EDTECH 541: Integrating Technology into the Content Areas

When planning to integrate technology into any content area there are a few things a teacher must consider.  First, the relative advantage of using the technology - does this technology truly enhance the learning.  Also, what objectives are to be met during the lesson and lastly the analysis of the instruction.  Meeting the social studies standards at various levels, for example, my husband teaches history at a public school that follows Michigan state standards, whereas my school follows the standards put in place by the Archdioceses of Detroit.  The themes seem to be the same and the integration of technology can help achieve meaningful learning (Roblyer, 2016).

To fully engage students in social studies we need to make them active learners.  Blogs can be beneficial to learning in a social studies classroom by having students answer historical questions, write opinion pieces, and participate in discussions on specific topics.  The relative advantage to this is give students ownership in the discussion and encourage overall participation in class.  Blogs could be shared globally with another classroom and help make global connections.  There are primary source websites and videos can help make a connection between a student and the person who experienced a particular historical event first hand.

The overall goal of social studies in the middle school and high school is to help develop responsible citizens who understand the world around them and the impact of the past.  Using project-based learning with the integration of technology - videos, blogs, graphic organizers, Google doc - help students reach specific objectives for a particular time period (Integrating Technology).  The incorporation of current events - possibly with video clip - or having students create a digital newspaper or use various apps to record their own newscast.  

Lastly, a simple way to use technology is to have a online textbook.  For school to provide updated textbooks at a more effective cost, online textbooks for students to access at home or if the school is a 1:1 school.  Students are comfortable using electronic devices to read books or news, so by provided an e-book students have access to many multimedia tools to enhance their reading experience.  Options may be available for ELL learners or students with learning disabilities (option to have text read out loud).

Resources

     Bernard, S. (2009, May 27). How to Teach with Technology: Social Studies. Retrieved November 2, 2016, from https://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-social-studies-lessons 

     Integrating Technology into the Classroom. (n.d.). Retrieved November 02, 2016, from http://teachinghistory.org/teaching-materials/ask-a-master-teacher/23634 

     Roblyer, M. D. (2016). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching (7th ed.). Pearson.