Connecting to place: creating web stories to illustrate then, now and next

Today’s learners are often described as the ‘connected’ or ‘digital’ generation, however it has been reported that these learners are harder to engage in classroom learning due to the disconnected learning approaches still being used in our schools. A key educational goal for young Australians is that of becoming active and informed citizens, as such, this requires connection to place. If our learners are to become active and informed citizens they will be required to investigate, inquire and create solutions for our present and future world by engaging in authentic learning. Learning about history does not always occur through authentic approaches, however history which connects to place through the use of digital resources, has the potential to engage our learners in local and global learning. This paper explores the use of a ‘web story’ to connect 21st century learners to place and engage them in investigating the then, now and next. As a digital tool, a web story can act as an engaging resource made by the teacher or be generated by the learner as a learning task. The web story provides the opportunity to construct a story about the past, make links to and offer solutions for the present and identify issues for the future. As such, web based digital resources and links would be embedded within the web-story to provide perspective, inquiry and debate. This paper will firstly explore the concept of a web-story and will examine ways in which history can be explored through a web-story. Examples of web stories will be provided along with contextual factors that should be considered when designing a web-story.