1. W IKANLEARN H ISTORY : WEB 2.0 IN THE SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSROOM B Y M ARIA T. C ARROCCIA Application and implications of “Retooling the Social Studies Classroom for the Current Generation” by Elizabeth K. Wilson, Vivian H. Wright, Christopher T. Inman, and Lisa H. Matherson.

2. W HY IS TECHNOLOGY SO IMPORTANT ? Today’s Students: Are more likely to communicate via text or social networks Expect instant gratification Are easily bored by traditional instruction Technology can provide access to a new foundation for content Technology should assert “ the need to capitalize on many students ubiquitous, yet social, use of such technology and demonstrate the technology’s power as a tool for learning” National Council for the Social Studies 2006

3. W HAT IS WEB 2.0? Web that focuses on collaboration, participation, interaction, and the formation of social networks. Examples Blogs Digital Media Sharing Social networks Web spaces such as Wikispace

4. B LOGS IN THE CLASSROOM Can be used as a journal or personal commentary Can be used to share links, images, video Easy way to have multiple resources in one place Perfect for government or current event discussions Grammar and structure should be included in assessment to promote proper formatting

5. W IKI ’ S IN THE CLASSROOM Flexibility Can be a traditional website or a collaborative effort Great place to give students access to media and reliable information Easily customizable for each class Gives the class a sense of pride since they are able to actually build the wiki Easily facilitates peer review and commentary A great culminating project is having a class use the Wiki and the information on it as a study guide for an exam!

6. D IGITAL M EDIA S HARING IN THE C LASSROOM Can be video, audio, music, commentary, or images Growing use and importance of podcasts and vodcasts, especially in political commentary Allows access to different viewpoints and information Classes could even create their own vodcast as part of a project or assessment

7. H OW CAN I USE THIS ? Have your class post a discussion topic on a wiki about something they read in the news that week. On Friday, have the entire class discuss some of the threads. Have small groups of students create a vodcast about a key figure in the American Revolution that will be shown to the rest of the class. As part of a civil rights lesson, ask your students to blog about how the civil rights movement has impacted them or their family.

8. B IBLIOGRAPHY Wilson, Elizabeth K., Vivian H. Wright, Christopher T. Inman, and Lisa H. Matherson. "Retooling the Social Studies Classroom for the Current Generation." The Social Studies 102.2 (2011): 65-72. Web. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/section?conte nt=a933989421&fulltext=713240928