Teaching Social Studies is near and dear to me. I taught high school Geography, World History, US History, and AP US History, even though I was an Economics major. Now that I am also licensed as a School Library Media Specialist, I see the two teaching areas a perfect fit for building an information literacy, media literacy, and digital literacy skills curriculum, as do Roblyer and Doering (2012, p.337).
Roblyer and Doering (2012) point out there are several considerations when integrating technology into a Social Studies curriculum. First, there is a sheer amount of content to expose to our students (p. 336). It almost seems impossible to not only teach the content, but also introduce new technology to the students. It really all depends on how a teacher plans to use the technology - transfer of content or creation of knowledge or both. Secondly, Roblyer and Doering also point out that the cost of the technology for technology specifically for Social Studies, such as funding an information database like ABC-CLIO, may be left by the wayside due to budget constraints (p.336). Regardless, there is still a large amount of free online resources and hopefully Social Studies teachers have access to laptops, PCs, and/or tablets.
If a teacher is tasked with teaching more than one discipline that falls under the Social Studies umbrella, then the challenge herein lies becoming an expert of a particular subject area and learning what resources are available for all disciplines. The resources and content are much different from teaching Geography and Economics. There is only so much time and with changes occurring frequently in technology and political landscapes, having the time to remain current is imperative for those Social Studies teachers who incorporate current events in their curriculums for relevancy. History teachers, on the other hand, have the daunting task of covering centuries of people and events. Creating an information library of reliable online resources that a teacher can refer to and recommend to students is a necessity for any 21st Century teacher in order to remain focused within a discipline that appears to have so much information available. (Roblyer & Doering, 2012, p. 336).
Without a doubt, students will want to find and share their own Social Studies resources as well. In an era where political campaigns, uprisings, and events are played out via Tweets or YouTube videos, students naturally gravitate to technology to find their resources. I personally have witnessed Social Studies students ignore the library books, online databases, or lists of reliable Web sites, which I had created for them, and go directly to Google or Wikipedia. Enter the opportunity to teach evaluation of Web sites to determine personal opinion versus factual information, biases, or conspiracy theories.
The National Council for Social Studies recommends that digital citizenship be a component of the Social Studies curriculum. Not only should students practice legal and ethical technology use when sharing information, but they also have the ability to participate in local, state, national, and global communications that allow them to learn about other cultures. Discovering online resources that promote and not inhibit is essential for social studies awareness. Granted, there are many perspectives and opinions when it comes to Social Studies issues. But there is also a lot of erroneous information in Cyberspace that spreads falsities and hate. Given the nature of the Social Studies curriculum itself, the use of technology can help students develop research and information literacy skills necessary for functioning in the world.
Resources
Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2012). Integrating educational technology into teaching. (6 ed.). Prentice Hall.
Technology position statement and guidelines. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.socialstudies.org/positions/technology
Roblyer and Doering (2012) point out there are several considerations when integrating technology into a Social Studies curriculum. First, there is a sheer amount of content to expose to our students (p. 336). It almost seems impossible to not only teach the content, but also introduce new technology to the students. It really all depends on how a teacher plans to use the technology - transfer of content or creation of knowledge or both. Secondly, Roblyer and Doering also point out that the cost of the technology for technology specifically for Social Studies, such as funding an information database like ABC-CLIO, may be left by the wayside due to budget constraints (p.336). Regardless, there is still a large amount of free online resources and hopefully Social Studies teachers have access to laptops, PCs, and/or tablets.
If a teacher is tasked with teaching more than one discipline that falls under the Social Studies umbrella, then the challenge herein lies becoming an expert of a particular subject area and learning what resources are available for all disciplines. The resources and content are much different from teaching Geography and Economics. There is only so much time and with changes occurring frequently in technology and political landscapes, having the time to remain current is imperative for those Social Studies teachers who incorporate current events in their curriculums for relevancy. History teachers, on the other hand, have the daunting task of covering centuries of people and events. Creating an information library of reliable online resources that a teacher can refer to and recommend to students is a necessity for any 21st Century teacher in order to remain focused within a discipline that appears to have so much information available. (Roblyer & Doering, 2012, p. 336).
Without a doubt, students will want to find and share their own Social Studies resources as well. In an era where political campaigns, uprisings, and events are played out via Tweets or YouTube videos, students naturally gravitate to technology to find their resources. I personally have witnessed Social Studies students ignore the library books, online databases, or lists of reliable Web sites, which I had created for them, and go directly to Google or Wikipedia. Enter the opportunity to teach evaluation of Web sites to determine personal opinion versus factual information, biases, or conspiracy theories.
The National Council for Social Studies recommends that digital citizenship be a component of the Social Studies curriculum. Not only should students practice legal and ethical technology use when sharing information, but they also have the ability to participate in local, state, national, and global communications that allow them to learn about other cultures. Discovering online resources that promote and not inhibit is essential for social studies awareness. Granted, there are many perspectives and opinions when it comes to Social Studies issues. But there is also a lot of erroneous information in Cyberspace that spreads falsities and hate. Given the nature of the Social Studies curriculum itself, the use of technology can help students develop research and information literacy skills necessary for functioning in the world.
Resources
Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2012). Integrating educational technology into teaching. (6 ed.). Prentice Hall.
Technology position statement and guidelines. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.socialstudies.org/positions/technology