Technology, when used appropriately, can help make the history and social studies classroom a site of active learning and critical thinking and further student connections with the past. Teachers can use technology to enable students to meet people of different cultures, explore ancient and modern worlds, do authentic primary-source research, problem-solve through inquiry-based activities, and much more. Technology can be used to enable students to explore fundamental curriculum issues and answer core questions. Students can use the Internet and CD- ROMs to gather information, databases, spreadsheets, timelines, and other programs to store, organize, and analyze information, and multimedia applications such as desktop publishing, web publishing, and graphics programs to present information. Moreover, there are several prominent studies that demonstrate connections between technology use and higher academic performance and technology-using teachers supply much anecdotal evidence to show that technology helps educators teach better and students learn more effectively. Finally, teachers can adopt technology resources to develop and tailor instructional materials to better meet individual student needs. In all, technology use can further higher-order thinking "by engaging students in authentic, complex tasks within collaborative learning contexts." (Means, B., Blando, J., Olson, K., Middleton, T., Morocco, C., Remz, A., & Zorfass, J., "Using Technology to Support Education Reform." Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Available online: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/TechReforms/).
There are many fundamental reasons for incorporating technology in the classroom:
Using technology can bring traditional classrooms otherwise inaccessible resources -- information, people, media, and events
The explosion of information resources requires more sophisticated skills for finding, selecting, manipulating, modifying, and distributing information. Students and teachers need more training and experience in information literacy. (The Internet is becoming an increasingly important source of information and young people are the likeliest users of the Internet with 97% of 12-18 years olds reporting Net use. Seventy-three percent of students go online at school, up from 64% in 2001)
Email, discussion rooms, and other technologies help support collaborative learning and group communication.
Teachers and students regain energy and enthusiasm for their academic work as they create new ways of learning and thinking
Technology tools enable teachers to provide students with access to instructional materials that better match their learning needs
A growing number of fields include tasks in which information technology has become essential
Technology can provide access to instructional materials that would otherwise be unavailable due to scheduling, location, or physical restrictions
Teachers can reasonably expect higher results from students who have access to technology tools such as word processing, email, and the Web.
Students and young faculty often have high expectations of access to, and use of, technology
Technology can help teachers foster mutually supportive relationships with educators across the country and create partnerships with school librarians and media specialists.
Technology has the potential to change our students’ relationship to history and can facilitate engaging activities and research that would be difficult or impossible to create in a tech-free environment. But by themselves computers in the classroom do not necessarily heighten student engagement or increase academic performance. The crucial element is how technology is incorporated into instruction. If technology is integrated in such a way as to foster engaged learning and higher-order thinking than it is being used effectively. Unfortunately, professional development in educational technology in the United States is largely unfunded. Many teachers simply don't get the help they need to integrate technology into their courses while others are intimidated by technology or just doubt its usefulness. The Center for Teaching History with Technology believes that educators need to be shown that technology can help teachers teach and students learn and also be provided with models and examples of exemplary technology use.With that goal in mind,we here offers a multitude of free online resources presented in the form of a broad tutorial -- full of articles, tips, strategies, and annotated links -- to help history and social studies teachers integrate technology in their classes.
Means, B., Blando, J., Olson, K., Middleton, T., Morocco, C., Remz, A., & Zorfass, J., "Using Technology to Support Education Reform." Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Available online: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/TechReforms/
Get Some Training:
You don't have to become a computer expert, but you need to have some basic understanding how computers operate and what to do when they do not operate properly. Your school probably has an instructional technology specialist to help you in this regard. You also should learn some useful software programs. In particular, I would suggest you begin with a communication program (eg. Outlook Express, FirstClass) and text processing software (eg. Word, Appleworks). The next step might be to use presentation software such as PowerPoint. Don't Re-invent the Wheel:
There are plenty of credible and experienced educational technology organizations, administrators and teachers out there who can lead you to quality materials, lesson plans and activities for use in your classroom. You don't have to spend hours using search engines to locate appropriate sites and materials. Some of the best general educational Web sites are:
Ask ERIC
Discovery Channel School (see Kathy Shrock "Guide for Educators")
Blue Web'n Weekly Updates
McRel
Classroom Connect
Education Index
The Gateway
PBS Online
Education World
SCORE
StudyWeb
Establish a Partnership with Your Students:
Most of your students will probably never have been in a laptop-based class or have used computers regularly in the classroom before. They may be excited about computer use, but may be apprehensive about how technology will change their work habits. Tell your students that computer use in your classroom is new and exciting for you as well, and that you are all part of an experiment whose ultimate success will largely depend on your combined efforts and cooperation. Stress how special this educational opportunity is and how much you need their input. Your students will probably appreciate you asking for their help and it may spur them to take ownership of the program. It also may soften some frustrations when technical problems occur. Have Plan B Ready:
You are going to run into some technical difficulties in class and how you handle them will go a long way in determining how successful and enjoyable your technology experience is. You can minimize unwanted surprises by getting some training from an instructional technology specialist and by minimizing your reliance on live web connections. However, you will invariably run into technical problems during class that you are not able to solve immediately. In such instances, if you appear overly perturbed and frustrated you will send a signal to your students that they too can moan about technical problems and perhaps use them as excuses to forego completing computer-based work. Even wore, you may inadvertently cause them to question the ultimate merit of computer-based learning. Instead, try to make a smooth transition to a backup lesson plan, thereby sending a signal that technical glitches are just part of your educational adventure.
