Why should technology be integrated into social studies classrooms? How has the learning from our first session influenced your answer? Please support your views with content from the readings.
I am constantly amazed by how much technology has changed in my lifetime. It is remarkable how much research I was able to conduct during my undergrad years using online journals, databases, and e-books. Scholarly tales of sitting in the library for hours poring over books will be a thing of the past, if they are not already. The number of resources to which students have access is ever growing, and networking tools like Twitter, Facebook, wikis, and blogs make sharing ideas and knowledge easier than ever before. As a future social studies educator I feel that it would be irresponsible of me not to teach my students how to access and use these resources to their greatest advantage.
In Web Literacy for Educators, Alan November identifies several reasons why teachers need to integrate activities that support media literacy into the curriculum. Most basically, teachers can guide students through reading URLs and determining the reliability of a website (5-14). They can also teach students how to use different search engines and refine their searches so they are more effective (17-24). Most students will have experience using the Internet, but as a teacher you get the opportunity to show them the academic applications of the technology they use on a regular basis.
I think one of the most exciting things November discusses is the way teachers use blogs, wikis, podcasts, and RSS feeds to enrich the learning environment. The experience students get by making presentations in class is important for developing skills like public speaking, but today's technology allows students to make presentations to the whole world, and I think that is just so incredible. The examples November gives, Chris's Story (80) and Natalie's Story (90), make me want to try to incorporate online collaboration in my future classroom. Publishing their work online and working with students from around the world can be a huge motivator for students to participate.
According to the NCSS Position on Media Literacy, “The multimedia age requires new skills for accessing, analyzing, evaluating, creating, and distributing messages within a digital, global, and democratic society.” Therefore, teachers have a responsibility not only to their students, but to society as a whole, to prepare young people to live in a world that will require them to be media literate.
This class, Integrating Technology in Social Studies, has already pushed me out of my comfort zone; I never thought I would sign up for a Twitter account or write a blog, but I already see great value in learning to use these tools. Odds are, my students will use them, and how better to make content relevant than by putting it into a context to which they can relate? In the classroom you can go so much further than a textbook or a lecture when you use resources that engage the students' interest and make them excited about learning.
References:
- November, Alan. (2008). Web Literacy for Educators- chapters 1, 2, and 6. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Hey Angie,
ReplyDeleteI can definitely relate to your undergrad experience. I, too, rarely visited the library for research purposes because all the texts I needed were available online. Not having to go on campus for research saved me hours of time.
Also, I really liked the story about the pre-cal class that made the study guide. I bet those kids are motivated to do well in that class since they realize that they are helping many other students worldwide.
-Brittany Yurkovitch
I loved the online networking idea also! I think it's a great way for kids to share ideas, especially if they are shy and might not openly share in class. Also a little peer accountability never hurt... I think some sort of blogging partnership with another class could teach students to think deeper about the material and bounce ideas off one another.
ReplyDeleteI also never thought I'd have a twitter account or keep up a blog. However, I'll admit that I'm enjoying this blogging thing more as I play with it.
ReplyDeleteWhich leads to an important point you make, which I completely agree with--we should, as educators, think it our responsibility to keep up with what mediums our students are using to get and share information in order to get through to them every way possible, and also to make sure they use technology responsibly.
I also get surprised about how much technology has changed in my lifetime. Imagine how generations before us must feel--at least we grew up learning how to adapt quickly to new devices.
Like most other people I never thought I would use Twitter or write a blog, but I agree that our students will definitely use these resources. We have to use new technologies in order to stay relevant. I also agree that we have certain responsibilities as teachers and educating our students about technology is one of them.
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