Teaching and Learning with

Technology in Social Studies

Isa
Tatiana
Tanja
Meeting standards across Social
Studies Areas
Social studies

Integrated study of the social sciences

and humanities to promote civic
competence
Purpose - develop ability to make
reasoned decisions for the public good
Themes about
Culture
Influence of technologies
technologies
Time, continuity,
change
Retrospectivity

People, places,
environments
Technologies in geography
 Individual
development and
identity
Impact of social media

Individuals, groups,
institutions
Shaping institutions with
tech
Power, authority,
governance
Use of tech in political
area
Issues and Challenges
in Social Studies
Instruction
 College, career and civic life C3 Framework

Civic ideas and

practices
Critical consumption of Online Content

Online civic reasoning skills Civic online reasoning

Biased/unbised Ability to judge the credibility
of info that floods our
Trustworthy/untruthful smartphones
Analyzing skills
Interrogation
 Films in history and social studies classes
Usage feature films and documentaries to create an atmosphere of
historical events in the classroom:
- gain knowledge about the content of a historical event
- determining the accuracy of facts in movies
- motivate students to learn facts from movies or messages
 Films in history and social studies classes

Positive aspects of using movies:

- dynamic visualization of events
- easier to perceive events
- ability to evaluate events and characters
- formation of features of a particular era

The main problem is the subjectivism of the presentation of the

material and the inclusion of a significant percentage of artistic
fiction

[!] Films should be viewed critically

“Gladiator”. USA, UK, 2000, dir. R. Weapons, clothing, Roman life,
Scott gladiator fights

“L'affaire Dreyfus”. France, 1899, Political crisis in France at the end of

directed by J. Melies the XIX century

“Schindler's List”. USA, 1993, dir. S. Nazi persecution of the Jewish

Spielberg population during the war
Historical simulation as a problem
environment
Historical event simulations and simulation games
Simulation games are interpretations of the past, designed
as problem environment:
- Players with roles and goals
- Choices and strategies that players can implement in an
effort to achieve their goals
- Selection results and strategies
Historical simulation as a problem environment

Simulation games are excellent tools for exploring problem

environment: analyzing historical problem environments
without real gameplay
Games and simulations can distort history (the theme of
slavery, migration)
[!] The teacher should encourage students to question
everything
Setting Instructional Purpose for Technology
✔ Setting a learning goal for technology is a challenge for
all disciplines
✔ Teachers should set clear learning objectives when
working with different technologies
✔ Teachers should be able to correctly select the material
for these educational purposes, rewind and pause films for
analysis
 Setting Instructional Purpose for Technology
The Goal recommends that teachers start with simple statements that are
determined by the nature of the training.

These statements should express what students should know and be able
to do at the end of the lesson or block ( specific actions)
✔Goal: What should I really learn?
❌ Activity: What should I do during this time?
 Technology
Integration strategies
for Social Studies
 Adventure learning (AL)

Real world experiences Skills and knowledge

Taking actual trips Navigation
Following explorations Science & geography
Distance tools
AL@UI Adventure learning at University of Idaho

AL can be explored by
students and teachers for
transformational learning.
Information Visualization Strategies
Piktochart, graphing softwares
Treemapping Social explorer
Time sequences, track change over time
Gapminder/ Instant Atlas
Allow to view and examine the
world through multiple
layering of data sets within a Geospatial Analysis Strategies
special environment

Google Earth/GPS

Spatial thinking
Distances
Closeness
Geocaching
 Accessing Primary Sources
The use of primary sources in history and social studies
lessons is one of the most important components of a good
lesson
- arouses great interest in the subject
- prepares you for your future profession
- expands, deepens, allows you to systematize the
available knowledge
- application of knowledge in practice
 Accessing Primary Sources

Working with documents introduces students to the sources of

social sciences, methods of scientific knowledge of society,
methods and forms of fixing the material

Rules for working with sources:

- correlate the form of the work and the features of the text;
- explain to students the objectivity of the document, taking into
account the time of its creation, the political situation
-explain the position of the author
 Accessing Primary Sources
Methods of working with primary sources: retelling of the text,
commented reading, method of analysis and more

✔ Library of Congress
✔ DocsTeach (National
Archives and Records
Administration)
✔Stanford History Education
Group (SHEG)
Social Media Integration
Interact with other teachers
Notify their students about changes in learning process
Social networks can be used as a source for the study of
some social phenomena
Digital Research and Analysis Strategies

Using digital resources for assignments or research

projects
Students should learn how to search for web content
for their work
The teacher should pay attention to the development of
information literacy skills
 Digital Storytelling
Digital stories in Social Studies lessons is the process of
using images and audio to document the history of a life,
event, and era
Study of politics, economics, geography
University of Huston
StoryCenter
AnthroPolis
Videoconferencing for Global
Citizenship Education
- Intercultural experiences
- Intercultural projects
- Learning about cultures
 Using Simulations and
Problem-Solving Environments

- Abstract concepts more clear and meaningful

- Games can be paired with other curriculum materials
- Helps to understand various aspects of the
government system
Virtual Field Trips

❏ Visiting geographic locations online

❏ Understanding the variety of cultures, sights,
events
 References

Marzano, R.J. (2009.) Designing & teaching learning goals & objectives. Bloomington,
IN: Marzano Research Laboratory.
Roblyer, M. D. (2019). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching. 8 Ed. The
State University of West Georgia
Pritsker, M. (2006). The hidden dangers of historical simulation. Journal of Banking &
Finance, 30(2), 561-582.
Dutton, W. H. (2013). The social shaping of digital research. International Journal of
Social Research Methodology, 16(3), 177-195