Frelinghuysen Middle School Social Studies 2.0: How to Effectively Utilize Technology in the Social Studies Classroom Without Having to be a Guru Presented by: Amy Bozza, Ed.M. Frelinghuysen Middle School Morristown, New Jersey

NCSS Guidelines for Technology in the Social Studies Classroom http://www.socialstudies.org/positions/technology The NCSS has created guidelines for Social Studies educators with regards to the purpose of utilizing technology in a social studies classroom. GUIDELINE CATEGORIES Technology Operations and Concepts Planning and Designing Learning Environments and Experiences Teaching, Learning, and the Curriculum Assessment and Evaluation Social, Ethical, Legal, and Human Issues

CAUTION!!! Social Studies educators need to be careful that technology is not being used simply to say that a lesson involved technology. Having students type a paper in Microsoft Word is no longer an infusion of technology in a classroom. Technology should be added only when it can extend the lesson in a meaningful way.

Beyond Power Point Use technology to show how we remember the people who have gone before.

Beyond Power Point Use technology to make a large world smaller.

Use technology to make history come alive! Beyond Power Point Use technology to make history come alive!

Beyond Power Point Warning! Unpopular Idea Ahead!

Beyond Power Point Trash the Text!

Google Earth Can be used to: Give guided tours of important places within a location Teach map skills Teach geography skills Give students a better understanding of where everything on Earth is located

www.Flickr.com

Simulations What makes a strong simulation? Students take on a “real life” character Students are required to behave in a manner almost identical to how the actual “person” would have behaved There are penalties for not making correct choices and students are told how these choices would have affected that character

Online Simulations The Luddites Simulation http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/Luddites/The%20Luddites.htm Settle the Jamestown Colony http://www.historyglobe.com/jamestown/ Salem Witch Trial Simulation http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/salem/

Simulation Games Sid Meier’s Civilization -strategy game -build an empire from scratch, starting in 4,000 BC with one settler to building the first city, turning into an explorer or warrior -expand your empire while competing against rivals while using geography and technological development -engage in military and political meetings with other nations – establish diplomatic relations and explore maps -plan city construction and scientific progress

Simulation Games Age of Empires: Rise of Rome -students play and try to build Rome as they experience historical moments With all simulation games, aside from just playing the games, let students find the historical errors

Geography Review and Discovery http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/geogame/ http://www.eduplace.com/geonet/ http://www.gsn.org/GSH/project/gg/

Cell Phones in Social Studies Be willing to accept a different type of product. Camera Phones Immediate polling Ringtones with historical jingles Research by dialing Google (Text 466453 with your question and they’ll respond within seconds to minutes)

Cell Phones in Social Studies Check district policy and get permission from Superintendent or Principal Permission forms should go home to inform parents Toys to Tools: Connecting Student Cell Phones to Education by Liz Kolb (published by International Society for Technology in Education) Gives lesson plans, templates for permission forms, and many rationales and ideas for using cell phones in the classroom.

iPods in Social Studies Accept a different type of product! Kids can make a podcast for you! Go to iTunes and find podcasts on your content and share with kids.

Webquests Webquest.org http://webquest.org/index.php Gives Curriculum Matrix for easier searches Has a forum for online discussion about webquests Has a Yahoo Group for further discussion

Online Streaming Video Provides educators a way to show the important pieces of a lesson without subjecting students to an entire video, more than half of which may not be relevant. Free Sites http://www.teachertube.com http://www.youtube.com http://www.video.google.com http://www.blip.tv Requires Membership (Fee) http://unitedstreaming.com Beware of copyright issues – Read Terms of Agreements

Virtual Field Trips http://www.projectexplorer.org Units available on the web are presented in the form of a virtual field trip, and provide students and teachers access to places and people most tourists or school groups would never get to see. In addition to the FREE content available to view, including photos, video and journal entries from the Explorers, by registering on the site, teachers gain access to lesson plans to incorporate with the web-based materials.

Primary Sources The National Archives http://www.archives.gov/education/index.html American Memory (Library of Congress) http://memory.loc.gov/ EuroDocs (Digital Primary European Documents) http://eudocs.lib.byu.edu/ Making of America (Antebellum – Reconstruction) http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moagrp/ New York Public Library Digital Library Collection (searchable databases, online exhibitions, text, etc.) http://www.nypl.org/digital/

Digital History Virginia Center for Digital History http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/index.php?page=Projects Their mission is to develop high-quality, well-researched and reliable historical materials for the internet and make them accessible to the public.

Personal Websites and Blogs These offer ways for teachers and students to interact outside of the classroom and for teachers to offer resources outside of the textbook. http://littlelakeview.wordpress.com http://www.mathchamber.com http://www.bozzablog.blogspot.com

Skype Globalizes the classroom by letting students interact with other students throughout the world Teaches students how to communicate with people who aren’t “like them.” Excellent tool for teaching point of view

Textbook Support Many textbooks offer lesson plans with technology already integrated for you. http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/subject/integrating_tech_ss.phtml http://www.phschool.com

Create Informed Citizens Use technology to help your students learn about the issues. Read the local paper online. Go to CNN.com with students and discuss what you find. Research the presidential candidates and their stances on the issues.

General Interest Websites http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/archive.html http://www.besthistorysites.net http://edsitement.neh.gov http://etc.usf.edu/ss/index.htm

The Center for Teaching History with Technology http://thwt.org/ Provides Social Studies educators with instruction on how to create blogs, podcasts, and other technological teaching materials, as well as providing lesson plans, links to helpful websites, and much more.

This presentation is available at: http://www.frelinghuysenmiddleschool.org Contact me at: amyboz3@yahoo.com