Retooling the Social Studies Classroom for the Current Generation

Reviewed by Jill Reimer

University of Victoria

Wilson et al.’s article Retooling the Social Studies Classroom for the Current Generation focuses on how technology has changed the way in which young people read, communicate and learn.  The authors argue that current teachers need to keep up to date with the fast paced world their students are accustomed to, and that teachers are struggling to integrate technology into lessons in engaging and meaningful ways.  They continue on to define and compare Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 tools, which is basically the early years of the World Wide Web versus “the more recent World Wide Web, one that focuses on user collaboration, participation, interaction, and the building of social networks.”  They then describe how one of the authors, Lisa Matheson, a high school social studies teacher, was able to implement Web 2.0 technologies into her lessons in an effective manner, while still delivering solid academic content and following the American national social studies curriculum guidelines. 

The article focuses on three Web 2.0 tools: blog, wiki and digital media-sharing.  Of course there are several other web tools that could have been discussed, but the fact that the authors chose just three to narrow in on keeps the article well organized and easy to read.  Focusing on just three tools gives the authors more time and space to go into detail on what the tools are, how to implement them in the classroom, give examples of lessons that use these tools, and also list websites where the software can be found.  The article compares similar software based on such criteria as cost, user friendliness, and privacy settings.  I think that the amount of information given on the three tools make this article very useful to current or future social studies teachers who are looking for ways to enrich student learning.  As well, the lessons that are shared in the article have students engaging in critical thinking and developing ownership of their work and even though these lessons are American, they can easily be altered in order to meet the requirements of varying curriculums.

The authors seem to cover most avenues of concern that could be associated with implementing technology in a school environment.  For example, they discuss the importance of taking into consideration that not all students will have access to computers and technology at home and they stress the importance of ensuring students understand and abide by copyright laws.  Teaching students about privacy settings and their benefits, and the importance of parental release forms for digital media-sharing are a couple other useful concerns that the article addresses.  The authors also make some useful recommendations such as having students supply the teacher with their user names and passwords for school related internet user accounts in case students forget, and are unable to access their school work.  Perhaps most importantly, they reiterate how important it is for the teacher to explore the technology, take a couple trial runs, and become comfortable with it before introducing it to the class.  This is great advice as there is a lot of room for error in applying technology into the classroom, especially for the teacher who is not technology savvy.  The one thing that the authors fail to mention is the possibility of technology glitches and how this can affect learning in a classroom devoted to technology.  The entire article was very pro-technology, without even glancing at how technology can be detrimental to learning.

The lessons show cased in the article cover a wide range of social studies related criteria, including current events, politics, research and history.  I think the authors really prove their point that technology can be integrated into the classroom in the fact that they cover such a variety of topics in the sample lessons.  The point of all the lessons have a similar focus: to have students make connections to what they are learning in the classroom to the world around them.  This fact is clearly stated in the paper, and I believe it speaks strongly to what learning social studies is all about. 

The article also touches base on technology being cross-curricular. For example, by integrating various technologies into the social studies classroom, teachers can cover the curriculum of two subject areas: social studies and technology education.  As a teacher-in-training, I believe it could be very useful and time-saving, to use cross-curricular activities whenever possible.  It seems as though many teachers rush through material in order to meet curriculum guidelines for the year.  If technology education could be integrated into all the other courses, more time could be spent in areas where students struggle.

I am a firm believer that technology is the tool for learning of the future.  This article made me realize how much thought must go into a lesson in order to make it meaningful, educational and to engage the students in critical thinking.  The article gave me numerous resources, including websites and collaborate lesson plan ideas that focus in on our story, her story and history, while having students make connections in the classroom to what is going on in the world around them.    

Reference:

Wilson, E.K., Wright, V.H., Inman, C.T., & Matheson, L.H. (2011).  Retooling the Social Studies Classroom for the Current Generation.  The Social Studies, 102, 65-72.