Take it up a notch!

The SAMR model we learned about on Tuesday helped show how not all use of technology in the classroom is created equally. Enhancing a lesson with interesting technology can be a nice addition to it, but utilizing technology to truly transform the lesson is really what our end goal is all about. This notion has sparked some new ideas in my head, as before this class most of my thoughts on using technology in the classroom fell into the substitution range. I think my content area of social studies lends itself well to technology and can provide for a lot of great learning opportunities if the teacher can figure out how to fit it all together. Incorporating historical video and audio into a lesson are simple ways to substitute technology for written work, nevertheless, they probably won’t transform the learning experience for the student. Those will be useful at times, but I also have a couple ideas for using technology at the redefinition level.

When learning about the US government and its functions, we could partner with another class that is located outside the United States. Students could ask each other questions about each other’s forms of government and how that affects life in their country. The classes could then collaborate on a Google Doc and create a project comparing the governments in the two countries. I think this would be using technology to redefine the capabilities of the classroom because it allows for the creation of new tasks that wouldn’t be possible without the technological tools we are utilizing. The ability to collaborate on a project in real-time with a class on the other side of the world would be inconceivable without Google Docs and other recent technologies like it.

Another idea would be to use Google Maps and other online resources to teach about gerrymandering and district lines. Students would be tasked with redistricting an area of the country and the have to explain why they believe this is the best way for the area to be redistricted. Students would look at the history, demographics, and natural/man-made features of the area in order to find new lines that would be the most beneficial for the most amount of people. We would also have guest speakers for this unit and Skype with local/national officials. Students will be asked to present all of this in a creative, yet professional, manner that could be passed along to local government officials. I think this project would also reach the redefinition level as it gives students the opportunity to use technology to do deep research, talk with important people, and create meaningful work in a new way. We wouldn’t be able to complete this project without the necessary technological tools.

Here are some more great tech tools available for social studies classes!