Using Microcomputers in the Social Studies Classroom


Book Description

The purpose of this book is to help teachers feel at ease with microcomputers so that they will begin to think of computers as tools that they themselves might use. There are four chapters. The first chapter provides basic information to help a user understand the computer. Discussed are how the computer is put together and how it works. To help teachers generate ideas about how this new educational aid might be useful in terms of their own teaching objectives, the second chapter describes why and how other educators are using the computer. Chapter 3 is an introduction to software evaluation, i.e., how computer programs that are available for use in the classroom can be judged. Criteria are presented. It is suggested that teachers using computer-assisted instruction should have a feel for some of the broader issues related to computers in education, as well as practical knowledge. The purpose of the fourth chapter, which deals with social and educational issues and directions, is to provide a perspective about these broader issues and a context into which teachers might place their own activities. Most of the book's readings provide a bibliography of references and further resources. In addition, a list of resources available through the ERIC system is provided. (RM)







Using a Microcomputer in the Classroom


Book Description

Addressing the role of computers in learning and the means of integrating and applying computer technology into the curriculum, this text emphasizes all the important basic topics related to technology in education. There is coverage of multimedia/hypermedia, designing lesson plans, and how to evaluate and choose software, all supported by numerous forms and charts.




Computer-Based Education in the Social Studies


Book Description

Computers have not revolutionized social studies curricula because so few teachers use them. But research does indicate that computers are flexible instructional tools that can assist in the development of attitudes, intellectual motivation, and inquiry skills. Social studies educators need to consider expanded computer use in their classrooms because computers assist in the preparation of students for effective participation in society. Teachers must understand how technology affects instruction, learning, and classroom environments, along with the types of effective instructional strategies that can be used to achieve specific goals. Educators should acquire the knowledge and experience needed to use computers by reviewing research relating to computer use in teaching and to instructional strategies. Information on research concerning the impact of computers on students, how computers change the way teachers' work, computers' effect on the training process, and computers' influence on the social studies curriculum is included. Necessary teacher competencies and appropriate instructional uses are explored through an analysis of teacher utility programs, databases, data analysis programs, and simulations. A 76-item bibliography concludes the document. (JHP)




Computer-Integrated Instruction Inservice Notebook


Book Description

The purpose of this notebook is to assist educators who are designing and implementing inservice education programs to facilitate the effective use of computer integrated instruction (CII) in schools. It is divided into the following five sections: (1) Effective Inservice (a brief summary of inservice literature focused on inservice dimensions and design principles); (2) Background Information (an overview of computers in education and a discussion of the roles of computers in problem solving); (3) Initiating/Planning an Inservice (suggestions for preliminary planning and activities and a sample timeline for those activities); (4) An Eight-Session Social Studies Inservice (2-hour sessions cover an introduction to databases, database management systems, making your own database, an introduction to computer simulations, another simulation, teacher productivity tools, graphing to represent data, and problem solving, telecommunications, and closure); and (5) Instruments and Evaluation (a variety of instruments for needs assessment, formative evaluation, and summative evaluation). Each 2-hour science inservice session contains some or all of the following: narrative overview, script (topics, objectives, materials, activities), timeline, handouts, and readings. References are listed throughout the notebook and a software bibliography is included in section 4. (DB)







Writing, Teaching and Researching History in the Electronic Age


Book Description

This volume focuses on the role of the computer and electronic technology in the discipline of history. It includes representative articles addressing H-Net, scholarly publication, on-line reviewing, enhanced lectures using the World Wide Web, and historical research.