Technology in Social Studies Instruction

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Technology in Social Studies Instruction

• Kacy Chenoweth, Carla Corzine, Marci Goldberg,
  Kristen Sloan, and Brandee Whorton

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Social Studies is the integrated study of the
social sciences and humanities to promote civil
competence.

• As an area that focuses of the interconnections
  of people and earth, social studies education has
  been affected by the impact of technology perhaps
  more than any other content area.

• Social studies draws upon
• Anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography,
  history, law, political science, religion and
  sociology.

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Issues and Problems in Social Studies Education

• Depth vs. Breadth
• Closely related to the issue of teaching for
  understanding
• Complex and will not be resolved any time soon
• Schools have to decide for themselves whether to
  emphasize broad survey coverage and mastery of
  facts or depth.

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• Perils of the Information Explosion
• Availability of information on the internet is
  creating controversy
• Some online information contradicts textbooks
• Teach students to be critical

• The History Wars
• Centers around whether or not US history
  curriculum excludes non European cultures
• Fails to represent minority perspectives
• UCLA is starting a major project to get history
  classes more focused on the multicultural aspect

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Integrating Technology Into Social Studies
InstructionStudying Our Past, Mapping Our Future

• Content/Area and Topics
• Geography
• Civics
• History
• Length of Time
• Six Weeks

• Major Activities Covered
• Identify events that shaped the history and
  growth of the area.
• Create life maps of people from the history of
  the local area.
• Develop a growth scenario for the future

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Integration Technology Into Social Studies
Instruction (cont.)

• Planning Instructions
• Week one Introduce the unit
• Week two Gather information and create time
  lines
• Week three/four Create life maps
• Week five/six Create future scenarios

• Evaluating and Revising
• Did students show growth in their thinking about
  peoples future shaping roles?
• Where students engaged in their tasks?
• Did the software work smoothly as expected?
• Did most students score well overall?

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• Useful Internet Sites
• National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
• http//www.ncss.org
• This is the official site for the National
  Council for the Social Studies.
• http//www.whitehousekids.gov
• This site allows children to tour the White House
  and learn about American history and politics.
• http//iecc.org/
• This site links children with people in other
  countries in a pen pal type of relationship.
• Sites for Teaching about Cultures
• One World, Our World
• http//www.onewow.org
• Created by those who have served in the Peace
  Corps, this site is dedicated to the principles
  of tolerance, leadership, and conflict
  resolution.
• Sites for Teaching History
• Teaching with Historic Places
• http//www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/descript.html
• This site is sponsored by the National Park
  Service for both students and teachers.

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Useful Internet Sites Cont.

• Sites for Teaching about People, Places, and
  Environments
• Stately Knowledge Facts about the United States
• http//www.ipl.org/youth/stateknow/
• Provides links to all 50 states
• Sites for Teaching about Production,
  Distribution, and Consumption
• CNNfn The Financial Network
• http//www.cnnfn.com/
• provides a plethora of information including
  up-to-date stock quotes and exchange rates for
  any country in the world.
• Site for Teaching about Science, Technology, and
  Society
• National Geographic Society
• http//www.nationalgeographic.com/features/96/inve
  ntions/
• an interactive site that teaches children about
  inventions, inventors, and the accidents that
  often lead to discovery.

• Sites for Teaching about Global Connections
• Childrens Games from Around the World
• http//www.rice.edu/projects/topics/edition11/game
  s-section.htm
• this site is a great source for teaching students
  about the various games children play around the
  world.
• Sites for Teaching about Civic Ideals and
  Character Education
• Character Education Partnership
• http//www.character.org
• a coalition of organizations dedicated to
  developing moral character and civic virtue in
  the nations youth.

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Technology Integration Examples for the Classroom

• Virtual trips and webquests
• Pen pals via email and messaging
• Videos
• Multimedia encyclopedias

• Internet Research
• Tools such as GIS and GPS
• Drill and practice software for test preparation
• Interactive learning software

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Example Activity Developing Maps

• Tom Snyders, Neighborhood Map Machine
• www.mapblast.com/myblast/index.mb
• This software and website allows students to
  create maps by gathering and attaching
  information and modify maps by altering things
  such as weather information.