The Virtual War Memorial - a go to resource for commemoration

 

Image above: The Virtual War Memorial site at https://vwma.org.au/

A resource for schools on commemoration and stories of sacrifice and service 

With Remembrance Day soon to be commemorated, we thought it would be a worthwhile posting to highlight the wonderful Virtual War Memorial at https://vwma.org.au/ 

The Virtual War Memorial has been available online since 2015 and is a great source of research, resources and teaching materials. The Virtual War Memorial Education Portal is supported by a grant from the Minister for Education and provides excellent support to schools undertaking commemorative activities and teaching the global conflicts Australia has been involved in since 1899. In particular, the site is an invaluable resource for the teaching of World War 1 in Year 9 and World War 2 in Year 10 of the Australian Curriculum: History. 

Here is some information from the Virtual War Memorial site about the Schools Program and links to key education sections of the site.

The VWMA provides Professional Development and professional networking. Go to Professional Learning 2023 to view the current training schedule. If the scheduled dates are not suitable, contact the Schools Program Manager to arrange for onsite training for the History Teachers at your school, tailored to the needs of your students.

The VWMA provides information about Australia’s involvement in Conflicts from the Boer War through to Afghanistan with specific information about different battles and offensives. Information is also provided about the different Units that Australians served in. Our interactive Timeline is a particularly useful resource to build your students’ understanding of Australia’s involvement in wars and peacekeeping operations.

The Resources for Teachers page has supporting resources for the delivery of the Australian Curriculum at Year 9 and Year 10. Further resources will be added over time, so keep visiting to see what’s new. If you would like to share resources you have developed for your fellow teachers to access, please contact the Schools Program Manager at schools.program@vwma.org.au. Contributions are greatly appreciated, and your authorship will be acknowledged.

https://vwma.org.au/explore/schools# 

https://vwma.org.au/education/excursion--adelaide-commemorative-precinct-walking-tour

https://vwma.org.au/education/resources-for-teachers

https://vwma.org.au/education/resources-for-students

https://vwma.org.au/education/anzac-day-resources

https://vwma.org.au/education/remembrance-day-collection

We recommend that you get on the email list for the Virtual War Memorial Memoriam Newsletter - just email schools.program@vwma.org.au 

Also consider joining the AWVM Schools Program and take a deep dive into commemoration and historical learning through authentic research using the Virtual War Memorial. 

HAA is launched and blog underway

Image above: The HaSS Association Australia logo represents the four subject areas of HaSS (Geography, History, Civics and Citizenship and Economics and Business) and the bringing together the disciples and educators of each into the one learning area of HaSS.

Welcome to the blog for HaSS Association Australia Incorporated (HAA). This professional teachers association has been established in 2023 to support the teaching of HaSS and promote HaSS education as an important component of a balanced curriculum in schools. Whilst for many years there have been subject association across Australia for history, geography, legal studies, social education, business and environmental studies, there has not been a HaSS specific association for teachers to join.  To meet this need, a group of educators in South Australia have established HaSS Association Australia (HAA). 

The Mission Statement for HaSS Association Australia reads:

At HaSS Association Australia (HAA), our mission is to create an informed, dynamic, innovative and collaborative professional community of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) educators. HAA aims to be the united voice for HaSS Education in the political landscape and is committed to advancing quality curriculum and teaching of the HaSS subjects, including history, geography, civics and citizenship, and economics and business. Together, we strive to promote knowledge and understanding of the world within which our students live and contribute to the betterment of society through the study and teaching of the HaSS learning area.  

This blog will be published regularly and aims to be a vehicle to meet the goal of HAA to support quality HaSS education though the sharing of thinking, resources and information with HaSS educators. Through comments posted from those following this blog, we also hope that it becomes a collaborative online environment for HaSS teachers to be involved with.

We sincerely hope that HAA meets the aspirations it has to see HaSS grow as a vibrant and important innovative learning area in Australian schools.

Download HaSS Association Australia Incorporated (HAA) information flyer