Hi, My Name Is...

My name is Nic Rush and I am from Columbus, Ohio.  I would like to teach social studies in grades 7-12.  I do not have much of a preference as to which age I teach, but I would be more interested in teaching United States Government.  I think that technology should be used in schools because of the advantages that it provides to students in this day and age.  Students are at much more of an advantage when technology is used in the proper way as compared to students of the past.  As Virginia Heffernan says, "We can't keep ignoring the formidable cognitive skills they're developing on their own" (Education Needs a Digital Upgrade).

The following video shows several ways that technology could be used in classrooms.  The video touches on a few ideas that are specific for Social Studies courses.

I find this image to capture the essence of student learning in the 21st century:

  In my opinion, some of the most important aspects are:

• Information- a student must be provided with information to foster the growth of ideas.  How this information is presented can be the difference between a student actively participating or sitting in the back of the room playing cell phone games.

• Technology- it's extremely important to use a variety of media to promote student growth.  Could a classroom be functional with limited technology?  Would it really spark student interest?  We've all been in that class where the professor lectures for an hour; we take down notes, and then regurgitate it on a test.  That might be an easy A for some, but are you really getting anything out of it?  

• Communication- communication is huge to the learning process.  Whether it's a teacher being available to field questions after class or students using Twitter to interact and answer open ended classroom questions, communication is vital to promote the most efficient learning.

Need help finding more ways to incorporate technology in your Social Studies classroom?  From using Skype to communicate with people on the other side of the world to blogging about textbook readings, Sara Bernard gives us some insight in her Edutopia article.