Maximizing the Potential of Computer-Based Technology in Secondary Social Studies Education

Abstract

This paper looks critically at the way technology is currently used in social studies education and makes the argument that technology can better serve teachers and students as a tool of engagement and inquiry rather than as a supplement to existing practices. In this paper, social studies education is characterized as a quest for reflective inquiry, as a social science, and as a medium for citizenship transmission. Technology can assist in the teaching of all three elements from a constructivist, or inquiry-oriented, perspective. Relevant examples are provided whenever possible and deemed necessary. The paper concludes with a proposal for widespread change in the way social studies teachers utilize technology by focusing on teacher education programs. Teacher educators must contradict students’ perceptions of traditional social studies instruction with habits of increased technology usage in order to equip future teachers with the skills required to implement pedagogical change in their classrooms.

When Using Technology Isn'T Enough: A Comparison of High School Civics Teachers’ Tpck in One-To-One Laptop Environments

“…Both social studies educators and political scientists, for example, have argued that the Internet has the potential to serve as a conduit for civic action by bridging the gap between classrooms and American political life (e.g., Bennett, 2008;Crowe, 2006;Friedman, 2006;Hicks, Tlou, Lee, Parry, & Doolittle, 2002;Kahne, Ullman, & Middaugh, 2012;O'Brien, 2008;VanFossen & Berson, 2008;Waring, 2006). Others have offered theoretical arguments encouraging teachers to use digital technologies as a way to follow current events or foster authentic understandings of political processes (e.g., Journell, 2009aJournell, , 2009bO'Brien, Grill, Schwarz, & Schlicht, 2006).…”