Strategies for Using Technology to Teach Social Studies...

As a history buff (and former Social Studies major), I can spend all day gawking at artifacts in a museum, watching the History Channel, or reading biographies about who my children less-than-affectionately refer to as "those old, dead people" and think it's absolutely fascinating.  Unfortunately, I've found that my children and most of my students (in fact, most people in general) do not share my adoration of people and events of the past.

As a teacher, though, it is my duty to convey the events and stories of the past to our students in a way that engages, informs and encourages them to think critically about our society and themselves.  Luckily for me, I am a teacher in the 21st century and no longer have to rely solely on textbooks and drawn out lectures.  The tools of technology give us fresh, interesting and even fun ways of exploring the past and linking it to our present and future.

I came across an interesting article on education.com called "Top Ten Strategies for Technology in Social Studies Instruction" by  M.D. Roblyer and A. H. Doering.  The article lists various intriguing ways to utilize technology to enhance social studies lessons.  Some of these strategies include: adventure learning, virtual field trips, webquests, treasure hunts using GPS devices and many more.  

I thought this would be an interesting article to share with other teachers who get the blank stare like this: ( 0_0 )    whenever a historical event is even hinted at.  (We all get that at one time or another...)

If you have any more sites or suggestions for strategies using technology in teaching, please feel free to leave a comment below!!