Question

Discuss the use of technology to engage students and further their understanding about a social studies topic. Include misconceptions about technology that educators need to keep in mind and how to ensure technology accessibility for all students in a class.

Answer 1

Answer- Today technology has become a vital part of everyone's life. The use of computer technology seems necessary for effective learning process. Now a days, teachers can easily develop lessons and help students to increase their knowledge. Teaching methods have been changed completely and students have knowledge about multimedia videos and other technological things. It is true that nothing can replace a teacher but having a combination of technology and teacher in the classroom is very helpful to enhance the knowledge of students in an interesting manner.

Students generally find Social Study as a boring subject, so the use of technology in a Social Study class may help the students to access, manipulate and interpret different facts related to our past. Technology develops the qualities of effective citizens with the critical thinking and decision making skills that is important in a democratic country. The major aspects of social studies are learning the facts, important dates and several geographic names. So the most frequently methods used in a social study classroom are drill and practice, tutorial and study guides. These methods help teachers while planning a lesson of Social Study. Researches have found that the use of computer applications have showed positive effects on student's outcomes. Despite these methods, many simulations and games encourage students to create their own knowledge and they are placed in the role of decision makers.

The progress of technology has changed our life completely. In education, technology has provided many methods for making teaching and learning process more effective. Alongwith many benefits, there are some misconceptions also regarding technology in education. It is generally believed that this technology is very expensive. It may be expensive but the profit of introducing technology can cover up the cost over time. Another misconceptions are that using technology is difficult and time consuming that is not true because using technology has become easier and educators need to believe themselves that they can learn new things in order to improve their teaching and learning skills. It is very important for educators to realize that our students have a technology friendly life and we should spend some time to relate them in a better way. It may take time when a teacher start teaching with technology but with experience, it will become easier and faster.

There is no use of technology if all students do not have access to it. The technology in the classroom should be accessible to all students. For this purpose, the tool should be designed in such a manner that it can provide an accessible curriculum to all children. The technology should be highly engaging to attract the groups of students including the learners with special needs. Visual aids are very helpful to teach all students equally. It can be a smart board, television or iPad. Visual aids always help to deliver and modify a lesson in an effective way. So, it is clear that technology should be included in such a way that it becomes accessible for all students in the class.