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Video

Transition to Agriculture

This 6 minute video explains how agriculture drove change and why humans took the risk of abandoning foraging. As farming technologies improved, populations increased, which led to the growth of villages and then cities. This in turn enabled collective learning, so that farming regions got a head start on other regions. ...

Video

How did change accelerate?

This 12 minute video is divided into two parts and presents an overview of the rapid development of the modern world. Part 1 presents reasons for the exponential growth in the world's population over the last 500 years including the development of global networks and commerce and the discovery of fossil fuel energy, which ...

Video

Threshold 8: The modern revolution

This short video presents an overview of the era culminating in the present time, whereby the earth is dominated by a single species - humans. It discusses how humans became so powerful through the creation of huge global exchange networks which shared ideas, technologies, goods and belief systems; through the discovery ...

Video

How did the world become interconnected?

This 10 minute video in 3 parts offers an overview of the growth of information networks through developments in the technologies of communication and transportation. Part 1 discusses how writing, inventions of paper and printing improved communication between societies and the development of transport and courier systems ...

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How did the first humans live?

This 10 minute video in three parts offers an overview of what life was like in the ancient world. Part 1 introduces the Palaeolithic era, marked by the use of stone tools, focusing on Homo Sapiens, and the tools used to study this era - archaeology and anthropology. Part 2 discusses human foraging and the specialist techniques ...

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Where and why did the first cities appear?

This 10 minute video in three parts offers an overview of the development of the agrarian civilisations in the ancient world. Part 1 looks at how, as peasant villages spread, farmers developed more productive methods of farming, particularly the use of large animals for ploughing and transport, and irrigation. Part 2 looks ...

Video

Threshold 7: Agriculture

This is a short video offering an overview of the developments from the end of the Ice Age, to the establishing of farming practices. Increasing knowledge about the environment, combined with increasingly dense human communities, led to increasing competition for resources. This in turn led to practices such as irrigation ...

Video

Why was agriculture so important?

This 10 minute video in 2 parts offers an overview of the development of agricultural practices in ancient societies. Part 1 discusses the limitations of foraging for food, and the advantages of farming - the domestication of animals and plants for nutrition. This move to agriculture meant humans changed also - technologically, ...

Video

How was the modern world created?

This 11 minute video in two parts offers an overview of the three forces of change in the past 100 years which helped create the modern world. Part 1 looks at how the three drivers of change - global exchange networks, competitive markets and increasing use of energy - began to operate with more and more power. Part 2 looks ...

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Thomas Keneally – Lachlan Macquarie

In this resource Thomas Keneally assesses Macquarie’s role in development of NSW.

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Face2Face: Thomas Keneally

This resource is an interview with Thomas Keneally on his book, 'Australians: Origins to Eureka'.

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Belonging

In this resource Thomas Keneally addresses the issues of belonging and of marginalised peoples.

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Telling the truth in history

In this resource Thomas Keneally addresses the issue of fictionalising history and the difference between novels and histories.

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Peter FitzSimons: Research process 2

In this resource Peter FitzSimons talks about how he researches history. Learncast video.

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The significance of Bennelong

In this resource Thomas Keneally speaks about the significance of Bennelong and contrasts him with Pemulwuy.

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Australian Disaster Resilience Knowledge Hub: Australian disasters

This is a curated collection of articles, photographs and internet links related to natural, technological and human-caused events including bushfires, cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakes, shipwrecks, urban fires, chemical and industrial events in Australia. Events included have posed a serious threat to a community or property ...

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Through our eyes: series 1

This series of 18 short videos provides insights into the land management practices and social, spiritual and cultural knowledge of the Ngemba, Kamilaroi and Euahlayi Aboriginal language groups in north-western NSW. The videos are presented by the Aboriginal Elders and knowledge-holders and cover a range of topics including ...

Video

Migrations and technological creativity

This 6 minute video discusses the migrations that occurred in the ancient world. It follows migration from Africa about 90,000 years ago, across all continents until the last migrations into the Americas about 15,000 years ago. The video explores the emergence of technologies and their impact on the environment including ...

Online

Game changers and change makers: resource book of ideas for National Science Week 2018

This resource book includes ideas to support students’ involvement in investigating, exploring, experimenting, designing, creating and communicating their understandings about game changers and change makers from the past who have solved some of the seemingly unsolvable problems, to game changers and change makers of today, ...

Online

Getting started with sustainability in schools

This is a website to help teachers implement an Education for Sustainability (EfS) approach in their professional practice. The multi-layered site is organised into five main sections. The first (Steps) identifies four key EfS contexts and provides support for each, including 11 case studies and five teacher profiles that ...