MR HART Teaching & creative work

Some things I’ve made.

I’m James Hart, a history and media studies teacher and musician in Aotearoa New Zealand. This is where I keep courses, simulations, reference sites, software and music I’ve made for classes, colleagues and myself.

Browse the projects How I work

§ 01 — The work

Courses, tools and references.

11 sites spanning teaching, learning and creative work.

Checked against the hosted catalogue.

Filter by purpose
  • Live
  • Prototype
  • Staff reference
  • Unindexed
History Forge
An anonymous NCEA history studio with short practice activities and full source studies that coach evidence, reliability, perspectives and synthesis.
historyforge.mrhart.org
Live prototype
Open History Forge
The Frame
A Media Studies production guide connecting intended audience effects to 69 camera, editing, lighting, colour, staging and sound-image techniques, with combinations and an exportable shot plan.
mvtechniques.mrhart.org
Live
Open The Frame
Black Flu Evidence
A student-centred Year 11 history environment for New Zealand’s 1918 influenza pandemic, combining an evidence archive and notebook with city-response simulations, a typed adventure and an evidence-backed memorial studio.
blackflu.mrhart.org
Live
Open Black Flu Evidence
Forma
A local-first workspace for turning curriculum requirements and existing teaching material into inspectable teaching architecture, sequences, transformations and unit audits.
forma.mrhart.org
Live
Open Forma
Social Sciences Years 7–10
A navigable staff reference for the August 2026 curriculum, keeping official knowledge, teaching practices, glossary and source documents clearly organised.
temataiaho.mrhart.org
Staff reference · unindexed
Open Social Sciences Years 7–10
HPE Years 7–10
A department reference turning four Ministry draft teaching sequences into a navigable view of 31 required Health and PE blocks, with official wording kept distinct from local interpretation.
hpe.mrhart.org
Draft staff reference · unindexed
Open HPE Years 7–10
Outlasting the Format
A Year 12 Media Studies course for AS 91251, using Survivor, Alone and Outlast to explore how genre conventions, audiences and industry shape survival reality television.
genre.mrhart.org
Live
Open Outlasting the Format

New mrhart.org sites are added here once I’ve checked that they’re ready to be public.

Anything still being sorted out stays off the list.

§ 02 — Practice

The process is fairly simple.

  1. 01

    Need

    Start with the actual classroom problem.

  2. 02

    Make

    Make something small enough to use.

  3. 03

    Use

    Try it with the people it is for.

  4. 04

    Revise

    Keep what helps; fix what doesn’t.

Clarity

Explain the difficult bit without flattening it.

Evidence

Show where claims come from and where the gaps are.

Judgement

Leave room for teachers and students to think.

§ 03 — About

I teach history and media studies.

Most of these projects began with a lesson, course or department job that needed a better tool. Some are finished enough to share; others are still being worked out. If something here is useful, you’re welcome to use it.