Technology and Social Studies: Smartboards

     While Smartboards were first created in the early 1990’s, I did not see one for myself until I was in eighth grade (2005-2006), when my Social Studies teacher had one installed in his classroom.  While this did not occur in my time in middle school, every classroom there now has a Smartboard installed in it.  If I were a teacher there, I would take this as a sign from the administration that we are expected to use this as an integral part of the everyday curriculum.

     Smartboards can be a benefit to just about any class, and Social Studies is no different.  It is an easy way to pass along information to the students.  Instead of writing out information on the board (which can take up quite a bit of valuable class time), or creating transparencies to put onto an overhead projector (where the teacher will have to spend their own time and, possibly, money, to create these), the Smartboard is an extremely convenient device that speeds up the relaying of information to the student.  

     One example of a time when this piece of technology was beneficial to the teacher was during my Social Studies course in eighth grade, which I mentioned above.  As we discussed the expansion of the United States, via acts like the Louisiana Purchase, my teacher was, with a simple tap of the board, able to switch between maps to show the change in size of our country.  While he could have simply given us handouts, or attempted to tape a map on the board (and hope it doesn’t fall), this is just one small example of the convenience that a Smartboard offers.

     There are many other benefits than the (somewhat minor) one listed here, but Smartboards can be an extremely helpful tool in the classroom, if implemented properly.  If I had to choose one major piece of technology in my future classroom, there is a very good chance that this would be it.

 

 

 

Technology & Pedagogy

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgDqJcGS3TLgdEx0X0xCVFdIakNoVW1fSzF3MS01TlE&usp=sharing#gid=0

     I chose this lesson plan to analyze because the Cold War is a topic that I have learned quite a bit on in recent years, and is likely to be something that I will have to teach in my classroom at some point in the future.  When I saw a lesson plan that would attempt to connect this with another major event in History, Brown v. Board of Education, my curiosity was peaked. After reading through the lesson plan, and comparing it to the standards set forth by the New Jersey Department of Education, I am not totally sure that the goal of the plan was achieved.  

     While it is certainly possible that the lesson is better when put to action, and that materials like the Soviet Union posters need to be seen in order for the lesson and the connection to fully make sense, I don’t think the goal of the lesson was achieved.  Technology may have benefited the lesson, through the possible use of videos and any other items (such as primary sources and documents of the time) that may have created a better connection between these two major events in our recent history.  This is a lesson that can be a very strong one, and it could potentially be used to connect other major events as well.

    From the technology that was used for the lesson, to the lesson itself, this feels like a sort of missed opportunity.  Despite some strong pieces, like the document analysis and the very idea of connecting events that on the surface may not appear to have anything to do with each other, it could have been stronger.