mLearning to Enhance Disaster Preparedness Education in K-12 Schools

Author(s):  
Thomas Chandler ◽  
Jaishree Beedasy

Several of the most disconcerting and compelling news events of the 21st century pertain to natural and human-caused disasters. However, these themes are generally absent in the social studies, civics, science, or mathematics curricula of most U.S. K-12 schools. Similarly, discussions about ways to incorporate new digital tools, such as mobile tablet computers and apps into such discussions are also overlooked. This chapter provides a roadmap for considering disaster-oriented themes in the K-12 curriculum and then provides several examples of apps that can be included in classroom lessons along with guidelines for incorporating these digital tools into pedagogical practices. The authors have framed their analysis within the context of mLearning as a way to address cross-disciplinary themes via mobile technologies.

Author(s):  
Thomas Chandler ◽  
Jaishree Beedasy

Several of the most disconcerting and compelling news events of the 21st century pertain to natural and human-caused disasters. However, these themes are generally absent in the social studies, civics, science, or mathematics curricula of most U.S. K-12 schools. Similarly, discussions about ways to incorporate new digital tools, such as mobile tablet computers and apps into such discussions are also overlooked. This chapter provides a roadmap for considering disaster-oriented themes in the K-12 curriculum and then provides several examples of apps that can be included in classroom lessons along with guidelines for incorporating these digital tools into pedagogical practices. The authors have framed their analysis within the context of mLearning as a way to address cross-disciplinary themes via mobile technologies.


2022 ◽  
pp. 1125-1141
Author(s):  
Casey Holmes ◽  
Meghan McGlinn Manfra

The purpose of the social studies is to prepare students for life as citizens in a democratic society, and this requires attention to the variety of digital spaces inhabited by our K-12 students in today's increasingly digitized world. Incorporating participatory technologies into structured inquiries in the social studies may help develop students' skills and abilities in critically sourcing, evaluating, sharing, and creating media, and provides the opportunity for increasingly democratic participation and civic engagement both in and out of the school setting. In this chapter, the authors suggest the integration of participatory literacy with the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) framework as a means of supporting students in taking informed action.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-27
Author(s):  
Tracey S. Hodges ◽  
Katherine Landau Wright ◽  
Julianne M. Coleman ◽  
Holly Hilboldt Swain ◽  
Claire Schweiker ◽  
...  

Purpose Standards and policy changes in K-12 education have created the unintended consequence of reducing instructional time spent on social studies content. This limited time devoted to social studies presumably has led to more integrated social studies and literacy instruction. The purpose of this paper is to document the types of high-quality social studies children’s books found in classroom libraries across five states. Design/methodology/approach In the present mixed methods study, the researchers utilized a database of 60 classroom libraries across five states to identify which high-quality trade books, defined by the National Council for the Social Studies, were present. The researchers document trends in both frequencies of books and social studies content across decades, classrooms, grade levels and states from 1972 to 2015. Findings The findings indicate that National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Notable Trade Books for Young People texts are largely missing from the elementary classroom libraries the researchers sampled. Of the 5,544 unique titles included on the NCSS lists from 1972 to 2015, 453 were located in the US classroom libraries database, representing 8.17 percent of books found on the notable lists. Originality/value Before teachers can take steps toward integrating social studies and literacy, they need easy access to high-quality social studies texts. Many high-quality trade books are recommended each year for exposing students to social studies content; however, the researchers found limited numbers of these books in classroom libraries. The researchers recommend the lists be circulated to a wider audience to inform more teachers about these texts.


2006 ◽  
pp. 16-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Whitney Taylor ◽  
Brandon Plewe

Social Studies, including history and geography, is a core part of most state curriculum standards for K-12 education, and for the most part is in need of improvement. Among the technological solutions that have been developed, interactive maps show promise in making the complexities of the social sciences (especially historical geography) more interesting to students, and easier to visualize and understand, without demanding significant investments by schools. A two-group experiment examined this potential for the 7th Grade Utah Studies curriculum. After completing an exercise to analyze possible historical and geographical causes of settlement patterns in Utah, students using interactive maps showed significantly better improvement between a pretest and posttest than students using paper maps. Although some of the test results were inconclusive and highlighted technological and resource obstacles to the widespread adoption of interactive mapping in the classroom, it has been shown to help students learn social studies in a deeper, more engaging manner.


Author(s):  
Oluwakemi Olurinola

The world is changing and so is the educational sector. The major driver of this change is technological advancements, so it is imperative that educators investigate ways to prepare students to fit into the 21st century technology-driven workforce by adopting digital alternatives to the pens and books that still dominate present-day classroom resources, especially in developing countries. This chapter discusses the importance of computer-driven technologies in teaching. In doing so, this chapter highlights the present situation of technology integration in schools in Nigeria and the challenges teachers face in their use of classroom technologies. It is the author's opinion that teachers have a responsibility to pursue personal professional development in addition to whatever kind of training provided on the job. This chapter intends to help educators learn how to leverage free digital tools to support and meet the needs of diverse learners in the classroom.


Author(s):  
Casey Holmes ◽  
Meghan McGlinn Manfra

The purpose of the social studies is to prepare students for life as citizens in a democratic society, and this requires attention to the variety of digital spaces inhabited by our K-12 students in today's increasingly digitized world. Incorporating participatory technologies into structured inquiries in the social studies may help develop students' skills and abilities in critically sourcing, evaluating, sharing, and creating media, and provides the opportunity for increasingly democratic participation and civic engagement both in and out of the school setting. In this chapter, the authors suggest the integration of participatory literacy with the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) framework as a means of supporting students in taking informed action.


Author(s):  
Adam Friedman ◽  
Richard Hartshorne ◽  
Phillip VanFossen

This chapter reports the results of a survey study of the civic engagement and participation of guild members in the massively multi-player online role play game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft (WoW). Further, the authors explore the implications of the results of the study for K-12 social studies education. Specifically, the authors focus on the potential of MMORPGs such as WoW for meeting content standards in the social studies—in this case, the National Standards for Civics and Government--and for impacting on pre-service social studies teacher education.


2015 ◽  
pp. 1406-1420
Author(s):  
Keri R. Franklin ◽  
Kathy Gibson

This chapter offers user-friendly free applications to help teachers incorporate digital writing tools in their classrooms. The authors encourage a collaborative and inquiry-driven environment to help teachers implement new digital tools that can motivate students and develop 21st century writers. The authors use the NCTE's Definition of 21st Century Literacies (2013) to discuss digital writing tools. The authors offer a framework for scaffolding the introduction of these applications in K-12 classrooms and in professional development and align traditional writing process tools to digital writing tools.


Author(s):  
Daniel W. Stuckart

The purpose of this chapter is to place the use of Digital Tools and Artifacts (DTAs) within the context of John Dewey’s philosophy, and along the way, articulate guidelines for integrating technology in the Social Studies. Despite persistent calls for the integration of DTAs, social studies researchers still report low-level cognitive uses and overwhelmingly traditional teaching methods. By constructing a philosophical framework based on Deweyan thought, one can test research and ideas, perhaps leading to the more purposeful and effective use of these tools and artifacts in teaching and learning. Philosophy is an instrument for criticizing and reconstructing human activities, and scholars belatedly credit Dewey as a pioneer in the technology branch.


2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny E. Robb

Curators, archivists, and librarians who work in special collections, including those affiliated with institutions of higher learning, are increasingly debating the advantages and importance of serving wider user populations, with particular emphasis on K–12 educators and students. Likewise, K–12 teachers have been increasingly encouraged—even mandated—to make use in their pedagogy of the kinds of primary documents that are located in special collections and archives. The challenge for special collections professionals is to know what might be useful in the K–12 classroom and how to make it available in a way that protects the physical objects. . . .


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