Social Sciences

Social Sciences and Web 3.0 Websites and Perspectives are part of the modern development in educational technology. An array of resources have modernized the classroom morphing into a new modern classroom.

The internet, now including the new WEB 3.0, has consolidated the social sciences into one single hub. Considering its similarities in cognitive and approach skills, significantly simplifying the material for educators.

Hence, “the social sciences share certain commonalities-their use of the scientific method, focus on understanding and explaining human behavior and systematic collection and application of data (Martorella, 2008, p. 53)”. Nevertheless, each discipline has a different approach, addressed by state and national standards.

Kids.gov

The Kids.gov “a safe place to learn and play” is a web page developed and administered by the United States’ Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, the U.S. General Services Administration, in association with USA.gov (Kids.gov, 2015).

This page addressed at “kids”, offers an array of tools and resources for kids, parents, and educators alike. For instance, Kids offers kids, teens, teachers, and parental links that offer relevant information to the appropriate audiences. 

The teachers’ part of the page offers activities and worksheets, and lesson plans that range from History and Social Studies to Government, and Economics.

Thus, considering the theory of multiple intelligence and learning styles, Kids offers an array of learning activities that educators may be able to take advantage of in the classroom to address learning styles and types of intelligence.

In addition, Kids offers; videos for visual learners, listening activities for auditory learners, and as well as information about Museums and landmarks for trips and activities that emphasize kinetic learners (Kids.gov, 2015).

Web integration

For instance, “Individual children possess greater strengths in some intelligence and less in others’ (Wallace, 2006, p. 80).

Therefore, geography illustrated from the perspective of a historian, a political scientist, or a sociologist, may significantly address students’ types of intelligence. Ultimately, the reality that, from my perspective, all social sciences illustrate an idea of the importance of the social sciences to cognitive development, more so now in the digital era.

I would take advantage of the Kids in my classroom. I would use all the free resources available for teachers. Although my focus would be social studies, Kids offers resources in several social sciences; Art and Music, Online safety, and health and safety, which are relevant disciplines for any classroom regardless of the subject, including social sciences.

Additionally, Kids offers an archive of material ranging from classroom activities, such as the ones mentioned above, to social studies lesson plans. Thus, the lesson plans are offered in order from grade level and discipline, significantly benefiting any teacher.

Dynamic Social Studies

Now, although most focus on history, but also cover government, political science, and geography, acclaimed professor and author; Thomas F. Madden and his web page Thomasmadden.org offer a collection of resources for social studies teachers.

Considering the social studies curriculum encompasses history, global affairs, political science, economics, sociology, geography, psychology, and anthropology Madden covers all relevant fields through a large spectrum of information and materials (Martorella, 2008, p. 52).

Additionally, as a potential educator, I may be able to take advantage of the library of books, journals, and articles, as well as various relevant media, offered and authored by Madden. For instance, Empire of Trust 2008 by Madden, illustrates and compares the state of affairs of the United States with that of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.

Moreover, it addresses the politics, global affairs as well as geographical expansion of the United States similar to that of the Roman Empire. Lastly, Empire of Trust provides an extensive argument about American history and that of the Roman Empire and uses the basis of the development of the Roman Empire, and other empires in history, to hypothesize the future of the “early Republic” as he refers to the United States (Madden, n.d.).

In addition to books, journals, and articles, Madden offers various Audiobooks that can easily be integrated into any social studies curriculum. I have experienced firsthand how educators, in the modern classroom, have transitioned from textbooks to audiobooks to address the needs of the students as well as to facilitate lesson delivery.

Thus, “The increasing popularity of audiobooks is a 21st Century tribute to the roots of our oral tradition: hearing the stories, legends, and myths passed down from one generation to the next” (Brown, 2002, p. 1). Therefore, in addition to addressing auditory learners, audiobooks serve as a new cognitive empowered tool in the modern classroom.

The most powerful tool for any social studies educator is the power to research information. Through research, teachers can develop concepts, find new information, and explore history; henceforth, conveying that knowledge to the students through the social studies curriculum.

Addressing ISTE standard 5C which states that the teacher should “Evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice regularly to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning” (ISTE, 2015, p. 5C).

Conclusion

ERIC Institution of Education, found at eric.ed.gov, offers a powerful, accredited, and reliable tool for research that expands through all social sciences. Eric serves as the primary source of general research for the United States Department of Education (Senate Report, 2002).

ERIC, in comparison to Google or Bing search engines, serves as an educational and highly reliable search engine that offers information in all educational areas.

If I need to develop a lesson and need information about the American military I would search “American military” ERIC would then provide results that range from Journals, and fully downloadable books and articles in PDF format (ERIC, 2015). Thus, a teacher would be able to take advantage of all the information available through ERIC; Google and Bing offer an array of information.

Oftentimes highly unreliable, ERIC serves as the bridge to fill the gap reliably. Ultimately, as a potential teacher of the modern classroom, I have a nearly limitless amount of information available on the web that I plan to implement in my lessons always for the benefit of the students.

References

Brown, J. E. (2002). Audio Books in the Classroom Bridging between Language Arts and Social Studies. The Alan Review, Volume 29, Number 3.

ERIC. (2015). ERIC Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?: http://eric.ed.gov/?

ISTE. (2015). Standards for Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/: http://www.iste.org/standards/ISTE-standards/standards-for-teachers

Kids.gov. (2015, 05 18). Kids.gov for teachers. Retrieved from Kids.gov: https://kids.usa.gov/teachers/activities-and-worksheets/index.shtml

Madden, T. F. (n.d.). Thomas F. Madden. Retrieved from Thomas Madden: http://www.thomasmadden.org/index.html

Martorella, P. B.-B. (2008). Teaching social studies in middle and secondary schools (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River NJ: Pearson Education.

Senate Report. (2002). Congress.gov. Retrieved from the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002: https://www.congress.gov/107/crpt/srpt337/CRPT-107srpt337.pdf

Wallace, M. (2006). Social Studies All day, Every day in the early childhood classroom. Belmont: Delmar Cengage Learning.