have found that teenagers find it incredibly embarrassing to stand before a class and present their research to a group of their peers. By attempting a presentation of their work in a different way it will enable those fears to be addressed and allow the students to feel a sense of belonging to a group task that is enjoyable and meaningful. The digital technologies the students are able to use is going to be the following: iPad at my school each student has an iPad Videolicious the students create content, combining video clips, photos, and sound to make a powerful, professional-quality video Aurasma Augmented Reality! For the purpose of this assignment, I am going to concentrate on the use of the Aurasma. The reason why is because the students are not able to use Aurasma without the other forms of digital technology mentioned. I will also create an Aurasma for the students to demonstrate a final product and also provide them with clear instruction on how to create one for themselves and what information format they should follow. There will be a Q&A should they have questions and also they will be asked to report challenges to the group page on EDMODO. !