Social+Studies

**Social Studies** Hand held devices can be very useful in the teaching of social studies. During the 2000's hand-held devices started to be used in science and technology classrooms. Graphing calculators like the TI-83 became more common in science and mathematics classes. Social studies courses, however, did not embrace the new technology although some teachers were able to adapt the TI 83 to the social studies classroom. Now there are many more hand-held devices available to students. Social studies teachers can take advantage of this new technology in the classroom, which includes smart phones, iPads and Kindles, through these social studies classes can be enriched and new techniques and uses can be found for these hand-held devices. Hand-held devices can be used in various ways in the social studies classroom, some teachers and college professors have used "clickers" to keep track of what their students understood. If the results from the clickers showed that students did not understand a certain point the teacher would know what he needed to spend more time on. These devices were used first in the sciences and then expanded to a wide range of courses. Today, the smart phone or the iPad can serve as a more advanced educational tool, and since most of the students already have one, they can be used within the classroom to assess student's knowledge on a subject or topic, or they can be used to play educational games: [], such as "Jeopardy" where the class could use their cell phone clickers to buzz-in when they know an answer to a question. Traditionally, computer technology has been confined to the school computer lab. Time in the computer lab is often hard to get and far in-between. New hand-held devices are much cheaper than traditional computers. I-Pads and other new technologies are offered to schools at a discount bulk rate. Also many textbook companies are rushing to put out their books on the new digital markets. Many students already have their own hand-held devices which can be used in the classroom. Students are very proficient in using new technology and do not need the instruction that they might need in a computer lab. This will cut down the time spent outside of the classroom, and increase more time for learning.

  There are now a great number of apps that make smart phones and iPads easy to use. An example of this that fits nicely within a Social Studies classroom is [|Polleverywhere]. This website, or application will allow students to create poll questions and vote on various issues that they care about. This program is also free, but will only allow a limited number of votes. There are upgrades available so that more people can vote for a fee. Students can use their own cell phones to vote on issues from an ywhere. However, apps related specifically to historical knowledge are limited at this time. The [|Oxford Dictionary of World History] is general history encyclopedia which can be helpful to have on hand.

Communication is another great use for hand-held devices, since they allow access to the Internet. Teachers can post assignments, reminders, schedules, and information on sites that students can access with their hand held devices. Teachers can also e-mail individual students. The ease of accessibility cuts down on the time it would take a student to get home and log-into their computer, the information is available immediately on their hand held devices.

 Google is currently offering a number of programs that will do just that. Google now offers a free alternative to using the school's website. Teachers can post items to thier site and students can access this information from anywhere with thier smartphone. Not only can they read about updated assignments, but they can track when important due dates are approaching.

[|Google Docs] allows students to work collaboratively on assignments from anywhere. As long as they have a Google account, students can share thier work with their peers and their teachers in real time without having to worry about compatibility issues. Students can view and edit on the fly from anywhere without having to download anything, they can simply view and edit.



Global Positioning Systems allow Social Studies teachers in particular great opportunities to give thier students real world experiences. Many smartphones today are equipped with GPS technologies, and they can be utililzed to serve a purpose in the classroom. [|The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics]has put together a number of lesson plans utilizing these devices to map where students are and work with other students around the world, just by sending coordinates to each other. This is a perfect way to introduce new areas of the world and study other cultures. How better to learn about another place than to interact with people from there? Hand held devices allow students to collaborate on projects. However, the teachers must be careful that students remain on task, and do not spend class time on personal texts or websites. This is an important consideration in teaching.

//Hand-held Devices in the Classroom //