South African history online
Philippa Garson
14 August 2003
South African History Online is an impressive new online learning and teaching resource for both students and teachers, which transforms history into a dynamic subject, giving new insight into South Africa's turbulent past and every-changing present.
The site, run by a non-profit NGO of the same name, is building a massive database of South African history, arts and culture. Already there is a rich spread of content on various historical topics and on the South African cultural scene.
SA History Online aims to "break the silence on the historic and cultural achievements of the country’s black communities" and to celebrate the achievements of all those who "fought for the realisation of a common humanity, the building of a non-racial
democracy and the celebration of our cultural diversity".
Thus, most of the material on the site is very different to that found in the old, apartheid-based school textbooks many teachers still use. The initiative will go a long way towards fast-tracking the curriculum change in the all-important subject of history.
The website is linked to a school and community-based outreach programme. Other components of the programme, which is sponsored by the Ford Foundation and Ireland Aid, include an annual history competition using television, print and radio to encourage the public to record their histories and contribute to the tapestry of diversity that makes up South African society – past and present.
Though only launched recently, there is already a wealth of interesting and well-written information on the clean-looking, user-friendly site: plenty of learning materials for Grade 4 – 12; content on freedom fighters, women in the struggle, special projects, arts and
culture (there is plenty of information on the country’s top photographers, for example), and various other historical and cultural projects.
An important component of the online initiative is the teaching of new methodologies that depart from the rote-learning approach to history from the apartheid era.
The Classroom section, launched in partnership with the department of education, has sections on "How to write your own history", "Oral history", and tips for matrics on how to prepare for the year. It also has details on the outcomes-based education curriculum, including which competencies should be achieved by the end of each grade, and lots of learning material for each grade.
Several sections of the site are still under construction, such as "Resources" in the Classroom section, which tells the learner where to get information – from libraries to museums to books, newspapers and archives. There is also a "Forum" section allowing for online discussion on any
topics.
"The project will allow young people to not only capture the history of our diverse communities and the broad range of subjects covered in the topic (for example, immigration, religion, arts, science and culture), but will make it suitable for cross-disciplinary use in fulfilling a range of curriculum goals, such as the teaching of social responsibility, critical thinking, writing skills and research methods", says SA History Online.
Launching the Classroom section of the site, Education Minister Kader Asmal said the online classroom "has an impressive selection of specialist chronologies, the largest listing of biographies, as well as detailed information on key issues on South African history.
The online classroom, Asmal said, "provides a rich resource of this country’s history to teachers and students ... These learning materials should succeed in discouraging teachers from using discredited apartheid-era textbooks or other less inspiring publications.
These resources provide also for those involved in training teachers to ensure that pre-service and in-service training is based on up-to-date history research content and new teaching methods".
South African History Online also has a publishing division, and several books are available to order.
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