This document describes a history course that used a wiki tool on Sakai to enhance student learning. Students were tasked with creating fictional lives for historical figures and posting weekly updates about how those characters were affected by historical events from Germany in the early 20th century. By practicing decision-making as their characters, students felt they better understood how ordinary people experienced history. The open-ended nature of the project empowered students and inspired high-quality work, with students averaging over 4 pages of writing per week and conducting additional research.

1. Germany & the World Wars: Creating Lives on the WikiEdith Sheffer, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in the Humanities, Stanford University

2. Overlapping themesJuly 2009210th Sakai Conference - Boston, MA, U.S.A.

3. Open collaboration: shifting the paradigm of teaching and learningThe students of History 138A and TA Andrew VisserTWISA Organizing Committee, Judges, and SponsorsSakai CommunityKeliAmann, CourseWorkChristine Doherty, CourseWorkAllyson Hobbs, HistoryAlan Mikhail, History Robert Moeller, HistoryBradley Naranch, History James Ward, HistoryJuly 2009310th Sakai Conference - Boston, MA, U.S.A.

4. This Sakai project in the Humanities suggests how… July 2009410th Sakai Conference - Boston, MA, U.S.A.Even simple tools can have powerful impact

5. The missing link in a survey courseJuly 2009510th Sakai Conference - Boston, MA, U.S.A.Basic course requirements Lectures, discussion section

6. Books, Document Reader

7. Analytical paper

8. Midterm and FinalThe challenge: making history come aliveA platform to: Intensify student interest

9. Deepen historical understanding

10. Stimulate excitementThe origin of the idea: partnering with SakaiJuly 2009610th Sakai Conference - Boston, MA, U.S.A.Consultation with CourseWork Multiple options, multiple outcomesWiki Tool: Creating Lives

11. Thinking through historyJuly 2009710th Sakai Conference - Boston, MA, U.S.A.“The weekly Identities assignments were somewhat like the weekly problem sets in math or science classes. In a math or physics class, it is not enough to just listen to the lecture and read the textbook; the student actually has to practice solving real problems. The Identities Project […] forced me to consider how real people actually make decisions in historical events; I felt that I was, in essence, ‘solving’ the problem of ‘how and why do ordinary people act in history’ by ‘practicing’ on my historical avatar every week.”

12. Students created historical lives on SakaiJuly 2009810th Sakai Conference - Boston, MA, U.S.A.Just 3 restrictions…

13. First, the students constructed a childhoodJuly 2009910th Sakai Conference - Boston, MA, U.S.A.

14. Each week, the students posted their characters’ life choices on the wikiThe Fall of the Berlin Wall and reunificationCold War and the Iron Curtain

15. Wiki page exampleJuly 20091110th Sakai Conference - Boston, MA, U.S.A.

16. Wiki page exampleJuly 20091210th Sakai Conference - Boston, MA, U.S.A.

17. Wiki page exampleJuly 20091310th Sakai Conference - Boston, MA, U.S.A.

18. Wiki page exampleJuly 20091410th Sakai Conference - Boston, MA, U.S.A.