Chapter 9: Consumers and Producers in the Social Studies Classroom: How Web 2.0 Technology Can Break the Cycle of “Teachers and Machines”

When conducting in-service technology training for elementary and secondary social studies teachers, Scott often displayed the following quote concerning an instructional technology tool:

Teachers were asked to consider what type of technology the statement references. After a spirited volley of suggestions that ranged from “television” to “the Internet,” the teachers were informed that this quote was from an 1827 report about the educational promises of the chalk board. After several minutes of scoffing at the peculiarity of a glowing statement about the benefits of such an archaic tool, Scott would ask the teachers if the technology mediums they currently use in their classrooms are any different from those used in the past. He also asked if the way they used technology was dissimilar. For example, what is the difference between a black board and PowerPoint presentation? Other than moving words, potential sound effects and a periodic visual there is little disparity between the two technologies if both are used to simply provide visual information to students. This was followed by asking: Is there much of a difference between a YouTube video clip and a DVD or VHS other than being able to locate the exact clip you are looking for in a shorter period of time? What are the differences of reading a page from the textbook compared to reading an Internet webpage? The technology presentation was concluded with a question: Are we really teaching any differently than our educational forbearers who taught 10, 25, 50, or even 100 years ago? Unfortunately, after a few minutes of thinking about these questions, the most common response was “no.”