AIT Schools’ Competition 2024: Recording Oral History

Can you record a piece of history from an adult in your family or community and win book vouchers and books for your school?

At AIT we collect the personal histories of people who have and are doing positive things in the world of technology so other people can learn about the industry and share this information.

These interviews include people such as Dame Stephanie ‘Steve’ Shirley who empowered a generation of women in technology and Andy Ayim who set up an online music platform for people interested in hip-hop and grime and now provides investment for under-represented groups to fulfil their technological dreams.

The challenge

So, as part of our educational offer we would like to see how young students from Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 can take on this concept and record a piece of history from an adult in their network of family, or organisations they take part in, with the theme: How technology has changed.

They can do this by formulating a set of question and then either recording the answers in written form (maybe include a photo), audio or video recording.

Questions could include:

– What was your first experience of tech?

– What tech device did you use to listen to music or play games on when you were at school?

– What tech device was your favourite when you were growing up and why?

– In what ways do you think technology has changed since you were growing up and how has this affected your life?

An early entry from a year 3 student:

Prizes

We will send £25 book vouchers to the three best KS1 entries and the three most original from KS2. We will also hold a lucky dip with five randomly picked schools receiving a set children-friendly tech books by TechWomen100 award winner, Beverly Clarke for their schools.

How to Enter

Please send your entries and as much detail as you can about the person(s) being interviewed such as their name, age and relationship to the student (and if possible the students’ first names and ages), to education@archivesit.org.uk by Friday 24 May, 2024.

Winners of the AIT Schools’ Oral History competition announced