In a social studies classroom it is always important to find ways to connect the students with content material. Social studies has long been considered by many a subject of memorization, who, what, when, and where. However, the most important question to ask ourselves is why. Why did these events occur? Having a better understanding in social studies can foster future positive contributors to our society. So how can we make real world connection from the material to our students? In the past we have accomplished these feats through newspapers, CNN, and field trips. While some of these solutions are still very viable others have become daunting. Field trips is a great way to make real world connections, however, these can be both time consuming and expensive. Both CNN and newspapers are wonderful resources, but they can become boring and over used in the classroom. Technology has increasingly become more mainstream. Most schools have a computer in every classroom and a computer lab. According to Bransford, Brown, and Cocking's 1999 book,
How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, "An important use of technology is its capacity to create new opportunities for curriculum and instruction by bringing real-world problems into the classroom for students to explore and solve" (Chapter 9, pg 195).
Since teachers are able to access technology in the classroom it should be utilized to the fullest. Lets take real world applications to the classroom. Using the Internet, for interactive activities, in the classroom is has more impact on student learning than watching CNN or reading a current event in the newspaper. Using technology that we already have in the classroom is far less expensive than taking 180 students on a field trip. If implemented correctly in the classroom, technology will give students the opportunity to see, hear, and understand what is happening in the world around them. Some schools have already attempted to make these connections with their students. The Nuuanu Elementary School in Hawaii
(http://www.edutopia.org/nuuanu) has used technology to "learn and to learn how to solve problems". There are many ways to use the Internet in the classroom. Such sights like google earth (
http://earth.google.com/) make it possible to see places that a textbook just can't show. Two wonderful features of google earth are historical imagery from around the globe and ocean floor and surface data from marine experts (useful in a science classroom).
Proper implementation in the classroom is important. I am not currently in the classroom, however, I plan to implement an active lesson plan which is based on curriculum standards and which uses technology to enhance learning. After the implementation of the lesson I hope to use similar lessons in my future classrooms. This project will address the four common places of education, teacher, student, subject matter, and environment. Each will be addressed with proper research. I will look into websites that can be used in the classroom for practical real world connections. Also, I plan to research articles on the benefits of using technology in the classroom and look forward in finding similar areas of research from other teaching professionals.
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