Reconstruction Debate

Students should post at least once in this discussion.  I would like to know what you enjoyed and what you didn't enjoy about the lesson for the past 2 days.  Also, please include one new bit of information you learned from the lesson.  Students should be respectful and use grammatically correct English in this post.  I look forward to reading your comments!!

The New South Discussion

For this discussion, students will be addressing the economic, social, and geographic impact of the growth of big business and technological innovations after Reconstruction.

Students should participate in at least 2 of the following discussion topics:

1.  Discuss the impact of railroads on other industries and on the organization of big business.
2.  How did railroads impact the development of the West?
3.  Who is John D. Rockefeller?  Discuss the Standard Oil Company and the rise of trusts and monopolies.
4.  Who is Thomas Edison?  What are some of his innovations?  How did these innovations impact American life?

This discussion will be open Tuesday-Thursday and students should participate all 3 days.  Be sure to make constructive comments and be respectful of your fellow classmates.  I look forward to the discussion!!
 

Technology and Social Studies Education

I think the benefits of using technology in the social studies classroom greatly outweigh the negative aspects of technology use.  Technology has opened up new doors for social studies education, providing students with an unbelievable amount of information available through the Web.

Social studies teachers can use technology to teach their students how to conduct research appropriately.  The Internet is a very overwhelming resource, and teachers can integrate this form of technology into a lesson about research a historical person/event/problem/etc.  Simply telling a student to search for a topic on Google is not an effective way to teach students how to research effectively.  Also, by integrating this form of technology into the classroom, teachers will be able to get students to engage with the information and work with others to find the answers rather than just telling them the answers in a lecture.

Students can also connect with people half-way around the world through technology, enabling them to learn about different cultures.  Networking has become a household name, and students are already part of some social networks such as Facebook or Twitter.  Social studies teachers can find creative ways to incorporate social networking sites into their classroom environment.  By catering to students' interests, teachers will get their students to be actively engaged in learning and are more likely to enjoy learning.

Blogs can also be an effective use of technology in the social studies classroom.  Getting students to carry out a discussion on a classroom blog site might "appeal" to students.

Interactive maps such as those on a Smartboard can be effective in the social studies classroom as well.  Google Earth is also an excellent way to show students various places around the world.

Link to a blog about using technology in a social studies classroom:
http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-social-studies-lessons

Link to a website for social studies teachers who want to integrate technology into their classroom:
http://www.socialstudiescentral.com/?q=content/web-sites-technology-social-studies-teachers

Technology in the Classroom

Technology in the classroom can be a very positive attribute to your classroom.  Technology allows you to be creative in your lesson plans as well as inspire students to explore their creativity and be actively engaged in the learning process.  In today's society, technology has become an integral part of everyday life and should therefore, be an essential part of the classroom environment as well.  Teaching students to use technology effectively will not only allow them to succeed academically but also will give them important life skills, which will be useful in the real world.

As a future social studies teacher, I personally believe technology has become a major resource for information.  The Internet provides students with a vast amount of information and can be very useful for research purposes.

Great link discussing the effects of technology in the classroom:

http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/effectsstudents.html

Top 10 Tips for Using Technology in the classroom: