Longship On line Educational Web Portal

Longship has recently commissioned an an on-line educational learning portal about the Vikings and Saxons


©2007 Longship Trading Company

www.hammerandcross.com

It has specifically designed for use in schools as an aid to teaching the Raiders, Invaders & Settlers part of the History section of Key Stage 2 of the National Curriculum, but it can also equally be enjoyed by children at home and anybody learning or teaching about the Vikings and Saxons.


The portal is comprised of three separate sections
  • A Photographic Archive:
    Containing over 500 pictures with corresponding information, as well as sound clips where relevant, the archive is separated in to the following six categories .
    • Items From Wood.
      Contains pictures of items that are made almost entirely from wood.

    • People & Their Roles.
      Pictures of people doing every day tasks, crafts and taking part activities and rituals of the period.
    • Items From Animals.
      A wide range of items were made from numerous parts of animals, from leather for shoes to bones for sewing needles. Bone and Antler was the plastic of its time as it was easy to work with, fairly strong, hardwearing and weather proof.
    • Jewellery.
      More Viking & Saxon jewellery than anything else has been found, and this category reflects that fact being the largest. It has a wide selection of
      different types of jewellery, and some will be familiar as it resembles
      today’s jewellery.

    • Weapons Armour & Metal Items. Metal of all types was very expensive and rare by today’s standards, and therefore items made from metal were some of the most prized possessions. Swords and helmets were very very very rare, and this section has pictures of some of the very best replica weapons and armour.
    • Tools Implements & Household Items.
      Today when we think of tools and household item a whole array of items spring to mind, but the Vikings & Saxons had a lot less. As well as having some items you will recognise this section also has items that will surprise and amaze you.
  • An Interactive Quiz:
    With over 100 randomly asked questions that use text images and sound, a fun way to encourage children to look through the archive to find the answers.
  • Games Section
    Computerised versions of period games Hnefetafl, Nine Men's Morris and a multiplayer dice game. The games can only be accessed when a certain number of quiz questions are answered correctly, therefore encouraging the child to learn. The games can be played by two players or against the computer, and each game has several levels of difficulty.

Although designed as an integrated package the Photographic Archive and the photographs contained within it can be accessed separately. The archive contains 3 different sized copies of every picture, which can be used to enhance work done in the classroom or a home.

Also included is a teachers pack and a number of worksheets designed by Longship and for use in the class room covering a wide range of subjects.

The web portal is an ideal accompaniment to a visit to your school by Longship and is suitable to be used either before or after a visit.

Longship has spent considerable time and resources on this project, and it has been developed and tested with the help of several schools and Wolverhampton University. Therefore ensuring it is a usable and valuable resource for schools and children alike, and like all things Longship does it combines learning with fun.

The web portal can be found at www.hammerandcross.com and it will be accessable by paying a small membership fee. you are free to take alook at the site now but it is under developement and so some areas are not working and there are bugs to be ironed out.

Memebrship can either be on an individual basis for varying periods of time from one month to a year, or on a group/school basis for period of one year or five years and allows up to 50 pupils at a time, this number can be increased by contacting Longship 

If you are interested in "The Hammer & Cross" when it comes online later this year, then send an email to software@longship.co.uk and we will notify you as soon as it becomes available.

 

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