Developing The 21St-Century Social Studies Skills Through Technology Integration

Developing The 21St-Century Social Studies Skills Through Technology Integration

Binh Tran

Farisi, Mohammad Imam. "Developing The 21St-Century Social Studies Skills Through Technology Integration." Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education 17.1 (2016): 16-30. Education Research Complete [EBSCO]. Web. 21 July 2016.

Summary

Farisi discusses in this article the historical evolution of technology skills in the field of Social Studies education, first dating back to Martorella’s work in the late 1970s to present day. When the idea of teaching technology skills as an essential part of curriculum was first introduced by Martorella, the focus was on the use of the computer as a facilitator and conduit of acquiring information. The emergence of the internet in the 1990s lead to the proposal by Smith and Kolloch to suggest the use of online technology as a new forum to house interaction between student and teacher. The notion that the internet could be a place to publicly practice ideas of freedom of speech and political assembly was radical notion that would eventually evolve into a game changer. By 2006, the growth of the internet and the imminent arrival of social media lead to the assertion by the National Council for Social Studies that integrating technology skills into Social Studies education was a major professional commitment. Now in present day, Farisi asserts that the growth of online life as a major facet of civil society necessitates the development of “21^st century skills” as an essential part of public life. These skills include critical thinking, problem solving, media production skills, and leadership. Careful planning and scaffolding will be needed to help students cultivate essential skills in utilizing technology effectively and minimizing skill gaps between students. Similarly, teacher skills will need to expand to encompass not only basic competencies like use of presentation software and email, but traditionally specialized skills like media and design.

Evaluation

The article helps to put into perspective the extreme leaps and paradigm shifts education has experienced in the last 40 years with respect to technology. Each innovation in technology has brought with it new challenges and new opportunities to expand student learning. The maturation of internet media has necessitated the development of 21^st century skills like critical thinking and data evaluation. The internet is not the easy access online library everyone imagined it would be, and it falls to teachers to help students learn how to navigate this new world. Teachers will need to expand their skills to include media and design if they are to remain effective.