The document describes a planned history lesson for year 7 students on the Feudal System in medieval England. Students will work in groups to create a podcast reporting on daily life under the Feudal System from the perspectives of different social classes. They will discuss advantages and disadvantages of the system and whether it was fair. Students will record their podcasts using digital voice recorders, edit them using Audacity software, and upload the finished products to the school's secure media storage system. The teacher evaluates that most students engaged well with using technology for the history lesson, though some struggled with public speaking or the recording/editing software.

1. Sara Folland

2. 
 I work at a State Secondary school with approximately 629 students and an
Enhanced Resource Provision for around 80 pupils with special needs, the
school has various types of technology.
 Most classrooms have computers, smart board/whiteboard, mobile devices,
visualizer, Wi-Fi, projector. The operating systems are windows 7 and 8, printer
scanner, photocopier and some digital video recorders and cameras are also
available.
 The school has an excellent school pastoral administrative management system
or SPaMs for short. Pupils are recorded for positive/negative behaviour, have
a learning diary, attendance figures, special needs and support diary available
for staff to view.
Introduction

3. 
 I am a Learning coach at the school working mainly with key stage 4, I have
responsibilities for Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification and also cover classes,
exams and run an after school provision.
 For this activity I have chosen to work with year 7 students in their history
class. They have been working on medieval history and the Feudal System. The
students will be making a podcast reporting on the daily routine and lifestyle of
the different class of people living around the time of the eleventh century.
 The students will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the system and
evaluate the fairness of the system. They will also reflect and look at the need
for a such system and describe a similar system today, such as who is in charge
in school?
 Upload and edit the recording to the learning gateway media box facility. Use
Audacity to edit and listen to the recording.
Introduction

4.  Knowledge: Define- the Feudal system, List the system of land sharing, Recall- the
format of the system, Name- the people form the top to the bottom, Recognize- the
way the system is used. Use audacity programme to listen and edit sound recording.
 Comprehension: Discuss- the way the system began, Describe- how the king decided on
a plan, Explain- why the king made this system, Identify- the people involved in the
system, sort- in order form the top to the bottom.
 Application: Illustrate -show the way the system worked, Perform- make a report on
the system, Apply- your knowledge to the system in writing, Use- your knowledge to
make a news report, Practise- your oral skills reading your report and using a digital
recorder. Edit the sound recording and upload safely to media box.
Learning Objectives

5.  Analysis: Categorise- order the language of your report, Analyse- why did the king
chose this system, Compare- what are the benefits of the system and the downfalls,
Contrast- between the fairness and the unfairness of the feudal system.
 Synthesis : Design- news report, manage decide what to say, summarise- draw
conclusions ‘is it fair?’, plan arrange- the podcast and edit your report, use media box
to upload your podcast/recording.
 Evaluation: Assess- have you made clear decisions? Evaluate -do you think the feudal
system is fair or unfair? Justify- why do you think this? Rate- on a scale of one to ten,
which person is treated most fairly? Revise- think about the system, is there a system
similar today? Select- the person treated most unfairly. Estimate- the minutes needed
to make a podcast recording. Measure -the time needed to edit a podcast, include only
the relevant recording.
Learning Objectives

6. 
 Number of children- there are twenty three children in the class, they will
choose to make a group of around 5-6 with their friends and peers.
 Age range –11 and 12 years of age, attainment level – the class is a set one, the
highest in the year group, and key stage 3.
 National Curriculum documents reference – Learners develop ICT skills across
the curriculum by developing , creating, designing and presenting information
and ideas. In history learners develop their ICT skills by using technology both
in enquiries, and in developing and presenting their findings(Dcells 2008, p22).
 Literacy Numeracy Framework Strands- Oracy, reading, writing and numerical
reasoning, number skills, measuring and data skills (National Literacy and
Numeracy Framework 2013, p4)
Class dynamics

7. 
 ICT and the National Curriculum -Wales has a non-statutory framework
developed to provide guidance and progression in developing thinking,
communication, ICT and number (DfES 2008, p6).
 The key stage 3 programme of study recommends that students use their skills
to find and analyse information, be given opportunities to use ICT tools safely
and legally, use a range of information from different sources, use a variety of
resources and equipment, create and communicate information in the form of
text, images, sound, hardware and software, and taught to use ICT comfortably,
safely and responsibly (DfES 2008, p14-15).
 Students will be creating a news report about the Feudal system using a digital
voice recorder, editing the recording with Audacity software and will upload
the recording to media box Neath Port Talbot Schools secure media storage
area.
Lesson/activity outline

8. 
 Explain the system and the advantages/disadvantages to the people involved.
 Discuss the need for such a Feudal system.
 Reflect on how a similar system can be used today.
 Choose equipment and record a podcast news report on the fairness of the
system and edit the recording.
 Upload the podcast to Media box safely and securely.
 Present their findings and use ICT to represent the findings via a podcast that
can be securely viewed by others in the school and local authority.
Lesson/activity outline

9. 
 Electronic and other resources required- digital voice recorder, microphone,
computer.
 Media box- application allowing pupils to upload podcast safely and securely.
 Key Stage 3 History text book by Aaron Wilkes for reference.
 Feudal System writing frame, worksheet to aid learners to create a news report.
 White board question and answer session.
 Audacity software and computer suite.
Resources

10. Discuss the Feudal
system and investigate
the advantages/
disadvantages of the
system, and the need for
a system. Make a
podcast interview
describing life during
the era of the Feudal
system.
Look at a similar
system today,
example Who is in
charge in school?
Make a pyramid
to explain.
King William, Feudal System, Baron, Knight, Villein, Battle of
Hastings, land, distribution, fair, unfair, lord, podcast recording
Make a news
report recording
on the
advantages/
disadvantages of
the system
Read, recap,
refresh, question
answer session,
think, reason,
compare, evaluate
the need for a
Feudal system.
Teacher led read and
recap Feudal system,
what do you know?
Student describe and
explain the Feudal
system in more detail
on a worksheet or
smart board, discuss
the advantages/
disadvantages.
Teacher led instruction
with news report
writing frame,
explanation, purpose of
the news report,
fairness or unfairness of
the system.
Students to decide on
equipment to make
podcast, the length of
podcast and what to
include in the recording.
Students are all
currently working
towards level 4/5,
explanation,
examples, question
and answer sessions
to aid understanding
of activity.

11.  Students were able to work in a group of five or six, they enjoyed making the recording as
it was a very different way of presenting the information they have been learning over the
term, Some of the pupils became a little excited at the prospect being allowed to chose
their groups and be able to use the voice recorders.
 The Students evaluated the advantages and disadvantages of the Feudal system, what was
fair and unfair. The pupils also discovered how to make a recording and how difficult it
can be to find a quiet spot to record in. Some pupils did not want to speak as they did not
like the sound of their own voices.
 ICT supported this learning activity with resources such as an electronic whiteboard used
for the discussion, question and answer session, digital recorder recorded the podcast, a
computer was used to upload the podcast to Media box. The use of ICT made this topic
more interesting for the learners, as they were able to explore new possibilities making
voice recordings.
The Evaluation

12. 
Evaluation
• There was a discussion at the beginning of the lesson to reflect on the Feudal system and
what the students have learnt over the last few lessons. Pupils were given the opportunity
to answer questions on the whiteboard and complete a writing frame work sheet.
• The use of ICT impacted the students learning and they enjoyed making a podcast, they
found using the technology in a history lesson to be fun and interesting, some found the
activity too distracting and did not focus on the task, some were acting inappropriately for
the recorder and some became quite frustrated at the end of the lesson.
• The students found using the digital voice recorder technology gave them a different
experience of a history lesson today, they were very keen to want to make a recording, some
were too shy and found the other tasks more enjoyable. The majority of the class embraced
the making of a podcast, listening to their own voices, discussing history from years gone
by, some were embarrassed at the sound of their own voice and did not want to make a
recording. Others altered their own voice to their own interpretation of a medieval person.
The activity covered areas of key skills and wider key skills such as developing
communication, problem solving, working with others, ICT, thinking, improving own
learning and number.

13. 
• In my next lesson I would definitely encourage the students to pick a different
pieces of technological equipment to help them experiment with different ways
and techniques of recording, including video, animation , applications and sound.
The lesson required more time to make recordings, two lessons would have
improved the experience and given more time for a plenary at the end.
• Using the Audacity programme proved to be quite challenging for some of the
students, working in a group proved to be beneficial as some were more
advanced in ICT than others. Once the process of editing was fully explained
there were a few problems, some editing was hasty and some recordings were
lost. I had made a back up of the recordings so I was able to retrieve the lost
sound data.
• I have relate these evaluations and comments to relevant background research
and reading in my reflection.
Evaluation

14. 
 The podcasts
 The Kings viewpoint
 Listen here
Some of the students found acting out the part that they had chosen to be more
acceptable and true to life. The students had difficulty knowing how to use the
hand held recorders (Ultra disk digital voice recorder).
The Evidence

15. 
 The podcasts
 The Barons viewpoint
 Listen here
Background noise was an issue, separate groups had to be formed and use the
corridor outside of the classroom so that the students could record without being
interrupted or having to much background noise.
The Evidence

16. 
 The podcasts
 The Knights viewpoint
 Listen here
Editing the recordings took a little longer than expected, the students had not come
across Audacity previously and therefore had to be shown clear and precise
instructions on how to open the audio files and how to sound edit the recording
that was not required.
The Evidence

17. 
 The podcasts
 The Peasants viewpoint
 Listen here
Many of the students in the class had not used voice recorders during their lessons
so far in year 7. They found the prospect of using the hand held recorders exciting
and challenging, trying to remember what to say without laughing as others were
watching.
The Evidence

18. 
 The Pictures
 Reflection
The Evidence
Pictures displaying
students completing
the writing task.
Digital voice recorder
Feudal system
writing frame

19. 
The Evidence