THE BIG IDEA

In order to create more interest in the Humanities and make the subjects more real to the students, the idea of integrating the Blog together with Humanities subjects evolved after a brainstorming session by a group of teachers. This idea was entitled Humanities En-Livened Learning Online or in short, HELLO. The project aims to further students’ interest in the learning of Humanities by embarking on the blogging trend found among many teenagers these days. To further enhance the learning experience, a group comprising both local and international students was selected to spearhead this idea, allowing them to add their own personal cultural experiences through blogging. This marks the start to a wider involvement of the student body in the HELLO experience. 

CREATIVE PROCESS

Blogspot was chosen first as it was easy to learn and not too technical. Our six students started to blog on the topic of World War II. This topic was chosen because it is one of the topics required in the Lower Secondary History syllabus. Also, since the students are from different countries in Asia (Indonesia, Phillippines, Singapore), they were able to write their responses to that historical event from the perspective of different nationalities and also provide insight to other students about their feelings towards World War II and how it had affected their countries. The students sourced for materials from their own textbooks and also researched other information from the Internet. They sub-sequently completed a blog entry per week on various aspects of the Pacific Theater in World War II from the dropping of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima to the surrender of the British and the Japanese Occupation. Entries were posted once every two weeks. The Humanities teachers joined in by submitting responses and comments on the students’ blog entries. 

BENEFITS

The benefits from the HELLO project are manifold. Students were able to derive a greater understanding of the Humanities through the selected topics discussed on the blog. These students who belong to the techno-savvy generation will be excited by the use of blogging as part of their learning process. Also, they found it easier to identify and familiarize themselves with the situations, people and events that they learn about during lessons.