Teaching in the Digital Age: Exploring the Integration of Educational Technology in Social Studies Classrooms

Abstract

Teaching in the digital age presents many unique challenges that previous generations of educators did not have to consider during their careers as classrooms teachers. This research study was designed to aid social studies teachers in addressing those challenges through the utilization and integration of educational technology in the classroom. Educational technology consists of tools, devices, or applications that can help teachers create learning experiences which will foster the development of essential skills and instill valuable knowledge within students as they pursue their individual goals in life. In this qualitative study, I conducted a series of focus group interviews with active social studies teachers to determine how schools can more effectively utilize and integrate educational technology into social studies classrooms. Participants were divided between three separate groups based on their years of teaching experience. This was done to identify if there were any notable patterns related to educational technology between social studies teachers at different stages of their career. The focus group interviews were facilitated using an interview protocol that included both open-ended and follow-up questions, which encouraged the participants to reflect on their experiences with educational technology. After analyzing the data from these conversations, I identified five themes that are highly relevant to addressing the main inquiries of this research project. I will be referring to the first theme as “technological learning.” In this context, technological learning refers to how teachers learn to use technological devices. Other prominent themes that revealed themselves during the interviews include digital literacy, affordances of technology, drawbacks of technology, and issues of accessibility. In conclusion, I discuss the findings of my research while also exploring the implications and future research opportunities that could emerge from this study.