Integrating Technology with Social Studies

Integrating technology into any lesson is a great way to get students engaged and ready to learn. Although using technology is exciting with the advantages that it brings along, it also has a few disadvantages also.

Advantages of Integrating Technology

According to Roblyer, technology allows for a variety of strategies to enhance learning for the diverse topics and concepts that comprise social studies content (Roblyer, 2016, p. 340). Using videos, virtual field trips, simulations, and problem-solving environments are great ways to make social studies more interesting. Some simulations and problem-solving resources for social studies include Muzzy Lane's Making History and iCivics.

I grew up doing many papers in social studies about historical figures and used the internet as a source for my information. By using the internet, you are also giving students an easier outlet to find up-to-date information (Roblyer, 2016, p. 341).

Disadvantages of Integrating Technology

I feel like there are very little if any disadvantages to using technology with Social Studies. The teacher whose room I am in this semester for Social Studies uses technology with almost every lesson she teaches and the students love it. You do have to be careful about what sources you use and make sure it is a valid source before introducing it to the class. As stated earlier, it is beneficial for students to use the internet to look up information about historical figures, etc. However, you must be careful about what websites they use to find their information. Wikipedia, for example, is one website students should be made aware of and told not to use. It is a website easily accessed by anyone and the information found on it is often inaccurate. 

Roblyer stated that social studies is often placed on the back burner since it is a content area that is not usually among those in statewide assessments (Roblyer, 2016, p. 338). Since this is true, it can be found difficult to find social studies sources at times.

Specific Activities, Programs, etc. 

Listed below are some resources given by Roblyer for Social Studies:

Electronic Research: Democratic and Republican Party websites, Ellis Island Records, U.S. Congress, The White House, and Census in Schools.

Information Visiualization Resources: Social Explorer and Gapminder websites, Neighborhood Map Machine and DIY Map software, Time Liner XE, and Graph Club software and NCES Create-a-Graph website.

Virtual Field Trips: U.S. Capitol Tour website, Explore Ancient Egypt website, National Museum of Natural History website, Colonial Williamsburg and Mount Vernon websites. 

Adventure Learning: Go North!, The Jason Project, and Adventure Learning Experience.