Chatham College S ocial studies teaching today presents challenges for teachers, new and experienced, with increased demands from our society and the world. Students should also be able to teach social studies utilizing a variety of curriculum approaches and in different types of settings. To prepare teachers for the future, we must model the use of technology as a tool to connect the social studies to the world that is relevant to the student. In the past social studies teachers were slow to integrate computers into their teaching. However, the most meaningful learning takes place when students interact with concrete materials.
Students have greater understanding when experiences are meaningful and manipulable.
Testimonials abound from students and teachers concerning the usefulness of technology in the classroom. Teachers have reported that students as young as kindergartners use and eagerly await their turn on the computer. Young students can work in small groups and concentrate on computer learning tasks for long periods of time. Certainly, the potential for both learning and teaching has been minimally realized with technology as it is used today in social studies classrooms. Current social studies methods' textbooks focus on the computer software for games, simulations, and databases.